The Luceros Visit the Bay Area - April 2026

One of my favorite things about living in San Luis Obispo County is that we are exactly half-way between Los Angeles and San Francisco, which makes it relatively quick and easy to drive to either area for a bit of fun!  

We like to "zig-zag" and take a trip in one direction, and when we next travel, go in the other direction.  

It had been a while since we went north and all the way into "The City," as locals call San Francisco (never "San Fran," and certainly never "Frisco"). 

Honestly, San Francisco gets such bad press (for some legit reasons) that visiting hasn't really interested me since we moved here in 2018.  I'd been there in the mid-90s (unique experience as a nanny for a wealthy family ... limo rides, expensive hotel, fancy restaurants), and again in 2004, when my best friend got married in the Bay Area.  But that was before we had kids and these days it didn't seem to be a family friendly adventure.  

But, people here travel to San Francisco regularly and year-round and I don't recall them saying they felt unsafe. And we've been to San Jose many times and love it!  We also had an accidental trip to a mall in San Francisco last year, when Jonathan booked a fun experience for us without realizing the mall was **in** San Francisco.

All that to say ... it was finally time to officially - and intentionally - visit San Francisco.

For our first of two trips in April, we stayed at an oceanside AirBNB in the town of Pacifica.  It was a cute house with a cool "Hollywood glam" vibe.

We don't have a mall at all in our county, so if there is a mall when we travel, to a mall we shall go!

Scarlett got a new set of acrylic nails, I got a pedicure.  We went to an escape room (one of our favorite activities).  Christian and Jonathan goofed off while wait in for me to buy the kids' shoes. In that moment, it felt like I had three children. HA!

We went to Golden Gate Park and the California Academy of Sciences, the rose garden, Fisherman's Warf, the planetarium, and the Exploratorium.  Soooo many things to do in San Francisco!

On our second visit of the month, we went to the Japanese Tea Garden.

I LOVE matcha tea and could drink it every single day.  So I was thrilled to get traditionally-prepared ceremonial matcha tea.  But what I quickly realized is that this version is quite bitter, which is why the sweet mochi ball was provided, too.  It wasn't horrid, but I now know I prefer my matcha with a bit of milk and a bit of sweetness to it.  Henceforth, it is actually matcha lattes that I enjoy ... not just matcha. Now I know. 

Our final destination for the trip was to the de Young Museum to see the "Monet and Venice" display.

When I was in my teens / 20s, I was obsessed with Monet's beautiful art, so I was beyond thrilled for this opportunity to see his painting in person!

Alas, this particular exhibit was very crowded. Many people had no spatial awareness, and it wasn't always easy to get a good, closeup look at the paintings.  As I was taking photos of my favorite paintings, I noticed a tall woman in a puffy coat taking photos of every single painting, as close up as she could get.  She was seemingly unaware (or didn't care) about her extra girth because of the big coat.  She was incredibly annoying! I wanted to say to her, "You know, I am sure the gift shop sells a book that features a photo of every painting in this exhibit."  But, I did not.  And it occurred to me that I didn't need to be taking a photo of every painting, either.  So I got photos of my very favorite paintings, as displayed below.

When I reconnected with Jonahtan and the kids, I told them of the puffy coat lady, and they also shared their stories of encountering her over and over again. 

The painting below was my absolute favorite! It was in a separate room with a few other paintings and was prominently displayed upon entering.  It was so big and bold and colorful and glorious! It is impossible to tell the scale by the photo, but it was HUGE!

Happily, the museum gift shop sells the print version in a large size, which I bought immediately to add to my other collection of art I buy spontaneously with the intent of framing ... but never do.  And well, that's because getting something framed costs a pretty penny I don't usually have after all.  But truly, this one is so gorgeous, and I want it up in my house ASAP.

Claude Monet, Water Lilies, ca. 1914–1917
Oil on canvas, 65 3/8 x 56 in. (166.1 x 142.2 cm). Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Museum purchase, Mildred Anna Williams Collection, 1973.3

Dark blossoms and bright leaves drift among the reflected clouds on the water’s surface. No horizon is in sight. In the 1880s and 1890s, Monet developed a small natural pond on his property at Giverny into an extensive water garden inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e prints. This garden functioned as a kind of outdoor studio where he ultimately painted some two hundred fifty pictures, among them several of his most iconic works. This example likely dates to the mid-1910s but betrays no hint of the First World War raging not far from Giverny.

Beyond the Monet exhibit, this museum is HUGE and there was so much to see!  Unfortunately, this busy exhibit wore down the rest of the Lucero Family and they lacked enthusiasm for the rest of our visit. They sat while I wandered and enjoyed at my own pace.  But I knew they were bored, so I cut my tour short.  

I told them next time we're in San Francisco, they can drop me off at the museum and go do whatever they want.  And they agreed.