Biking Golden Gate Bridge

I've just been researching our plan to cycle Golden Gate bridge.
The route is 8 miles.

A few bigger chains (blazing saddles, bay city rental) but http://www.bikerentalsanfrancisco.com/  Bike Rentals San Francisco has much better online reviews and their prices are good.
http://www.yelp.com/biz/san-francisco-bicycle-rentals-san-francisco 
Kids tag-a-long is $18 per day, adults bikes $23.20 - all using the 20% online reservation discount.  Total $82.40 for rentals.  helmet, lock, maps included.

425 Jefferson St

San Francisco, CA 94109

(415) 922-4537

I think they are open 8:30-7:30 but would have to double check.

A tip from a reviewer - find a way to "mark" your bike. As in not graffiti, but bring a ribbon or something that you can tie onto the bike so that after the ferry ride back over to the pier, you can IDENTIFY your bike among the stacks of bikes. 

The ride might take about 2 hours.

The ferry back from Sausalito costs $9.75 for Adults, and is free for children 5 and under.  No charge for bikes, but apparently even with 200(!!!) bike parks on the ferry they do fill up.

Schedule is here http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php

Next to research what we can do in sausalito.  I had thought of going to the National Park visitor centre  at Marin Headlands, but on bike I believe it'll be too far/difficult.

Golden Gate park

As well as the California Academy of Sciences and the Japanese Tea Gardens there are other attractions in Golden Gate Park.

• Bison
• Playground
• Carousel

They have a concrete slide at the playground, which is something I've never heard of before. Apparently you need to use something like a cardboard box to slide on. 

_____________________________________________________

Carousel Hours: The carousel is open on a daily basis from Memorial Day to Labor Day, as well as Friday through Sunday from the day after Labor Day through the day before Memorial Day. Year-round hours for carousel rides are 10 am to 4:30 pm – with the last ride for the day starting at 4:15 pm.

Carousel Ride Cost: Adults, ($2), children ages 6 to 12 years ($1 per ride), and children 5 and under are free when accompanied by a paying adult. Please note that children under 40″ in height must ride with a paying adult.

Free San Francisco Walking tours

http://www.sfcityguides.org

They have heaps of free guided walking tours.
I'm not sure if any would be suitable for the kids though or whether they'd just whine the whole way round.  Will have to research more.

Possibly the Chinatown tour, http://www.sfcityguides.org/desc.html?tour=8, as they offer that to school groups.

Mission churches - Carmel, Solvang

As well as the beautiful big Santa Barbara mission church we will visit, we should also get a chance to visit the mission at Carmel.  The mission at Carmel is where Father Junipero Serra died. He was the founder of all the earliest mission churches.
San Carlos Borroméo de Carmelo

	Status	Parish Church
	Address	3080 Rio Road Carmel, CA 93923
	Phone	(831) 624-3600 (Gift Shop / mission) (831) 624-1271 (Rectory)
	Hours	Weekdays: 9:30am-4:30pm (remains open until 7:30 p.m. June 1 to Labor Day) Weekends: 10:30am-4:30pm Closed: Thanksgiving and Christmas.
	Website	http://www.carmelmission.org

Visiting hours at the Carmel Mission are from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Saturday and 10:30 am to 5:00 pm on Sunday. Admissions for upkeep and restoration are $6.50 for adults, $4.00 for seniors, $2.00 for children ages 7 and up (free for children under 6).
______________________________________________________________
There is another Mission Church at Solvang, Mission Santa Ines

MASSES IN ENGLISH 
Monday thru Saturday 8:00 am 
Saturday (Sunday Vigil) 5:00 pm 
Sunday 8:00, 9:30, 11:00 am 
Sunday 5:00 pm (Youth Mass, open to all) 
Holy Days 8:00 am, 12 noon 
Vigil of Holy Days 7:00 pm