boston duck 4 Hostelling In ternational S an F rancisco Downtown For less than $30 per person, your family can e

A novel set in the city can also act as a catalyst to interest older children. In Peppermints in the P arlor (Atheneum, 1980), by B arbara B rooks Wallace, r ecently orphaned E mily L uccock finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery in Golden Gate Park when she mo ves to S an Francisco to liv e with her aunt and uncle. I n Sid Fleischman s By the Great Horn Spoon! (Little Brown & Co., 1963), a 12-year-old boy strikes it rich in S an Francisco during the gold r ush after sto wing away on a journey from Boston.

Close to the tony Pacific Heights neighborhood, quiet Japantown is home to two hotels that offer more for your money than you ll find in more highly touristed areas. You won t be in the center of the action, but multiple bus lines can get y ou there quickly. Plus, Japantown s Asian shops and r estaurants will add an extra sense of adv enture to y our family vacation.

4 Hostelling In ternational S an F rancisco Downtown For less than $30 per person, your family can experience dorm life in an old San Francisco style building right in the heart of Union Square. Occupying five sparsely decorated floors, rooms here are simple and clean. Each has two or three bunk beds with linens, a sink, a closet, and lockers (bring your own locks or buy some at the front desk). Although most private rooms share hallway bathrooms, a few have private facilities. Prices are per person in the dorm rooms and per double boston duck bed in the private room. Since kids under 12 are an additional $14 per night, the hostel option boston duck becomes less of a deal when y ou add more than one child. Among sev eral common r ooms is a large kitchen-style r oom with r efrigerator space, toasters, and a microwave, but no stoves or ranges.