jack harter In this one building y ou ll find mor e top-quality lunch options than in man y entire cities. In ke

In this one building y ou ll find mor e top-quality lunch options than in man y entire cities. In keeping with its r ole as the epic enter of San F rancisco s food scene (p. 161), the Ferry Building entails more than a biweekly farmers market and esoteric gourmet shops selling the finest-grade olive oil, rare breed pork, or exotic fungi. Many of the cit y s best restaurants have lunch counters here, with scrumptious to go versions of their sit-down fare, and other shops pr offer unusual, irresistible take-out goodies.

581 Ha yes St. (at Laguna St.). & 415/864-7654. w ww.frjtzfries.com. F ries $3.25 $4.75. jack harter M ain c ourses $7 $14. AE, DC, DISC, MC, V. Mon Thurs 9am 10pm; F ri Sat 11am midnight; Sun 11am 9pm. Muni: No. 21-Hayes bus to Laguna St., or streetcar to Van Ness St. Station, and then walk 2 blocks nor th to Hayes and then east to Laguna St. Mission: 590 Valencia St. (at 17th St.) &415/863-8272. Muni: BART to 16th St.

Ask your children what they would like to do during the trip. G ive them options, make a calendar , and follo w through on some of their suggestions. This doesn t mean they are in charge. It means they get to participate in a bit of decision-making. Give them a camera. E ither buy an inexpensive digital camera for y our kids, or let them use y ours (car efully) once in a while. I t s empo wering and cheap since you can just delete all the pictures with people s heads cut off and provides a new way for your kids to think about sightseeing. Have them keep a journal. E ven before they could write, we gave our girls notebooks so they could draw pictur es of things they saw on each trip. Now, on vacations, they enjo y spending the fe w minutes befor e dinner arriv es writing jack harter about their day. Look at the silv er lining. Taking our toddler son back to hotels for naps in the middle of the day is my ex cuse for me to read a good book. or enjo y a nice nap myself, something that s rare at home. Relax. When y ou slo w do wn, forget about stresses of home, and all focus on your ne w surr oundings, y ou and y our family can build some lasting memories jack harter together. How to Take Great Trips with Y our Kids (The Harvard Common Press) is full of good general advice that can apply to travel anywhere.