Photographs by Carol Moreno
Now, San Francisco is a beautiful and sophisticated city full of places adults love to visit, so where would you head for some child-friendly fun? Fisherman’s Warf and Pier 39 of course!
Lured by letters filled with “gold-rush” tales from his friend James Lick, Ghirardelli decided to come to San Francisco to open a general store. Since he had apprenticed as a confectioner in Italy as a boy and spent many years as a chocolate merchant, setting up a factory was next.
By 1895, after a few moves, the factory was finally located in what had been the Pioneer Woolen Mills on North Street, and that is where you find Ghirardelli Square today. Just a note: Factory Tours are not available at Ghirardelli Square, you must go to the San Leandro factory site to have a tour.
In 1850, Captain Taylor opened the cave for public tours, making it the first cave through which people could take tours, in the state of California. Early visitors included, famous author, Mark Twain and explorer-environmentalist, John Muir.
The tour for that day was the “Trail of Lakes” tour due to the lakes that form in the caves during the wet winter months. M. was truly a middle-earth explorer on this trip into the depths of the earth!
A fun day with an important lesson is the perfect way to end The Epic Mother-Daughter California Road Trip!