If your San Francisco days are in San Francisco itself– I would say a car would generally be more of a hindrance, but that is speaking as a Someone without kids. Driving and parking and negotiating San Francisco Street is a true PITA for anyone, and if you’re going to stay in San Francisco for the few days that you were here I would still recommend not having a car. Taxis from hotels are easy to get and Uber and Lyft or everywhere.

Couple of other suggestions for kids depending on their ages –The Randall Museum in between the Haight and the Castro is a small pleasant science Museum with some animal exhibits and other kinds of activities.

marine mammal museum in Sausalito Dash across the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco – is open every day and has a lot of educational exhibits too.

And yes both the great eastern and Sanppo are still around.