Jul 4, 2008 12:09 am US/Pacific
ConsumerWatch 'Bay-cation:' Daly City
Reporting
Sue Kwon
DALY CITY (CBS 5) ―
With gasoline prices at record highs, more people are choosing to stay closer to home for vacation. But a "stay-cation" in the Bay Area is not necessarily a bad thing. CBS 5 ConsumerWatch will spend these summer months search for great getaways less than a tank away.
Our first stop is Daly City. There's a lot more to this seven square mile Peninsula community than just rows of box-shaped houses. The coast side community is home to Thornton Beach State Park.
The park is a scenic overlook with sweeping views and benches to bring a picnic. But, only the brave or the 4-legged shimmy down the cliff side on narrow paths posted with warnings. Thornton Beach State Park is not the place to plan a day on a sandy beach.
Gold Rush settlers found the terrain of Daly City too tough for growing crops so they set up businesses to lure in visitors. And many do come from San Francisco and the Peninsula to take advantage of a unique family friendly movie theatre. It's the Century Theatre off John Daly Boulevard. There's a multi-story parking garage where you take a ticket, but you don't have to pay, parking is free.
Parent Darlene Pepino lets CBS 5 ConsumerWatch viewers in on a secret. "It says no food, but a lot of people bring in their own food," she said. "It's pretty relaxed." On top of that, the signs say tickets for toddlers are $7.25. But Darlene also said, "They don't make you pay if your child is small enough to sit on your lap. And if there are available seats, you can just put him in one."
For a post-movie meal there's Joes of Westlake, a restaurant that's been around since 1956. The late Bruno Scatena opened the restaurant, featuring homemade ravioli and a filet mignon that regular Robert Dossee calls the best in the area.
"I'm fearful to say this because I have friends in the restaurant business in San Francisco," Dossee said. "But, this place has one of the best filet mignon's in San Francisco or nearby. It's a great filet."
It's not fancy and it's rather loud, but if you've got a family to feed on your Bay-Cation Joes of Westlake welcomes children. John Coakes will greet you in a tuxedo as he has done every day for 42 years. "Of course, it's a restaurant. It's a tuxedo. But, I don't wear the same one every day," Coakes said.
Finally, for the ride home, CBS 5 ConsumerWatch found the cheapest gas at the ARCO station at Washington and Sullivan.
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