Here's an article about the beach opening to vehicles in Port A:
https://www.kiiitv.com/article/news/local/texas/port-aransas-no-longer-enforcing-the-county-beach-closure-order-mayou-bujan-says/503-a9fbb65c-b2ab-436f-aa6f-a56bdeaa9d26
There's not a lot of good options. The beach was packed last Saturday - it was 4 to 5 canopies deep in North Padre. It was less crowded on Friday and Sunday. So I would definitely avoid Saturday.
Some thoughts...
Maybe try some of the city streets in Port Aransas like Sandcastle Dr. But I've heard the police are ticketing on streets.
The streets at North Padre are closer to the beach. The Windward parking lot is very close.
Last night in NPI they had trucks stationed at the beach road entrances, telling people the beach access was closing at 8pm. They also had trucks driving up and down the beach, kicking people off the beach.
Was in North Padre from Wed to Sunday.
The beach on Wednesday was surprisingly crowded. Thursday and Friday at the beach was more spaced out. Saturday was jam packed - some areas were two or three cars deep. Sunday was quiet in the morning and busy in the afternoon. The weekend felt like a busy summer weekend.
If you are trying to stay away from people on the beach, my advice is go in the morning and be prepared to leave around noon. Lots of people walk close by you, don't distance, etc.
Didn't go to any restaurants/bars/stores. A co-worker went recently and said they were crowded and few people were wearing masks.
Important info - Stripes is advertising curbside pickup
Don't stay in Nob Hill or Fisherman's Wharf. Fisherman's Wharf is a boring outdoor mall. Both are too far from most SF activities.
Stay in Union Square, SOMA or Embarcadero area. Close by transit, activities and easy to walk to neighborhoods
Never been there but Sipapu is one of the resorts that has free season passes for kids 10 and under, plus 5th and 6th graders:
https://www.sipapu.ski/lift-tickets-passes/free-season-passes/
This doesn't include rentals or lessons.
Some caches have small toys/junk. It's great for little kids.
Not all caches have it - usually the size of the cache determines if there's room for stuff like that.
Saw it a few days ago.
Excellent film. It has that mix of tension, drama, random violence and comedy that I associate with South Korean films
Very enjoyable.
You deprived your kids:
https://www.tacobell.com/blog/Coolesttacobells
https://www.thrillist.com/eat/nation/taco-bell-the-greatest-taco-bell-in-the-world-is-in-pacifica-ca
A few more ideas:
Wave organ - go around high tide
The SF City Guides - free walking tour. Lots of interesting topics and the guides are good: http://www.sfcityguides.org/current_schedule.html
Ferry Building - Farmer's Market on Sat morning/early Sat afternoon - good food, good views (go the back of the Ferry Building)
This website has some good ideas:
https://thepointsguy.com/guides/why-families-should-use-british-airways-avios-points-for-a-beach-vacation/
We ended up buying tickets to LAX and using Avios for the LAX to Maui flight.
A little bit of a stretch for Anderson Ln but this thread needs more traffic..
Went to Julie's Noodles in the Target shopping center on 183 & Ohlen. Had the spicy beef noodle soup, which was delicious and spicy. I was sweating, drinking water and couldn't stop eating them.
Wife had the soup dumplings, which she said was "okay", so may have been an off night for soup dumplings because reviews for the place have been raving about the soup dumplings.
Atmosphere is zero. It's similar to Asia Cafe. Serve yourself water/hot tea, silverware, bowls, etc.