This was our first visit to San Francisco, and we found Melanie's place to be an ideal home base for exploring the city and a relaxing refuge at the end of the day. We came down CA-1 and across the Golden Gate bridge and to her house with no problems, and parked our car in her driveway and used buses to get wherever we wanted to go. The 38R (for "rapid") bus stop is a very short walk from her house and it runs (very frequently) directly into the downtown area. The map of bus connections is available online and is easy to follow. The Walgreens across the street from her house sells one and three day passes for unlimited bus and cable car rides--the passes save a lot of bother (buses require exact change) and can save money, especially if you take multiple cable car rides ($7 each). The room itself is very comfortable and has a private bathroom. You can use Melanie's kitchen, dining room and living room, all very attractive and well-equipped, and she is so friendly, pleasant and helpful that you do not feel intrusive when using the shared rooms. Melanie is a rich source of information about good restaurants (we ate at two of the places she recommended, both excellent) and about what to see and how to get there. And leaving by car to go on down the California coast is simple--just head west a few blocks to the coast and turn left and you run right into the continuation of CA-1. When we return to SF, this is where we will want to stay.