Visiting Silicon Valley (Trip Ideas)

[iMacRW]

Hey fellow enthusiasts! My partner and I booked an impromptu trip to San Jose for a quick get away this Memorial Day weekend. We just want to relax, try some of the coffee shops in the area and maybe see the outside of the Apple and Google Headquarters. I always dreamed of working in Si Valley, but choices led me to become and Optometrist instead; so after sitting in a dark room asking "1 or 2" it'll be nice to get away.

Anyone live in the area and know any happenings this weekend, or done this trip before and know any cool places to see?

Have a great weekend!

-RYAN

 

[Celerondon]

Hey fellow enthusiasts! My partner and I booked an impromptu trip to San Jose for a quick get away this Memorial Day weekend. We just want to relax, try some of the coffee shops in the area and maybe see the outside of the Apple and Google Headquarters. I always dreamed of working in Si Valley, but choices led me to become and Optometrist instead; so after sitting in a dark room asking "1 or 2" it'll be nice to get away.

Anyone live in the area and know any happenings this weekend, or done this trip before and know any cool places to see?

Have a great weekend!

-RYAN

Of course the Googleplex in Mountain View is a must see. If you have a "hookup" you will be welcome in the amazing cafeteria and other facilities. Google has a neat "Beta" museum as well. The nearby Computer History Museum (CHM) is fantastic. Budget plenty of time for the CHM. Ike’s sandwich shop and Philz coffee are popular with the locals for good reason. Let us know what you think of Apple. To me their main complex is impressive but not nearly as much fun as Google's.

 

[bradl]

If you have the time, hit up the Roaring Camp railroads in Felton it's roughly 25 miles south of Sunnyvale, putting it about a third of the way to Santa Cruz and Monterrey. Wonderful picnic and hiking area there, plus you can ride the rails on normal or narrow gauge engines. Thomas the Tank Engine generally shows up there for the Day Out with Thomas event, which brings a LOT of people in.

If you have more time, head up to Santa Rosa, and see if you can hit the Charles Shultz museum. Charlie Brown and Snoopy. 'nuff said.

Insert typical San Francisco tourist traps here.

If they are open this weekend, you could also visit the San Rafael campus of Guide Dogs for the Blind. They allow tours, and where else would you get the chance to play with, be attacked, and pounced on by yellow, chocolate, and black lab puppies, plus golden retriever puppies, that end up giving the blind back their freedom and mobility?

Finally you could take a trip across the peninsula to near Half Moon Bay and actually see that yes, there is indeed a place called Mavericks.

BL.

 

[Celerondon]

Here are some more Silicon Valley/Bay Area sites:

Stanford University
There is too much to see but you could still try.
One lab building at Stanford even contains a replica of the
Hewlett Packard Garage - The Birthplace of Silicon Valley

The original HP Garage structure still stands at:
367 Addison Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94301

Who had a mouse & GUI before the creation of the first Macintosh?
PARC (Palo Alto Research Center)
3333 Coyote Hill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304 USA

The Intel Museum (I have not been here but it looks interesting)
2200 Mission College Boulevard
Santa Clara, CA 95054

Twin Peaks (San Francisco scenic overlook)
Wear warm clothes and good shoes. The peaks are windy and there is a short hike to the prime views offered by the tallest peak. Go early to beat the marine fog that surges in from the coast.

During a recent visit to that area we visited San Francisco several times. The Mission District is full of neat shops and tantalizing eateries.

 

[Hakiroto]

As already mentioned, the Google campus is pretty impressive. When I was recently there I unfortunately didn't have a friend at Google to get me in anywhere but I wandered around the campus and that in and of itself was a great experience. It's crazy how there are so many of those Google bikes just abandoned for employees to pick up and ride around on. My colleagues and I grabbed a few and rode around a little. I was working in Palo Alto and didn't have time to go down to Cupertino but – as suggested above – it's worth checking out Stanford. Also, if you have a car then I think Half Moon Bay is worth a visit.

 

[iMacRW]

Update

Was able to check out Apple and Google... both were closed for the holiday, so it made for an easy in and out without any traffic. There were quite a few tourists like me taking pictures and discussing all things apple with one another. The company store was closed at apple, but I was able to get the general idea by looking in the window. I didn't really need anything anyways, as I just Splurged on a new Watch Sport SG 42!!! Supposed to be here early to mid June... right after WWDC.

We drove next to the SpaceShip Campus 2... WOW... you have to see this in person to get an idea of the massive scale of this project. It's going to be unbelievable. The amount of construction that went into putting the wall up around the construction site itself is a monumental achievement. The businesses, apartments and hotels surrounding must be so excited to watch their property values skyrocket at completion.

I did get to try out Philz Coffee... boy is it good. I recommend the Mint Mojito coffee either iced or warm, and get the Mocha Tesoro warm (if you like chocolate). The Cupertino Philz can be kind of crowded, so be prepared to wait in line outside the store for a bit... but enjoy the views of the tech workers with the latest devices.

After Apple and Philz we did a run by of Steve Job's house, and it looks like they are doing some renovations. There was quite a bit of construction going on in the backyard. Beautiful home and I can see why they kept it... very charming neighborhood.

We spent the rest of the day making a drive over to the Ritz Carlton at Half Moon Bay (what a view... was nice to sit by the fires and watch the ocean); and then trekked north to San Francisco to finish out the weekend. In fact, you are right, there is a place called Mavericks that isn't far from Half Moon Bay.

Thanks for all the advice! Can't wait to make it back soon and explore some more.

Cheers,

RYAN