Bay Area Intel for Tourons

[MontuckyFried]

Headed out to San Jose this week for work and will have to run around the greater bay area for a series of meetings. Will actually be going as far South as Fresno and as far North as Sacramento (I know, not in the area), but SJ will be my "home base" so to speak. Never really been out there, so IF I were to squeeze in some touristy things on my way around, what's actually worth a visit and what's not even worth bothering with? Is the new cool thing to do hang out with bums in SF, share some needles, and take a steamy dump on the sidewalk or that just what all the tourons do?

I know it's a huge area, so I know it's an incredibly broad question. Just want to have some things on my radar in case I'm cruising near something anyway. Since there are some big tech HQ's in the area, are any of them worth paying a visit? Seems it could be nifty to drop by Tesla, Apple, Nvidia, or Intel, but I have no idea who actually has cool stuff to see/do, if any. Should be an interesting week!

[stuckathuntermtn]

Santa Cruz is worth a visit. Just drive/walk around SF. Eat at a restaurant on the Bay in Marin.
Sorry, I'm always doing family stuff when I'm there. Also, don't really know South Bay. Palo Alto/Stanford is nice.

[billyk]

Most tech companies aren’t set up for public tours. Call in advance to see if you can even get past security.

If you’ve never done the typical SF tourist stuff, then go do that, and also go across the GG bridge and explore Marin County.

If you have time, check out the Monterey area.

[MontuckyFried]

Most tech companies aren’t set up for public tours. Call in advance to see if you can even get past security.

If you’ve never done the typical SF tourist stuff, then go do that, and also go across the GG bridge and explore Marin County.

If you have time, check out the Monterey area.

Good to know about the tech stuff. I guess Intel has a museum or something, though? I won't waste my time with others if I have to jump through any kind of hoops since I know time will be pretty limited.

Will def have to check out Monterey! I have a meeting in that neck of the woods so that works. Always wanted to go the aquarium there so perhaps I'll put that on my list too.

[4matic]

2nd carmel by the sea as it is relatively close. Great beach! 17 mile is ok but better on a bike. If foggy skip both. Also, just down the road is Point Lobos which is well worth a wlk through


Same with GGB. If foggy, skip it.

If you like art the new SFMOMA is a good anchor for a visit to SF and the food at Situ is outstanding. If it's a nice day you are really in the heart of everything at SFMOMA: Chinatown, Union Square, Moscone Square, Ferry building, Yerba Buena Garden.

[billyk]

Good to know about the tech stuff. I guess Intel has a museum or something, though? I won't waste my time with others if I have to jump through any kind of hoops since I know time will be pretty limited.

Will def have to check out Monterey! I have a meeting in that neck of the woods so that works. Always wanted to go the aquarium there so perhaps I'll put that on my list too.

There’s the Tech Museum in San Jose which is actually worth a visit. I think Intel may have played a part in getting it set up, but it is not owned by Intel. I hadn’t heard of another museum owned by Intel, but I don’t know everything, that’s for sure.

The aquarium in Monterey is definitely worth a visit as is the drive along the coast down to Pebble Beach and Carmel. They charge a toll to drive that, but it is worth it.

[dunfree]

I hadn’t heard of another museum owned by Intel, but I don’t know everything, that’s for sure.

Intel has a museum at their HQ in Santa Clara. I've not been recently, but it wasn't really worth it imo.

The Cantor art center on the Stanford campus is a worth a visit as an art museum; it's also free to visit.

edit: there are open spaces in lots of the hills if you want to take a hike on the way back from meetings; there's interesting history to see out in Sacramento too, lots of things scattered around the golden state. traffic sucks.

[billyk]

Intel has a museum at their HQ in Santa Clara. I've not been recently, but it wasn't really worth it imo.

The Cantor art center on the Stanford campus is a worth a visit as an art museum; it's also free to visit.

edit: there are open spaces in lots of the hills if you want to take a hike on the way back from meetings; there's interesting history to see out in Sacramento too, lots of things scattered around the golden state. traffic sucks.

Ah, yeah, I see Intel does have a museum of their own.

[Bosco]

If you go to SF I'd take Bart from either Millbrae or San Bruno. Parking in SF sucks, plus you can get around more easily if you take Bart in.

I'd also take a drive along the coast. From Santa Cruz I'd drive north along hwy 1 as far as your liking. Jump back over the hill using 84 or 92.

[stuckathuntermtn]

2nd Monterrey Bay Aquarium if you have time. Make sure you check the feeding schedule!

[MontuckyFried]

The Tech Museum in SJ sounds nifty. Might have to go check that one out. Great tips so far! Keep 'em coming.

[muted]

For SF visit, this drive has some really good scenic parts: https://www.sftodo.com/maps/49-mile-...-francisco.pdf

Start at La Taqueria, 2889 Mission St and have their Mission-style burrito. Or any other burrito place nearby, I'm sure most people have opinions on all this. After that follow the route west. I'd shortcut from GG park north to the LP Golf Club. GG has a bunch of cool museums by the way, I'd park and check at least one out. Also add Lombard street to your drive. Coit tower is cool near it. Most of the drive is just a scenic route around SF until you get to the financial district/civic center area etc which is traffic hell depending on the time. And all the dock area is touristy shit, I'd avoid that too.

And drink Peet's Coffee

[truckeelocal]

Go to a Fry's to see geekdom (and pickup supplies you didn't know you needed at a decent price).

[billyk]

Another suggestion would be to taken Hwy 9 from Saratoga over to Santa Cruz, and take the loop that takes you through Big Basin State Park. Lots of old growth redwoods in the Park.

If you golf, there is a very cool little golf course just outside Boulder Creek that is inside a grove of redwoods. It is fairly cheap and not too hard, but fun to play.

After you get to Santa Cruz, you can just take 17 to get you back to San Jose a lot quicker.

[riser4]

The Tech Museum in SJ sounds nifty. Might have to go check that one out. Great tips so far! Keep 'em coming.

My kids enjoyed that a lot. Adults were entertained too. Of course I caught my boys using the programmable robotic alphabet block stacker to spell "Deez nuts". And then I made them do it again so I could capture it on my phone.

[The Suit]

Supposedly the Computer Museum in Mountain View is more adult-targeted than the Tech Museum in San Jose. I haven't been to either so can't say first hand.

If you want to get a little exercise, the Stanford Dish has great views of the bay. I think it's kinda fun to try to identify all the different languages you'll hear spoken as you walk there, too.

If you want to get a feel for Silicon Valley at its most toxic, check out the bar at the Rosewood Sand Hill on a Thursday night. I don't know if Thursdays are still Cougar night there, but at the least it will be obnoxious tech-bro central. You'll hate everyone there.

[DJSapp]

Fresno, Sacto, SF with a San Jose base? Enjoy traffic. You're going to be in a car 5+ hours a day. Would recomment Caltrain to SF, or Amtrak Capital Corridor to Sacramento. They as fast or faster than driving and no stress. If you go to Santa Cruz (and you should), drive safely on 17. Tons of wrecks from tired commuters being dumb on a fast, twisty mountain road.

As for a SJ base, Winchester Mystery house is a strange place and story. The Pink Poodle is a local institution for late evenings.

[mcski]

If he's passes the intro class at Pink Poodle, he can go double black diamond at Mitchell Brothers in SF


That's her name. She does doubles

[DJSapp]

If he's passes the intro class at Pink Poodle, he can go double black diamond at Mitchell Brothers in SF


That's her name. She does doubles

I thought about mentioning the Bros., but he's just a first timer. Didn't want to scare him off.

[mcski]

LoL

[jackstraw]

Don't bring you MAGA hat.

[MontuckyFried]

Don't bring you MAGA hat.

Aww man. There goes my plan to troll the kids at the UC Berkeley campus.

[muted]

If he's passes the intro class at Pink Poodle, he can go double black diamond at Mitchell Brothers in SF


That's her name. She does doubles

Whoa, that's quite the story of the Mitchell Bros. with a ton of famous people. Didn't know Diane Feinstien dressed up like a hooker, that sounds too good to be true.

http://www.foundsf.org/index.php?tit...chell_Brothers


Mitchell Bros building is up for sale, according to Google. Maybe it already sold though.

[dookeyXXX]

SACRAMENTO
If you have downtime in Sacramento and you like beer, then I humbly suggest the following breweries:
Device
Jack Rabbit
New Glory

Also, if you dig rooting around used record stores then the Dimple chain is pretty good (they have a number of stores throughout Sac).

OAKLAND/BERKELEY
In terms of the actual Bay Area, and again if you like/drink beer:
Temescal Brewery in Oakland is a must
As is Novel Brewery

And if you dig vegan food The Donut Farm is the bomb (it's down the street from Novel, fwiw).

If you are a sci-fi nerd (and based on your Alita ranting, I gather you are), then you need to visit Dark Carnival bookstore on Claremont Ave (The Escapist comic book store is next door).

If you can see a show at The Fox (downtown Oakland) or The Chapel (Mission Dist, SF) that's worth it. Also the Independent in SF or The Parish in downtown Oakland.

SAN FRANCISCO
I am ashamed to admit that I lived in SF for close to 15-years and never slid these:
https://www.citylab.com/life/2015/08...ncisco/402337/

[neufox47]

What DJsap said, you aren’t going to have time to do anything but sit in traffic. Looks for things close by where you are or are waiting for traffic to die down. A drive from SJ to Sac and back may very well take you 6-9 hours.