What to do near Stanford?

Question

Well, I was supposed to go on a cruise around Canada and the eastern US this summer, but we had a family emergency so it got cancelled. Instead, my grandpa felt really bad and so he's taking me to Stanford University (which is my top pick for my university) and that area this summer for 7-9 days (undecided).

Anyways, we're flying in from LAX to San Jose (we live in southern california) and we're going to rent a car. We already know we're going to tour Stanford, but we don't really know what else to do. We're thinking about going to the Apple HQ Store since we're Apple geeks, but that definitely won't take more than an hour or two. We're getting a tour of Google HQ from his friend that works there, and so that'll be a day or two of our schedule. We're thinking of touring UC Berkeley, but aren't really set yet since neither of us are so interested.

We don't really want to drive TOO far from Stanford and the Palo Alto area (probably like 1 hour and a half at most), and we don't want to do the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz and things like that in San Fran since we've been there multiple times.

So what exactly can we do? Thanks so much for your awesome answers!

Answer 1

Monterey Bay/Santa Cruz is just about within your driving distance. Nice rocky beaches to walk on, and of course the aquarium.



There's a museum of computer history in Mountain View. I don't remember the name off hand, but they have some interesting computers there such as Deep Blue, and Google's first server.



Along those lines, there is the Tech Museum in San Jose, which has interactive exhibits about technology, as well as an IMAX theater. Also in San Jose, the Rosicrucian Museum (Ancient Egyptian artifacts) and the San Jose Museum of Art. Although if you want museums, the Stanford campus has several. Stanford also has a lot of fine arts performances.



Stanford is a reach university even for the very best students. It would be worthwhile to check out some other campuses in the area, including possibly UCB, UCSC, SCU, USF, etc. Personally, I found that the UCB tour was more interesting than they usually are, because they talked about various films that were filmed on campus, and they have a tower there with a nice view of the bay.



If you look at Google Maps, between highway 280 and the ocean there are a lot of parks in green, most of these are state and regional parks with coast redwoods, and you really should go at least once while you are up here. The closest old growth is probably at Big Basin, but even the new growth forests are pretty amazing.



If your grandfather is up for it, there is a nearby theme park, Great America. There is also a Six Flags which is a bit more of a drive away. And just barely within your driving distance, the Jelly Belly factory in Fairfield is a good one, if you like candy.

Answer 2

go shopping at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto. I think if you're also into SF 49ers, their training area is somewhere in Palo Alto. You could also go to San Jose and do things there.

Answer 3

You can go to San Francisco and go to Pier 39 or Ghirardelli Square. Lots of stuff to do in SF. 30 min. drive from Stanford