Bay Area---some vacation advise please!

[Luckymama]

We're finally able to visit ds in his new digs in Sunnyvale :party: I need some advise about good areas to stay and some things for dh and I to do while ds and youngest hang over a weekend :)

 

Dd will be on a short break between her two summer sessions. Dh and I will stay a few days longer.

 

So we'll be arriving at SJC very late on the Wed before July 4. I figure we'll stay some place with an airport shuttle, then return to the airport via shuttle the next am to get our rental car. Any airport hotel recommendations?

 

Then Thursday and (most of) Friday will be spent in Sacramento and Davis with my aunties and cousins :)

 

Dd will stay with ds at his apartment Friday and Saturday nights. She might stay Sunday night, not sure. Her flight leaves SJC at 8:30 am July 4.

 

Dh and I are looking at airbnb and vrbo for apartment/condo/cottage Friday July 1 until we leave Thursday July 7. We've found 10 possibilities in Los Gatos, Cuppertino, Los Altos, Sunnyvale, and Mountain View. Obviously we need to do more research into the exact neighborhoods/areas, but does anything sound not good? Or very awkward, driving-wise?

 

Dh and I would like to do some fun things while the "kids" spend time together. Can you suggest activities/areas within 60 minutes drive of Sunnyvale? Wineries, hiking, kayaking, state parks, and such----not crowded beaches (we live near the NJ and DE "shores") or antiquing/shopping. We'll save actual SF things for after dd leaves as ds will be off July 4 week.

 

This will be my first trip ever to CA without going to the Sierras or Tahoe (my mom's family has a cabin in Eldorado National Forest e of S Lake Tahoe), and I'm having a really hard time with not being in the mountains :(

 

Thanks!

[EmilyGF]

How about hiking in the Palo Alto hills? Or maybe Mountain View's shoreline? You can't really get to a beach in much less than 60 minutes, and unless you are a surfer and love big waves, CA beaches are worse than East Coast ones, IMO, because the water is so cold.

 

There are a lot of redwoods in the mountains near Santa Cruz, if you want to go to Big Basin State Park, that might be a nice hike, though it'll take about an hour to drive there. Pinnacles is farther, but very majestic.

Emily

[Luckymama]

Emily, I'd love to go to Pinnacles but do you think it would be too hot in July?

[Carol in Cal.]

STIPULATION:  Avoid commute traffic.

 

OK, here are some ideas:

Hiking:  Head to Hidden Villa, and hike through it and into the natural, hilly/mountainous trails behind it.  There is a lot of shade, and lovely streams, and those are important in the heat of July.    http://www.hiddenvilla.org/

Bring a picnic lunch.

 

Winetasting/very close by:  http://www.picchetti.com/

So, this is not the best wine around, but it's pretty darn good, and it's close by.  There are trails on the property, which is hilly and a bit wooded.  For a quick, local jaunt this would be pretty nice.

 

Baylands is more exposed, but it's one of the best tourable wetlands areas around here, with hiking trails and a pretty good visitors' center.  http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/parks/preserves/baylands.asp

 

The Tech Museum is completely unique--geared 'older' than most science museums, and oriented toward tech more than science.  It's in downtown San Jose, so is pretty close by.  http://www.thetech.org/

 

A nice history oriented day trip might be to head to San Juan Bautista, which is south of Gilroy.  There one of the few California missions that still visibly retains the grassy 'square' out front is tourable.  You can look down the hill it is on and see the San Andreas Fault.  Eat lunch at La Casa Rosa--the 'Old California Casserole' is the most authentic dish, pretty historic.  

 

If you like antiquities, the Rosicrucean Museum in San Jose has the second biggest collection of ancient Egyptian artifacts in the country, and the grounds include authentic Egyptian gardens and decor.  

 

I think Pinnacles would be dreadfully hot (it's very exposed) in July.  Save that for a trip out next spring, and then enjoy a great hike and lots of wildflowers.

 

[Crimson Wife]

Saratoga has a bunch of wineries. Savannah Chanelle has a pretty setting. I'm not a huge wine connoisseur so I can't really tell you how good their wine is.

 

I love the Cantor Art Center at Stanford and it's free admission.

 

Seconding the suggestion of the Rosicrucean Museum as it's got some excellent artifacts.

[Arcadia]

So we'll be arriving at SJC very late on the Wed before July 4. I figure we'll stay some place with an airport shuttle, then return to the airport via shuttle the next am to get our rental car. Any airport hotel recommendations?

The motels with airport shuttle are okay to just sleep for the night. However it might be better for your son to pick you all up from SJC to an airbnb and then get a rental car from near your airbnb the next day.

 

Pinnacles wouldn't be hot in July just dry. Bring headlamps if you have them. We had a harder time with torchlights.

 

All the cities you listed for airbnb are relatively safe cities. US101 is jammed from just before 8am until after 9am in the SJ to SF direction, from 4pm to past 6pm in the SF to SJ direction. We sometimes use Central Expressway or El Camino Real instead of US101.

 

If you stay near the Caltrain station, you can take the Caltrain to SF instead of driving if you want to.

 

For wineries, the commonly visited ones are in Napa but there are also wineries in Livermore.

 

Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz are cool even in the hot summer months. We do like watching surfers. We love driving on Highway 1.

 

Its also U-pick season from now to August if you like U-pick.

[Malory]

Even if you don't swim you might still enjoy strolling the beaches.  Santa Cruz and Capitola are nice little beach towns.  If you want more quieter scenes, then I like Natural Bridges in Santa Cruz, Manresa and Sunset Beach in Watsonville.  

 

How about a day in Berkeley?  You could walk around the campus and enjoy the many interesting food offerings.  You could do the same closer by at Stanford in Palo Alto, but food won't be as exciting.  

 

Check out some of the ethnic pockets in San Jose.  There is Japantown in downtown San Jose， though much more exciting is the Vietnamese and Mexican area around McLaughlin and Story road.  Go to Grand Century Shopping Mall there and you'd think you're not in America anymore.  For Chinese food go to Cupertino Village in Cupertino or Milpitas Square in Milpitas.  Sunnyvale has plenty of Indian and Korean restaurants.

Edited May 23, 2016 by Malory

[marbel]

I grew up in the Bay Area but haven't lived there for 18 years. There are not many places I miss.  But if I was going back, I would get to Half Moon Bay and then drive south along Highway 1, stopping often to walk on the beach or cliffs above the beach.   Pescadero and Davenport are two old favorites.

 

Two restaurants to check out:  Duarte's (I still think about their cream of jalepeno soup) and Davenport Cash Store.  They were funky, casual places when I lived there, but may have changed.  Check reviews online!

 

Drive down to Santa Cruz or Capitola and have dinner.  

 

 

I know you said 60 minutes drive, but if you can stretch it a bit, Monterey is wonderful and just south of that is my very favorite place: Point Lobos, south of Carmel.