California Road Trips - 50 Life-Changing Adventures - 73

STA R T
Berkeley

days

78
miles

FINISH
San Jose

A PPLE PA R K VI SI TOR CE N TE R

35
Tech Tour

This two-day road trip will take
you as close as you can get to
today's sharpest minds developing
tomorrow's earth-shattering
technologies

YO U R J O U R N E Y STA R T S I N S U N N Y B E R K E L E Y. Many credit the long-standing success of
Silicon Valley to an ever-eager talent pool fresh from Stanford University and the University of California,
Berkeley. The latter has produced founders like Steve Wozniak (Apple) and Gordon Moore (Intel). A
sunrise hike on the Lower Fire Trail in Strawberry Canyon will deliver a beautiful view of the campus
and San Francisco in the distance. If you have little ones in tow, check out The Lawrence Hall of Science,
where kids can participate in ingenuity challenges or try a rocket launch.
To get to San Francisco, you'll cross over a feat of civil engineering. The 4.5-mile-long Bay Bridge
was considered the greatest in the world when it opened to traffic in 1936. Once on the other side,
at the all-ages Exploratorium, you'll learn about the principles of suspension, magnetism, and more
thanks to 650-plus hands-on exhibits. After a day of learning, retire for the night at the futuristic Pod
Room, where all-white sleeping pods look straight out of The Jetsons.
On day two, head to the heart of Silicon Valley. Drive along the bay waters dotted with high-tech
office complexes until you reach Menlo Park, where you can stop to snap an obligatory thumbs-up
selfie at the "like" sign outside Facebook Headquarters.
Continue to Palo Alto, where you'll feel immediately transported by the Stanford University
aesthetic (manicured lawns, Romanesque architecture) that defines the landscape. Stop for another
photo at the Hewlett-Packard Garage, now a California Historical Landmark (note-you can't get
closer than the sidewalk).

PHOTOGRAPH: COURTESY OF APPLE PARK VISITOR CENTER

Hungry? Saddle up to the sushi bar at Palo Alto's Jin Sho, which was a favorite of Steve Jobs. Put
yourself in the capable hands of two Nobu alums with the eight-piece omakase-a chef's choice menu
that features the freshest fish that day. Power up down the street with a Blue Bottle Coffee Americano
from HanaHaus, a coffee shop and workspace founded by software giant SAP to "spark new thinking."
Just a few miles south in Mountain View sits the sprawling Google campus. The buildings may be
private, but anyone is free to walk the grounds. Look for Googlers on yellow bikes and inside self-driving
cars, and explore the Android Garden, dotted with whimsical statues. Just down the road, follow the
development from personal computing to the smartphone at the Computer History Museum.
The headquarters of the notoriously secretive Apple Inc. is off-limits, but the stunning Apple Park
Visitor Center in Cupertino is open to guests and offers exclusive souvenirs. On your way out, stop at
BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse. The closest eatery to the Apple headquarters, BJ's is so popular with
employees that it's referred to as part of the campus proper.
If a weekend of driving has you considering an upgrade, head to the flagship Tesla showroom on
San Jose's swanky Santana Row and test-drive the super sleek Model S or Roadster. Finish things off
with a free tour of the nearby Gordon Biersch Brewing Co.-you'll need to arrange before you visit-a
high-tech facility that produces high-quality beer.

California Road Trips - 50 Life-Changing Adventures

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