When this article refers to Northern California, it is not referring to the Bay Area, but the actual northern half of the state. To answer your question, the best viewing area in Palo Alto is a couple of hundred miles to the north.

If you wanna stay local, mount diablo should give a pretty decent show, if you wanna get the full view, anywhere in the sierras, like the little towns along I-80, grass valley, tahoe, etc.