I stayed at this hotel when I was in SF recently. http://travel.yahoo.com/p-hotel-358053-travelodge_presidio_s... It was just about the cheapest hotel in SF and it was surprisingly decent, other than the thin walls and unfriendly front desk person. It's in a nice neighboorhood and was very close to a bus line that goes downtown/to the Caltrain. Near that hotel we ate we here which was great for an inexpensive meal. http://www.yelp.com/biz/PuOsLglHAg0kpHVvGj2new

Thanks for the advice last time everyone, it was a great trip!

that hotel is also very close to the Exploratorium, which is as good as interactive science museums get and the Palace of the Fine Arts, which is worth seeing if you're in the area.

Computer History Museum in Mountain View has a pretty cool 1.5 hr tour. You can see parts of a Babbage Difference engine, ENIAC, CRAY 1, 2's, One of GOOG's early server racks, washing machine sized hard drives, etc... It's a lot of fun.

..and all the other goodies that was located at the Boston Computer Museum. Someone decided to plow it over when they were just so happening to put an interstate underground. Oh well. The commute to the airport is wicked fast now.

Avoid the Cable Cars. Unless you like standing in line for 3 hours to have someone's crotch in your face while the "conductor" yells at people not to lean out.

I was just in Palo Alto for a couple days. I stayed in Dinah's Garden Hotel in a "Deluxe" room with patio facing a pond. (El Camino Real). Quite nice for the price I paid.

Ate some breakfasts at Peninsula Fountain & Grill (Emerson/Hamilton). Classic American diner.

Drinking at "Old Pro" (great mini burgers) and other bars in the area which are more difficult to remember. (University/Ramona). Pretty good.

The labyrinth at Grave Cathedral is cool.

http://www.gracecathedral.org/

Definitely visit a beach: http://www.sfguide.com/sports/beaches.htm. This is a lovely time of year to watch the waves.

If you have time take a win tour of Alexander Valley. You'll fall in love.

The Marin headlands is nice to see. Sausalito has a cool bar called the "No Name" that has live Dixie Jazz most days. Muir Woods is a nice walk. Pt. Reyes area is purty. Maybe drive from SF to Monterey on the Pacific Coast Highway and see 17 Mile Drive in Pebble Beach.

Startup Events:

SF Beta Holiday Bash (10th)

Lunch 2.0 - Mozilla (4th)

Lunch 2.0 - Loopt (7th)

Watch Paul Graham from afar.

Where does Paul Graham eat breakfast these days?

Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman's Warf, Alcatraz, etc if you're into the touristy stuff. The hotels around Union Square are nice and centrally located.

I'm a huge fan of Michael Mina for seafood, though it's rather spendy. It's definitely one of the finest seafood restaurants you'll ever visit.

Check out: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=67460

Thanks, that's a good resource, I'll take a look.

http://www.toronado.com for the best beer selection ever

If you like views: twin peaks in SF, the Berkeley hills, the Marin headlands and lookouts around the GG bridge are some classics among many.

If you are considering further education, seeing the Berkeley and Stanford campuses might be interesting.

If you like electronics and shopping, Fry's (esp. flagship store in Sunnyvale) is worth a look.

Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap; best reason to go there is to catch a bay cruise/Alcatraz tour.

Upcoming is a great source to find relevant events; see http://upcoming.yahoo.com/search/?type=Events&q=&rt=... for a prospective SF-centered search.

"Fisherman's Wharf is a tourist trap; best reason to go there is to catch a bay cruise/Alcatraz tour."

Hey! I stop by the wharf whenever I'm in the area, I pick up a bread bowl of clam chowder and munch it while watching the sea lions brag. But yes, the interior of pier 39 itself is the worst sort of mall.

> If you are considering further education, seeing the Berkeley and Stanford campuses might be interesting.

Drive down University Ave in Palo Alto. Absolutely gorgeous, in a way that you normally don't see on this coast.

Better yet. Park the car and _walk_ down University Avenue.

Take the free shuttle from Palo Alto to Stanford though! Stanford owns a decadent amount of land between the too, it was a much longer walk than I expected.

University Avenue is much longer than the downtown stretch. From 101 to the actual shopping area is a gorgeous drive through lushly tree-lined streets, and would certainly be a hike!

Sounds corny, but try out one of the tour bus deals. It's a good way to see a lot of stuff quickly. Then you can do other stuff at your leisure.

I have great memories of neat stuff to do -- try taking a tour in the floatplane over the Bay. Or take a day and do Napa. Or check out the great restaurants. Or some of the great live music joints. Lots of fun stuff.