Museums, landmarks, state parks, and other attractions.

• 17 Mile Drive

• Alcatraz- "The Rock" (San Francisco)

• California State Parks - California has over 200 state parks.

• Chabot Space & Science Center - a planetarium, a "megadome" theater, assorted space and science exhibits, and a telescope making workshop (Oakland)

• Computer History Museum - hardware and exhibits from Silicon Valley's "Cambrian Explosion", plus a Babbage Difference Engine. (Mountain View)

• Fort Point National Park - a spectacular view of the Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)

• Digibarn Computer Museum - A real barn, with a couple of real pigs, and a whole lot of old real computer hardware.  Open by appointment only, but very hands on, to the point that they acknowledge the risk of breaking stuff. (Boulder Creek)

• Golden Gate Bridge - the bridge that's emblematic of San Francisco (San Francisco)

• Hiller Aviation Museum - helicopters and exhibits (San Carlos)

• Lick Observatory - telescopes (east of San Jose)

• Monterey Bay - a big bay, with lots of wildlife, and touristy places nearby (Monterey)

• Monterey Bay Aquarium - fish, squids, sea otters, and other marine life (Monterey)

• Mount Tamalpais State Park - a great view of the Golden Gate Bridge, plus hiking, biking, and a broadway musical

• Mountain View Public Library - books, CDs, DVDs, all that stuff (Mountain View)

• Muir Beach and Muir Beach Overlook - a scenic beach (not for swimming), and an overlooking bluff

• Muir Woods - big, huge, really humongous treees

• Randall Museum - A children's museum, but with some cool things for adults.  Holds a build-your-own telescope class each fall.

• Redwood National and State Parks - more big, huge, really humongous trees

• San Francisco Exploratorium- (In best Magnus Pyke voice): "SCIENCE!!!" (San Francisco)

• San Francisco Zoological Society- animals, sometimes including ridiculously adorable baby tigers (San Francisco)

• Stanford Linear Accelerator Center - no tours until 2009 due to major construction, but the web site works (Menlo Park)

• The Tech Museum of Innovation - extremely hands-on museum, with an IMAX theater (San Jose)

• USS Hornet - a US Navy aircraft carrier with a long battle record and some space ties (Oakland)

• Winchester Mystery House - freaky house by the widow of the rifle manufacturer (San Jose)

• Yosemite National Park - thousands of square miles of wilderness, including Half Dome (east of San Francisco)