Page 97 - 2015 Travel Guide to California

Palo Alto, home of Stanford Univer-
sity, has long been a cultural center, and
now offers a tiny museum significant to
Silicon Valley history: the HP Garage, the
garage where Stanford classmates Bill
Hewlett and Dave Packard founded
Hewlett-Packard in 1939.
Beyond tech, the valley offers much to
see and do, with theme parks for fami-
lies, cultural institutions and varied
landscapes, from the Santa Cruz Moun-
tains to lively city and town centers.
Nestled at the foot of the Santa Cruz
Mountains are Saratoga and Los Gatos,
hamlets with picture-perfect Victorian
homes and Craftsman bungalows. Vast
stretches of parks, open space preserves
and rows of vineyards and winery tasting
rooms cluster in the surrounding moun-
tains, as well as south of San Jose, along
the Hecker Pass Highway and around the
city of Gilroy, which is home to an annual
Garlic Festival that draws thousands.
ANDROID LOLLIPOP replica in front
of Google’s headquarters, Mountain
View, left; Santa Clara County’s VTA
light rail in San Jose, opposite.
DRIVE
»
TOUR
PALO ALTO
SARATOGA
LOS
GATOS
CASTLE ROCK
STATE PARK
Starting in PALO ALTO, take in
vibrant University Avenue and
drive the leafy lanes of the
STANFORD CAMPUS, stopping
to see the mosaics in
Memorial Church and the
MAIN QUAD. Head west on
Sand Hill Road to Highway 280
south to revitalized downtown
SAN JOSE for a visit to the
striking Tech Museum of Innovation. Take Highway 17 west to LOS
GATOS, stopping to enjoy the village-like downtown and its shady
plaza, and head south on Highway 9 to the equally charming hamlet
of SARATOGA, nestled at the foot of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Continue on Highway 9 up into the mountains to Skyline Boulevard
(Highway 35), the crest of the range. Here you’ll find uncrowded
wineries, pristine forests and many open space preserves and parks,
including CASTLE ROCK STATE PARK, the most spectacular. Follow
Skyline Boulevard south and rejoin Highway 17 east, which leads back
to San Jose and the heart of Silicon Valley.
SAN JOSE
»
MUST
SEE,
DO
» Anderson Collection Stanford University’s
historic campus now includes the Anderson
Collection, a private modern American art
collection that includes major works by Pollock,
Still, Rothko and Diebenkorn, housed in a striking
33,000-square-foot building. Next door is the
Cantor Arts Center, which features 24 galleries
and one of the largest collections of Rodin
bronzes outside Paris.
› stanford.edu
» Santana Row Discover one of San Jose’s
restaurant and nightlife hubs at Santana Row, a
European-style development with chic shops and fine
restaurants, across the street from one of the valley’s
major attractions, Winchester Mystery House.
› santanarow.com, winchestermysteryhouse.com
» History Park Stretching over 14 acres, San
Jose’s History Park conveys the richness of Santa
Clara Valley’s long history. The park features 27
original and re-created buildings connected by
running trolleys. Included are the Chinese-
American Museum, the Portuguese Historical
Museum and one of the first banks opened by A.P.
Giannini, founder of the Bank of America, who
was born in San Jose.
› historysanjose.org
» California’s Great America and Levi’s
Stadium Thrillseekers find heart-stopping rides at
California’s Great America theme park, which
includes Gold Striker, Northern California’s tallest
and fastest roller coaster, with high-speed turns
and drops, one falling 103 feet at a 50-degree
angle. Levi’s Stadium, the lavish new $1.2 billion
home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers, towers
nearby. Public tours are available, with visits to the
stadium’s 49ers Museum as an add-on option.
› cagreatamerica.com, levisstadium.com
» Computer History Museum Technology
giants call Silicon Valley home and this museum
explores their history and impact on society.
Large-scale exhibits, including one added in 2014
tracing the creation of self-driving cars, are filled
with the world’s largest collection of computing
hardware, software, ephemera and photographs.
› computerhistory.org
2015 T R AV E L G U I D E TO C A L I F O R N I A 95