From Ohio, visiting San Jose for a week-need tips! (San Francisco: amusement park, house)

[amb1493]

Hey all,
So I'm not much of a frequent traveler, (the furthest west I've ever been was to Dallas when I was in elementary school) but I've finally gotten the (much needed) opportunity to travel out to San Jose with a couple of friends to visit another friend for a week. I'll be heading out there the first week of August. We were planning on going around the city and possibly driving up to San Francisco a couple of times while we're there.

I guess my major concern is what to pack. I've done some research on what the average temperatures are in those areas during that time of year, but I thought I'd ask for some first hand experience. So, what do you all suggest I bring in terms of layers, jeans vs. shorts, hoodies, short-sleeve vs. long-sleeve, etc.?

We'll likely go up to the mountains one day and I'm sure we'll be around the Bay another. Here in Ohio, it gets pretty humid, so 70 degrees in Cincinnati may seem like 80 or 85 elsewhere. So my perception of temperature may be a bit skewed, but any feedback is greatly appreciated, and I will make of it whatever I can!

Thanks for any help!

P.S. I guess any tips on entertainment or fun things to see while I'm there would be great, too. My friends and I are all in our early 20s and are into outdoorsy activities as well as just your typical young adult shenanigans; movies, shopping, hiking, eating fun/creative/tasty food, roaming around the city and trying to experience it for all that it is (aka sight-seeing).

[ccm123]

San Francisco is cool in the summer, with the winds, it always feels like the AC was left on. Light jacket, sweater, windbreaker will be necessary. San Jose will be cool (high 50's, low 60's) in the evening, but should warm to low-mid 70's, low-mid 80's during the day. We had a heat wave 2 weeks ago, temperatures were in the 100's in San Jose during the day.

Things to do: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Ferry to Sausalito, Union Square for shopping, Pier 39, Giant's/A's game

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by ccm123

Things to do: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Ferry to Sausalito, Union Square for shopping, Pier 39, Giant's/A's game

Basically nothing you suggest for OP to do in San Jose? Ouch.... Is this the SF forum or what? Would it kill you to suggest a few San Jose/South Bay things for OP? Oh, it would kill you huh? Oh okay then, nevermind....

OP, San Jose sucks. You should spend all your time in SF instead. Bring warm clothes. If you go over to Oakland, bring bulletproof vests.

[zitsky]

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

Basically nothing you suggest for OP to do in San Jose? Ouch.... Is this the SF forum or what? Would it kill you to suggest a few San Jose/South Bay things for OP? Oh, it would kill you huh? Oh okay then, nevermind....

OP, San Jose sucks. You should spend all your time in SF instead. Bring warm clothes. If you go over to Oakland, bring bulletproof vests.

If you can't suggest something, what do you expect the rest of us to do?

OP, San Jose has a nice but small art museum, Tech Museum and shopping at Santana Row. It's not in SJ but a drive down to Santa Cruz is a very good idea. The scenery is really beautiful. I would highly recommend getting up to San Francisco at least once. Walk along the Embarcadero, stick your head into the Ferry Building (with the big clock tower). Look at the little shops inside, get some coffee, maybe something to eat. Try to get over to Golden Gate Park, maybe check out one of the many good museums over there, De Young Museum and Academy of Sciences.

If you want a South Bay activity, you could head over to Mountain View's Shoreline Park. Have lunch right there at Michael's Restaurant, then walk along the bay along the trail there. Stanford University has a nice campus and a good Art Museum with a Rodin sculpture garden.

[ccm123]

You are the San Jose expert, Bobby! I will let you suggest to the OP some great places.

Originally Posted by bobby_guz_man

Basically nothing you suggest for OP to do in San Jose? Ouch.... Is this the SF forum or what? Would it kill you to suggest a few San Jose/South Bay things for OP? Oh, it would kill you huh? Oh okay then, nevermind....

OP, San Jose sucks. You should spend all your time in SF instead. Bring warm clothes. If you go over to Oakland, bring bulletproof vests.

[marcopolo666]

Yup, I was going to suggest Stanford as well, specifically the Rodin sculpture garden (it has a pouring of 'the gates of hell'). The Rodin garden is *outside* the Cantor arts center (museum). There are smaller Rodin bronzes inside the museum. Go into the museum before it closes (it's free) and ask at the reception desk for the map of outside art/sculpture on campus. They have a wonderful brochure/map of all of the outdoor art on campus (and there's a lot). {Open hours Thursday 11 am–8 pm, Wed, Fri-Sun 11 am–5 pm, and close Mon-Tue.} You can then spend hours walking around campus and looking at the sculptures. It is a beautiful campus. Visit "the quad" and then stroll over to Hoover Tower and go up to the Observation Platform for a fantastic view of the south bay.

Warning : almost the entire campus is permit parking. There are a few lots that have meters for those who don't have a permit (like visitors). The secret is that the permit (and metered) parking is only from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. If you arrive at 4:01PM or later, you can park in any lot for free ! I often bring visiting friends to stanford on Thu (when the museum is open late) and then do an evening stroll around campus, because it's cooler on hot summer days.

[marcopolo666]

A discussion of what to wear/pack for the summer is in this thread : https://www.city-data.com/forum/san-j...ck-season.html

[marcopolo666]

What to do in SJ? Well, the art museum and The Tech Museum of Innovation have already been mentioned. There's the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (with its own mummy!). And the Japanese Friendship Garden (at Kelley Park). And the Rose gardens. The Winchester Mystery House can be fun. The improv comedy clubs in downtown can be fun. There's San Jose Flea Market (a HUGE outdoor flea market) if you're into that sort of thing. There's Raging Waters (large water slide) park or Great America amusement park (in Santa Clara).

If you're into sports (doing) there's a great skate park. If you're into watching, you could go to a minor league baseball game (SJ Giants) or soccer (MLS - SJ Earthquakes).

If you have a smart phone, there's the Walking History Tour through Scan Jose (not a typo) using this mobile website : Scan Jose | www.scanjose.org

Lots of parks and hiking :
All of the rules/maps/facilities/activities for the Mideninsula OSPs can be found at : OPENSPACE | Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District .

For San Jose city parks : San Jose, CA - Official Website - Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services

For county parks : Welcome to all 28 wild and wonderful parks of Santa Clara County! - Parks and Recreation - County of Santa Clara


If kids are going to be in the party, there's Happy Hollow zoo and park in Kelley Park, and right next to it is the History Museum of San Jose. Also, there's the Children's Discovery Museum downtown.

In Los Gatos, in Vasona park there's a narrow gauge steam train the kids love to ride.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by ccm123

You are the San Jose expert, Bobby! I will let you suggest to the OP some great places.

With pleasure. I apologize for the overdose of sarcasm in my response to your post

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by marcopolo666

What to do in SJ? Well, the art museum and The Tech Museum of Innovation have already been mentioned. There's the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum (with its own mummy!). And the Japanese Friendship Garden (at Kelley Park). And the Rose gardens. The Winchester Mystery House can be fun. The improv comedy clubs in downtown can be fun. There's San Jose Flea Market (a HUGE outdoor flea market) if you're into that sort of thing. There's Raging Waters (large water slide) park or Great America amusement park (in Santa Clara).

If you're into sports (doing) there's a great skate park. If you're into watching, you could go to a minor league baseball game (SJ Giants) or soccer (MLS - SJ Earthquakes).

If you have a smart phone, there's the Walking History Tour through Scan Jose (not a typo) using this mobile website : Scan Jose | www.scanjose.org

Lots of parks and hiking :
All of the rules/maps/facilities/activities for the Mideninsula OSPs can be found at : OPENSPACE | Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District .

For San Jose city parks : San Jose, CA - Official Website - Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services

For county parks : Welcome to all 28 wild and wonderful parks of Santa Clara County! - Parks and Recreation - County of Santa Clara


If kids are going to be in the party, there's Happy Hollow zoo and park in Kelley Park, and right next to it is the History Museum of San Jose. Also, there's the Children's Discovery Museum downtown.

In Los Gatos, in Vasona park there's a narrow gauge steam train the kids love to ride.

Marcopolo has already pretty much listed a large number of SJ attractions for you OP. Of the ones he listed the best are the Egyptian Museum, Rose Garden a block from it, the Tech Museum, and Raging Waters water park.

You already got the recommendation for Santana Row in San Jose. It's a great place to hang out and watch beautiful people. Some folks don't like it because of its "purported" pretentiousness, but the place is very welcoming to everyone.

I would skip San Jose's Japanese Garden and go to Hakone Japanese Garden in Saratoga instead. Actually I would skip even San Francisco's Japanese Tea Garden in favor of Hakone. It's THAT good.

In addition to the above, I would put in the following:

1) San Pedro Square Market in downtown San Jose. And if you're into fine dining, you can try out Nemea Greek Taverna in downtown San Jose, currently one of the best Mediterranean restaurants in the Bay. If you're into expensive and quality French cuisine, I would suggest La Foret in South San Jose ($$$$$$$$$).

2) Sihk Gurdwara in Evergreen neighborhood of San Jose. It's the largest gurdwara in the Bay Area, if not the entire state of California. The sheer massive scale of the place is something to behold. The people are very welcome there and you are allowed to tour the place as long as you follow a few simple respectful rules.

3) San Jose's Japantown north of Downtown San Jose

4) James Lick Observatory, housing the 3rd largest refractor telescope in the world. The drive up is an absolute pain the butt, but the view several thousand feet up will give you the grandest view of the entire South Bay. The observatory itself is very nice, being over a hundred years old and whatnot.

5) If you're into Vietnamese food, you'll want to loiter into Grand Century Mall and Lion Plaza. San Jose is the city with the largest Vietnamese-American population outside of Vietnam, and the Vietnamese food here are obviously the bombest and most authentic. None of the fake crap like Slanted Doors in SF.

6) We have awesome, authentic Mexican food in San Jose Everywhere! I'll let some other folks with more Mexican/Hispanic food experience chime in here.

7) Villa Montalvo in Saratoga has revolving art galleries and a very scenic, landscaped park, perfect for books and picnic. I'd rather be here than Los Gatos.

8) Santa Cruz is nice, but the locals here will tell you that Capitola located closeby is much better

9) Monterey and Carmel are also very nice. Monterey Bay Aquarium is a good place to see ocean life!

10) Napa Valley. You have to go here. It's north of San Francisco and is worth a day trip unto itself.

OP, if it's down to spending 6-7 days in the Bay Area, I would suggest spending 3 days in San Francisco and Oakland, 1 day in San Jose, 1-2 days in the areas surrounding San Jose (Stanford, Capitola, Monterey, Saratoga, Santa Cruz, etc), and 1 day in Napa Valley.