Many people are planning extended trips around the wedding, and we are honored we could be your excuse for a vacation! From the vineyards in Napa to the studio lots in LA, here is some information about other things to do and see before and after the wedding. Of course we encourage you to check out websites, guidebooks, and ask your friends (and us) for recommendations. But here is a high-level list to get you started (or jog your memory) with the things you may like to see.

Getting around

This is California, the land of cars and freeways. You'll want a car to maximize your ability to visit things. Public transportation exists, but it takes a lot of time. As a matter of perspective, most people in California think that the 5-6 hour drive from the San Francisco Bay Area to LA or to Yosemite or Lake Tahoe is "not too bad" and most of us have done it several times as a weekend trip. The freeways are open and it makes for an "easy" drive. And there's lots of landscape to look at along the way. Strangely, the 2 hour drive back from Napa and/or Sonoma always seems to be much longer.

Orientation

Stanford and Santa Cruz, the venues for the wedding activities, are 45 minutes (and 35 miles) apart. Santa Cruz is on the coast, to the southwest of Stanford. San Francisco is 45 minutes north of Stanford. San Jose is 35 minutes south of Stanford. Nearby airports are San Jose (SJC), which is between Stanford and Santa Cruz, and about 35 minutes from both; San Francisco (SFO), which is actually south of the city of San Francisco, but north of Stanford and thus over an hour north of Santa Cruz; and Oakland (OAK) which is the bay area equivalent of Newark: closer than most people realize, offering cheap flights, but socially unacceptable for some reason. A nice thing about OAK is that JetBlue flys into there and so does Southwest.

The north-south corridor from San Jose to San Francisco runs on the peninsula which is on the west side of the san francisco bay. Berkeley and Oakland and a whole bunch of other towns are on the east side of the bay. North of San Francisco is Marin county as well as Napa and Sonoma counties which are known for their wine.

Stanford

The wedding ceremony is taking place at Stanford University (virtual tour), and that is worth walking around, just to see the architecture and get the feel of one of the nation's finest institutions. Take a walk in the foothills for a view of the entire San Francisco Bay and don't miss the Papua New Guinea Sculpture Garden and the Rodin Sculpture Garden which is next to the Stanford Museum. We live 5 minutes from Stanford.

San Francisco

We could write a book here about the many things to do and see in San Francisco, and it is worth spending a few days there. However, since there have been books written, we won't go on about San Francisco. In addition to the usual tourist things (alcatraz, fisherman's warf, the cable cars, haight ashbury, the golden gate bridge, the beaches, etc) don't forget to spend a few moments in the Castro for a really San Francisco experience, or head to a bar, tapas restaurant, or burrito joint in the mission for a more locals experience. Send us an email if you need SF recommendations - we're full of them. For example, you must try Mitchell's, the best ice cream on the planet (and everyone we've taken there so far has agreed with us). This is a good site that covers many of the things you may want to do and see in San Francisco.

San Jose

San Jose is a big city in population and area. Bigger than San Francisco. People love the place so I don't want to offend them, but it isn't much to visit. The one highlight in our minds is the Tech Museum.

Half Moon Bay

Half Moon Bay is along Hwy 1 to the west of Stanford. It takes about 30 minutes to get there from Stanford, heading north on 280 and west on 92. The reason we wanted to put this here is because you can go horseback riding on the beach in half moon bay, and some people are really into that.

Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz is where the wedding reception shall be, where we'll be hanging out, where our families will be staying, and where we hope you'll join us for a day or three. Santa Cruz is a wonderful place that has it all. Fantastic beaches of all varieties, and beautiful hikes through redwood forests. There are also lots of surfers - this is a surf town - and a general laid-back attitude that goes along with them. Santa Cruz is about natural things and the outdoors and surfing and long hair and dude. Hippies still live in VW buses on the beach here. Bread is whole-grain, produce is organic, milk comes from soy, the ocean is mother, women are gay, life is about energy and healing, and the politic is liberal. In the summer, it is also a major tourist destination, so there is a mix of everyone enjoying the bounties of Santa Cruz. Here's some ideas of things to do:

Beach Boardwalk - The beach boardwalk area is the coney island of the west. There's a old wooden roller coaster, tons of amusement park games, greasy foods, a haunted house, a beautiful historic merry-go-round, lasertag, a log flume, ferris wheel, miniature golf, etc. An amusement park on the beach next to the pier. The reception ballroom is actually inside this complex, so if you get bored during dinner you can always ride the roller coaster. :)

Redwoods - Many visitors to the SF Bay area like to go to Muir Woods north of San Francisco to see the Redwood trees. but the forrests in Santa Cruz are just as spectacular. http://www.roaringcamp.com/beach.html The roaring camp railroad takes you on an old steam train through the redwood forrest, and they have a train that leaves from the beach boardwalk. Oh, and there's a place you can go horseback riding in the redwoods too!

Beaches & Surfing - Yep, lots of beaches and lots of surfers in Santa Cruz. Many of the greats in surfing call this place home. See the beaches section below.

Capitola - A cute village one town south of Santa Cruz with its own beach and shopping district you can walk around.

Pleasure Pizza & Pizza My Heart - If you love Pizza, like Issac does, and you search everywhere for the best pizza, like Issac has, you can't miss these two places. We won't let ourselves leave Santa Cruz any time we go there without taking home a slice from Pleasure Pizza (we have our own Pizza My Heart in Palo Alto now). There are two pleasure pizzas - one at 41st Ave and Portola Drive - this one is where the surfers go and is cool because you can walk across the street and watch the surfing, but they usually have slightly less of a selection of the amazing flavors than the other one which is at 1917 Mission Street (Hwy 1) at Bellvue, north of Bay St, where the UC Santa Cruz students hang out. Pizza My Heart is at 1116 Pacific Ave near downtown.

Wineries - Most people think of Napa when they think California wine, but there are wineries all over. Some great wines come from Santa Cruz. The Bonny Doon winery and the Bargetto winery are open every day for tastings. And there are many other local wineries that may or may not be open for visitors.

Monterey

Monterey is famous for several reasons, all of which you should check out. The Cannery Row was made famous by the John Steinbeck novel of the same name. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is on the Cannery Row and is one of the top two or three aquariums in the world. It's awesome. And Angela's sister works there. People go gaga for the jellyfish exhibit with jellies from the deep water that look like craft from Star Wars. Monterey has great whale watching, and is world famous for scuba diving, and for sea kayaking & hang gliding. Just south of Monterey is Pacific Grove and Carmel where the famous Pebble Beach golf course is, and where Clint Eastwood is mayor. Take the seventeen mile drive for a tour through lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Fun Drives

By far the best drive you can take is the stretch of Hwy 1 that winds along the coast from Monterrey south through Big Sur to Cambria (where Hearst Castle is). This is a 3 hour drive though, but it will take your breath away. You literally drive on a road bolted to the side of a cliff over the pacific ocean. And remember we have earthquakes here. Anyway, if you're not up for the 6 hour roundtrip, a nice day trip is to head south on Hwy 1 from Santa Cruz through Monterrey to Big Sur and back again. Plan to spend most of your non-driving time in Monterrey since there's lots to do there (see the section above).

Beaches

The beaches in northern california (which is where we are, even though on the map it looks like the middle of california) are the kind where some are rocky and most are sand at the bottom of big cliffs. They're beautiful, but it's not baywatch. The huge sandy beaches you see on TV are in LA, or below LA in Orange County or San Diego. The water up here is cold too, even in the summer. You can swim in it, but not for hours at a time unless you have a wetsuit (or you're Issac's mom). The nicest beaches in this area are in Santa Cruz though, and they'll surely be packed around the wedding time. Some of them (including the one where we're having the reception) are the wide kind with lots of sand and kids playing in the water. Our favorite beaches are around Pleasure Point and Capitola, slightly to the south of Santa Cruz, and the stretch of wonderful beaches along Hwy 1 north of Santa Cruz (such as Bonny Doon beach). Since we haven't managed to put a picture on this page yet, here is one from February 2003 of sunset at Natural Bridges Beach, which is one of the places the monarch butterflies come to spend their winter:

Wine Country

There are great wineries along the central coast on the way to LA, in and around Santa Cruz, and even in the hills behind our house and Stanford. But most people want to go to Napa and Sonoma, and for density of great wine, you can't beat it without flying 12 hours or more. Napa is more touristy with bigger wineries that look fancy and have names you've definitely heard of. Sonoma is next door and a little more rustic although still busy, with wineries you've probably heard of a little less frequently. While you're in that area check out the hundreds of spas featuring natural hot springs and mud baths and all that jazz. Ask us or another friend for their favorite wineries, spas, and hot springs. Napa or Sonoma are about 2 to 2.5 hours north of Stanford.

Lake Tahoe

A 1000ft deep crystal blue lake whose shore is at 6000ft and surrounded by 10,000ft mountains. The lake tahoe area is where we ski in winter but beautiful in summer too. The lake itself is great for waterskiing and things like that, and the mountains around are great for hiking, biking, and gambling. Lake Tahoe is about 5 hours to the east, on the border of Nevada.

State Parks

Yosemite is famous, and about 5 hours away. Lake Tahoe and Yosemite makes for a nice loop. Point Reyes National Seashore is a beautiful large area a couple hours north of San Francisco. Muir Woods is home of the large redwoods and is about an hour north of San Francisco, but you can see Redwoods at Yosemite or even in Santa Cruz at Henry Cowell State Park. And Big Basin is our local paradise where you can spend days hiking and camping, or just take the scenic route from Stanford to Santa Cruz via Big Basin (take Rt 9 instead of 17) and experience the wonders of California in our own backyard. Redwood Forests, Eucalyptus Groves, mountain lions, lizards, and bears, oh my!

Los Angeles

LA is 5 hours south of Santa Cruz, and there's obviously tons to do there. Disneyland, including their new theme park the California Adventure which is supposed to be much better than the classic Disneyland. Movie studios, beaches, famous people, Legoland, etc. Don't forget to stop by Santa Barbara on the way down.