Kyrax wrote:If you've got extra time in the area (or for your significant other to do while you're teaching and learning)...
River Road WineriesAnd there's the
Monterey Bay Aquarium for those who want something more kid/family friendly. Lots of stuff to do in nearby (ish) Carmel and Monterey. Or on your way in or out of the area, San Francisco and Silicon Valley aren't too far up the road.
Got asked for some follow up to the above tourist recommendations, so here's some more. Feel free to PM or email me withe specific questions. I'm happy to recommend places to visitors, particularly if your significant other is coming and is less interested in this game we play... since we all know that household peace means you get to play more.
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San Francisco is a pretty city - kind of small, so easy to get around. But I really don't recommend trying to wrangle a car around the city - parking is a bear. Chinatown is still a very vibrant chinese community, but better chinese food is available elsewhere in the city (The chinatown restaurants are either obviously tourist focused or may be too authentic). Haight-Ashbury is funky, but mostly boutiques and headshops, so the shopping is fun but it's not so much with the 60's flavor.
Riding one of the ferrys around San Francisco Bay might be fun. Look into Alcatraz tours if you want that sort of thing (I haven't done it, so can't comment any way, but am told those tours have to be arranged ahead of time). Some times I'll take the ferry from Alameda to San Francisco just to enjoy the trip. Another area I like in the City is the walk/bike ride from the Marina district to Crissy fields and Fort Point at the base of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Redwoods are literally fifteen minutes north of the city in the Muir Woods park (across the Golden Gate Bridge). If you've got a car, a day hitting Muir Woods then some of the small towns in southern Marin County could be fun. Sausalito and Tiburon have some fun shops, good restaurants and pretty views of the San Francisco. Those two towns can be gotten to by ferry from the city too. Or by bike (via the Golden Gate bridge or ferry) - if you think about doing that there are lots of rental places in the city, also let me know and I can give you some routes to use.
Closer to SKBC and I mentioned it in the post is the Monterey and Santa Cruz area. Monterey Acquarium and the town itself as well as Carmel are popular tourist areas and can be a lot of fun. Santa Cruz has a funky boardwalk area. There are some parks in the area, including some coastal redwoods I think.
One of the challenges may be weather. February is still rainy season here, cold and rainy. So you may want to make flexible plans, with indoor backup plans. And if you don't like the weather, you can wait five minutes and it may change. In San Francisco and around the Bay, that is true in spades. One day sailing on the bay we started with glassy conditions and no wind, moved to healthy winds, then serious gusts that would have toppled lighter boats and ended the day with light breezes and smooth conditions. If you have time in San Francisco, I highly recommend walking or riding a bike across the Golden Gate Bridge (note - DO NOT WALK on the ocean side of the bridge). When the fog rolls in through the Golden Gate, it does so with gusty winds, so dress accordingly.
If Wine is your thing, I would recommend doing a tasting tour during the week up in Sonoma County. Sonoma is more accessible and less pretentious than Napa (the next county over). Their to the north of San Francisco, with Sonoma County's wineries available off of US 101. I can't speak to the quality or lack thereof of the places that article recommends. I'm not a wine afficionado, so the Sonoma versus Napa thing is based on recommendations from friends.