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Ask HN: What do I do with a weekend in SF?
28 points by Brendan_Scully on July 25, 2010 | hide | past | favorite | 42 comments
I just graduated with a degree in Augmented Reality from a school far too far away from the valley. If I have one weekend in paradise, how should I go about meeting fellow hackers? Where should I go? What would you do?

Looking to talk to people about a brain-game startup, complain about Zynga and get a feel for the place in general. Greener than green over here.

(first post)



Pack warm. I'm from Ohio, where it's been in the 80s or 90s pretty much all summer. Having the idea in my head that CA is a warm place, I packed all shorts and short-sleeved shirts. San Francisco is cold! I ended up buying a thermal long-sleeved shirt and hoody when some friends and I decided to go to Ocean Beach.

Speaking of friends, I came to SF alone. I stayed at the Green Tortoise Hostel because at $30 per night, it was super affordable. I've met people here from all over the world. Last night at Ocean Beach, I was hanging out with a girl from England, 3 Irish, a Scottish guy, and an Italian girl. I highly recommend the hostel experience. If you're only here for a weekend, really try to minimize your computer/gadget usage and actually get to know people and the city.

As for some cool things I did yesterday -- I got a clam chowder bread bowl from Boudin's bakery and ate it while on a pier. I stopped at San Francisco Norman's and had some halo halo (it was ok), and while I was eating that I listened to a couple ladies playing some live acoustic guitar and singing. Nearby were a young guy and girl doing free abstract chalk portraits... they drew me, and then I joined them in drawing someone else. I then walked through Ghiradelli Square, where I stopped to sketch Alcatraz, and I proceeded up to Fort Mason, stopping along the way to sketch the Golden Gate bridge from afar as the top disappeared into fog. I slowly went through the Fort Mason Community Garden, which was quite beautiful. On the way back to the hostel I stopped at Naia for some delicious gelato. Then we rode the N to Ocean City and had a fire on the beach.

I had four nights here, and it has gone way too quickly. I'd plan on staying here as long as you realistically can (advice that applies to any trip, really).

I'm far from an artist. I mentioned to the chalkers that they looked like they were having fun, and she said they were and that I should join them. It was great! As for the sketching, I didn't bring a camera, so I used a pen and memo pad to make the best sketch I could.


Aside from meeting hackers, simply walking around the city will be interesting if you've never been there before. Just don't go too far from where you're staying unless you plan it in advance. Areas in San Francisco go from nice to seedy very quickly. Granted, it isn't like going into South Central LA, but it's still bad.


https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Noisebridge


If you have time, try to visit the Exploratorium. It's inspiring. Maybe have your meeting there.


Ah, you beat me to it.

Some additional info: http://www.exploratorium.edu/

It's so mighty, it has a .edu instead of .org Make sure to get a reservation for the kinesthetic dome. Totally worth it.


... and if you do, check out the Long Now Museum nearby. http://longnow.org/contact/


Off topic, but what school already offers degrees in Augmented Reality?


I'm curious as well because I just realized that Augmented Reality isn't a startup of some kind.


With a simple google search, it looks like he basically crafted his own major at Dartmouth called "Designing Reality."


OP here. The major was originally "Digital Humanities" and focused on new media theory and game design. As it became apparent that AR was the central focus, they had me change it from "Reality Design" to "Designing Reality" and now Finally, "Augmented Reality (AR)"

So I guess I'll have parenthesis on my diploma.


Inside Second Life?


http://hackerdojo.pbworks.com/

If it's going on at the time: http://superhappydevhouse.org/


I would say have your contacts meet you in Haight-Ashbury, Northbeach or Golden Gate Park. You shouldn't miss out on the actual city while you're here.


I spend most of my time in the mission, so:

go to philz coffee at 24th and folsom

check out the kilowatt bar on 16th street (just east of valencia)

check out the noisebridge hackerspace (its somewhere between 18th and 21st on mission, i can't remember)

if you're around on sunday night, check out the dark room on mission st. for some hilarious overdubs for "bad movie night"

also, let me know when you're in the area and we can grab a brew (dave [at] thathigh [dot] com)


Philz coffee is amazing. While randomly exploring that area of 24th St. one day I walked in there thinking it was just another coffee house....I was delighted to be treated to the best coffee I have ever had.


FYI, there is a Phillz in Palo Alto, too. I go often.


and san jose


Have breakfast in the Inner Sunset at Park Chow (http://www.yelp.com/biz/park-chow-san-francisco), then walk across the street to Golden Gate Park and go up to the observation tower at the De Young Museum (it's free, and the view is nice).

Once you are finished there, hop on the muni light rail (N-Judah line) at 9th & Irving (it's the intersection up the street from Park Chow. Take that to Powell Street, and then walk around Union Square for awhile. Once you get bored with that, go back to Powell St. station and hop on BART. Go to 24th & Mission station, and make a U-turn into El Farolito (http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-farolito-san-francisco-2), which has the best burritos ever. Believe me, I've had a lot of burritos in my life. Make sure to have the salsa verde. It has small chunks of avocado and is the most amazing salsa ever. Seriously.

Next, walk up a block or two to Valencia street and check out the shops. If you start to get tired, grab a cup of coffee at Ritual Roasters (http://www.yelp.com/biz/ritual-coffee-roasters-san-francisco...) or Four Barrel (http://www.yelp.com/biz/four-barrel-coffee-san-francisco#que...).

For dinner, go to Monk's Kettle (http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-monks-kettle-san-francisco) for amazing pairings of beer + delicious food.

Also, if you know someone with a car, check out Baker Beach (http://www.yelp.com/biz/baker-beach-san-francisco#query:bake...) for the beautiful beach and the incredible view of the Golden Gate (though beware that it is informally a nude beach).


If you are trying to get a feel for the startup scene here visit some of the hackerspaces/co-working spaces, set up meetings with founders/employees of the companes you want to meet beforehand, visit Stanford and Berkely, and sign up for www.thestartupdigest.com


Hit two restraunts in the city:

Taqueria Can Cun at 19th and Mission. You'll be tempted to get something else, but get the veggie burrito--you won't be dissapointed.

Shalimar on Jones between Geary and O'Farrel. Authentic Pakistani food that's awesome.


Same thing here :). I finally decided to do a road trip I've been meaning to do for a few years. A friend and I are going to drive to Los Angeles, stop at a bar called Naja's place (which is awesome), then slowly make our way up the coast the next morning.

We plan on camping around the Bay Area for about a week...any thoughts on must do geek things while there (that aren't specific to the startup community)?


Stop in San Luis Obispo on your way up the coast ... we'll do lunch.


.. if only to drop in on the mindblowing Madonna Inn and wake a wizz in their bizarre urinal (in an ideal world, stay there - best hotel/motel on the planet).


What distinguishes it? My best experience by far has been at The Yas in Abu Dhabi. Fascinating architecture and very pleasing service.


Not only is SLO an awesome town not far from some great beaches, but The Madonna Inn has 100+ entirely uniquely designed rooms (which sorta calls for visiting a ton of times), some with odd features like waterfalls, turret rooms, and rock walls. The main restaurant is an upmarket steakhouse - I've not had a steak beat any of theirs yet. There's also a cake deli of sorts and my wife testifies that their cake is unbeatable. Oh, and there's an awesome menswear place on the top floor..

Last, the entire place is designed in a totally crazy and idiosyncratic style that I've never seen replicated anywhere else. It's certainly not to everyone's taste, but I'm more blow away by how unique it is every time I go there than my opinion of the decor per se.


Sounds good to me :). Contact info in profile. I hear there is a really great beer bar there...


Here's an old Reddit post about visiting SF. http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/b9f4m/my_girlfrie...


http://techshop.ws - It's down on the peninsula in Menlo Park. I'm sure if you showed up in the middle of the afternoon, you could persuade someone to give you a tour.


Putting an email in your about section would help people who want to contact you. I did part of a PhD at the HITLab at UW and I'm in San Francisco now. Email me if you want to meet up.


Done and done, thanks for the heads up. Sometimes I have dreams about HITLab. Glasses and QR codes everywhere. I'll send an email... now that I realize YC profiles exist :)


Insider's tip: there's this little-known spot where all the locals hang out called Pier 39. I would spend all my time there if I were you. It's spectacular.


It's not really cool to let just anyone know about Pier 39. Some things are just best left for the locals.


I can't tell if you're being facetious or not. Our last trip to SF I swore I'd never go anywhere near Pier 39 again. Having said that, if you've never been to SF, you might head over there for lunch at Pier Market Seafood and look around a bit. But it's pretty much like any kitschy carnival like atmosphere you've ever been to. Near there you can get tickets to go across and see Alcatraz. Down the street and up one is Ghiradelli Square, go have a pint and something to snack on at The Pub. If you've brought your appetite, I recommend the jambalaya. There's a guy that plays guitar on the sidewalk at the corner of Beach and Larkin, be sure to throw this guy a buck. Speaking of, there are alot of street performers at night down in that entire area if you're into that sort of thing.


I recommend hitting the great outdoors. There are woods and mountains in almost every direction. Take advantage of the wonderful summer weather.


Wonderful summer weather? Where is it?


Everywhere in California except San Francisco proper.


Night life at Cal Academy of Sciences is worth checking out http://www.calacademy.org/


SF is a unique and amazing town. Keep in mind one thing that's little-understood outside of California: San Francisco is not the same thing as the Bay Area. And when you say "San Francisco" you probably really mean the Bay Area. "The valley", proper, is around San Jose and the lower peninsula, for instance.

You should explore SF first, though. It's more condensed, and easier to understand on a short trip.


Ah okay, thanks for the clarification.

And thanks everyone for the help, I'm much more optimistic knowing that the community is this this helpful and supportive. Now just to cram it all into 3 days...


One more FYI: people from San Francisco rarely, if ever, refer to it as anything else but San Francisco, at least when spoken. E.g. they would not say "SF" out loud, and will never, ever, say "San Fran."


You occasionally hear "SF" spoken aloud, especially when the city's name is being used as an adjective, but by far more common is "The City".


The computer history museum is worth visiting. They have an actual implementation of Babbage's Difference Engine No 2. It's a mechanical calculator that calculates up to 7th degree polynomials to 17 (IIRC) degrees of accuracy. Babbage didn't actually get it built during his life, but two have been made. The one in the museum will retire to Nathan Myhrvold's (sp?) living room at the end of this year. They actually run it for a couple calculations each day; I can't recommend seeing it enough.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Difference_engine

Also, for the record, winter in SF is cold, at least for CA. Plan for lows in the 40s and highs in the high 60s.

Some of the hacker spaces down south, in the valley proper, might be fun too. Dunno. Depends what you want out of the vacation.

Also, I wouldn't go to Ocean beach. Too many junkies and too many needles. Rent a car and drive south along CA 1. It parallels the coast more or less and there are beaches along the road for at least an hour south.




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