StephSF

This is about as far away from San Francisco as you can get and still conceivably be in the Bay Area. Livermore is worlds apart from the fog of SF or the redwoods of Santa Cruz, but the fairly remote Arroyo Road still offers a unique Bay Area flavor.

The summer heat makes for a nice escape for those who aren't used to the San Francisco summers, and the foothills and wineries both make for nice touches in this otherwise bustling town. This area is home to one of the nicest YMCA camps in the Bay Area, as well as a lovely golf course.

However, the fact that it used to be a formal burial ground adds a very creepy air.

Cell phone reception is pretty bad, too...

Okay, fair warning. This is not a typical review of a shopping mall. There are some stores, a great movie theater, and a Coldstone Creamery (always a plus). But I feel ever-so-compelled to review this place because I had one of the worst parking mishaps of my life here.

If you come for a movie, especially later in the evening, be prepared to REMEMBER WHERE YOU PARKED YOUR CAR. There are at least four parking garages, all free, that all look exactly the same, and if you can't remember which one you parked in, the mall doors lock automatically at night so it is impossible to get back in and retrace your footsteps.

This exact situation happened to me, and I managed to walk around outside the mall and eventually find my lot after about 3-4 tries, but it definitely felt a little sketchy walking there all alone on a Sunday night at around 11 PM. All-in-all, it took about a half hour and at least one illegal walk in a cars-only lane to find my vehicle.

Maybe I'm an idiot. But maybe there are things that the mall can do to improve the overall navigation of the venue, too.

This mall is just about as run-of-the-mill as they get, with a fairly extensive selection of bargain-priced stores. But considering the disparity of shopping centers around Silicon Valley, this does not go unnoticed. You can go to the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto and pay hundreds of dollars for a pair of jeans, or get hit up by panhandlers in the Target parking lot in Mountain View! And many of the shopping malls in Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and San Jose are filled with mom and pop shops, with very few commercial franchises.

Either way, this mall meets the needs of many middle-class shoppers by offering the array of selection from the Targets, Nordstrom Racks and Old Navies of the world. Payless Shoes and Famous Footwear offer discounted shoes for even the most cost-effective shoppers, and the food selection, while mainstream and low-budget, is fairly extensive (think Starbucks, Orange Julius and Subway).

While this may not be the fanciest of establishments, the clean, modern finish meets the shopping needs of many middle-class Silicon Valley families.

Unlike some of the other shopping centers in San Jose, El Paseo de Saratoga is a nice upper-middle-class strip mall. The influences of the more affluent towns of Cupertino, Campbell and Saratoga certainly dictate the types of stores (and the types of cars) located in this strip mall.

While REI is the primary feature, the center is also home to an Office Max, a fairly extensive spa, a cigar shop and a Mimi's Coffee. Nearby Westgate Shopping Center has many outlet-level mall stores, and there is a Trader Joe's directly across the street.

Given that these shops are adjacent to 85, rather than 101, 82, or 280, the traffic here is fairly manageable and the stores are relatively uncrowded. If you are torn between shopping here or in nearby Mountain View or Palo Alto, this is probably the better spot.

Obrien Drive is an interesting little street, given that it is filled with business complexes characteristic of Silicon Valley, and is the bridge over to the working-class East Palo Alto. One side is run-down homes, the other side is filled with 21st-century buildings on the cutting edge of technology. Obrien is simply a bridge to it all - for better or for worse. The street is relatively mellow and sees little traffic even

Cell phone coverage can be a bit spotty in this area, considering how populated it is, and food selection is limited to the Starbucks, Jack-in-the-Box and Togo's on nearby Willow Road.

Overall, there's nothing about this street that stands out much; I've been driving through for months and have never thought to review it until now.

I never thought I would walk away saying "Livermore is awesome," but 1st Street definitely surprised me in a pleasant way. It was packed enough on a Wednesday night that I had to find parking on a random side street, and has all the makings of a standard Bay Area downtown scene. The nightlife might not be quite as wild as San Francisco or even some of its East Bay neighbors like Oakland or Berkeley, but there is a nice stretch of bars and restaurants.

The First Street Alehouse is the best of the bunch, with rotating beers on tap as well as a strong cast of regulars.

Parking is a bit messy but not impossible to find, and traffic is to be expected - busy, but not congested like some of the other downtowns on the Peninsula. This strip actually almost makes me want to live in Livermore.

If you have all the time in the world, Mount Diablo State Park is the place to be. With an abundance of hiking trails, campgrounds, scenic vistas and a huge lack of crowds, this is a very cool state park for a weekend. However, this is not a place to run off 680 for a quick hike.

The drive from the interstate is about 10-15 minutes, up gradual switchbacks. Once you arrive at the entrance, it is another 15 minutes up the mountain to the park entrance, which is a $10 fee. Upon entering, you will be directed further up; if you want to hike the ever-popular summit trail, it is ANOTHER 30 minutes to the top of the mountain.

Of course, there is the option of hiking to the top, but there is, of course, a huge degree of dissatisfaction that comes from walking to the top of something and finding a parking lot.

This seems like a fun place to spend a weekend hiking and camping with friends. However, if you are devoting that much time, you might as well head to Yosemite or Tahoe.

Highway 9, while not the most efficient or carsick-proof way to get to Santa Cruz, is definitely one of the most scenic. The road winds through towering redwoods and tangled madrones, paralleling the Skyline to Sea trail. As a result, there are many pulloffs along the way that allow for a quick hike.

Boulder Creek itself is a cute little town with a laid-back, hippie facade and an embedded drug culture. I wouldn't exactly call it a dangerous place, but it is something to be aware of. However, the downtown portion is only a short section of the drive.

Between the towering canopies and open vistas, this is definitely the scenic route, and not the efficient one. If you have the time and want to find a hike, it is definitely worth doing once or twice.

There is something really nice about the main Silicon Valley towns - Palo Alto, Mountain View, Menlo Park, in that they each have a really cute, pedestrian downtown area. Apparently, Redwood City is no different. Middlefield Road makes up the center of town, which not only has shops, but apparently is home to a small theater district!

Now, I can't speak to the quality of live theater in Redwood City, but it certainly is a surprise in such an industrial town. On the downside, there is a section that runs one way only and slightly screws up traffic patterns.

Outside of Redwood Village, Middlefield Road is usually a safe bypass to get you places in Silicon Valley without having to fight too much traffic. It is residential, but still major enough that you don't have to stop every two seconds, and it runs south to Mountain View, so it is (usually) a safe driving bet.

This section of El Camino Real, in Redwood City, is a little bit trashier than some of the other sections. There are a few good shopping plazas, with a Verizon and a target, but overall this is more of a blue-collar section similar to Santa Clara and parts of San Jose.

Traffic, of course, is pretty chunky around here, although it is not the worst spot in the Bay Area. There are consistent cars and consistent movement, but given the choice, I would opt for 280 in a heartbeat. The 84-82 junction can be particularly hairy.

It will get you from point A to point B, but there are nicer parts of Redwood City.

...if you are transferring from 680 to 880, or vice versa. This is very main draggy, shopping plaza oriented with its fair share of gas stations and red lights. It IS easy to get to and offers Fremont some shopping outlets, but by no means is this a place to visit. It is worlds away from the California and Bay Area charm offered further west on the Peninsula and east in the Foothills.

There are some residences nearby and a trailer park right on this main drag, for what it's worth. Given the proximity to two major interstates, this is pretty much guaranteed to be traffic central. I wouldn't call it the worst place in the planet, but there are certainly better spots in the Bay Area.

If you live in Fremont, you can come here to shop. Or you can go somewhere cooler.

While not necessarily a park to rival some of the others in the South Bay (you can't really beat the climbing in Castle Rock and the ancient redwoods of Big Basin), it certainly has its perks. For one, the park sees very little traffic by comparison. Parking is not a challenge, and it is FREE (which is a huge perk in the Bay Area). There is a restroom in the parking lot, and there are several trailheads that lead to different areas in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The lack of crowding is as apparent on the trails as it is in the parking lot. While I have yet to visit here on a weekend, I have come on a weekday afternoon and only seen two other people during my entire hike - which is saying something for the Bay Area. The biggest downside for hikers is that the park is also home to a horse stable, which leads to, well, presents on the trail. But if you can tolerate that, the hiking is relatively uncrowded and FREE.

Oh, and as a side note, the park is located in Woodside, not Redwood City.

Navarra Drive is a lovely street that exudes Northern California - nestled in the redwoods in the western foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, it holds many modern homes and is the perfect place to raise a family. While the neighborhood is pricey, it is not over-the-top, and has a very neighborly feel (which is convenient, given how constricted the street parking is!)

Scotts Valley itself is a nice, green suburb, with sushi restaurants, coffee shops, and standard grocery chains. While it is a bit far from the rest of the Bay Area, the immediate access to Santa Cruz redeems it as one of the coolest suburbs in Northern California. Nothing around here is cheap, but it could be a nice place to settle down in.

The Palm Haven neighborhood was originally designed, architecturally and plant-wise, to look less like a Bay Area residence and more of a glamorous Los Angeles development - and the design actually worked! Unlike some of the poorer areas of San Jose, Palm Haven Avenue has large homes, swimming pools - and yes, plenty of palm trees.

While not the coolest, hippest neighborhood in town, San Jose does have a little bit of its own bar scene - not to mention access to the nearby Santa Cruz Mountains, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, and Mountain View, all of which have some great bars and restaurants. And with San Francisco less than an hour away, the area is a surefire bet for fun for all ages, even if the neighborhood itself doesn't quite do the trick.

You may not see celebrities driving in and out of their mansions, but Hollywood A-Listers are replaced by Silicon Valley superstars in this beautiful suburban San Jose neighborhood.

This is an interesting street in an interesting spot. The neighborhood is super-residential, with its fair share of California hippie vibe like anywhere else, and is worlds away from the slums of town. It is accessible from the highway but is still very quiet and feels like a nice, residential neighborhood in...Hollywood!

The neighborhood is filled with towering palm trees, a foliage choice that survives in the Bay Area just fine but is by no means native to the area. It looks more like Los Angeles than San Jose, and a nearby swing to Palm Haven Park will further reinforce this conclusion. The funny thing? It was actually DESIGNED to replicate Southern California homes. Fortunately, San Jose is also blessed with better weather than the rest of the Bay Area, so the residents of the neighborhood enjoy this random Hollywood-esque perk.

This would actually not be a bad place to live. It's just a funny anomaly for the area.

I've heard about Livermore being a dull, boring town that is barely in the Bay Area and not worth living in, but I have to say that I was quite happy. While others may see it as a dull suburb, Livermore is actually a reasonable affordable residential area that gives its residents the benefits of living in the desirable Bay Area. It is almost like the "real life" alternative to Northern California in a sense.

This is not to say that it doesn't have its own unique perks. The weather actually gets hot in the summer and feels like summer - it is not stifling like Sacramento, but is rather a friendly reminder of what season it is. Traffic on Vallecitos Road is low-key, and while the town is populated by strip malls, the road passes by Livermore's best feature - the wineries. While Vallecitos is not the main winery drag, it does intersect with Vineyard Avenue and is home to Fenestra Winery.

It may not be downtown Napa, but it does have some things going for it.

The above are the famous last words of my boss, and served as fair warning for me before I started working here. I actually work part-time at the ropes course, hidden in the treetop canopies here above the park, and have visited the nearby beach for some rock climbing.

It has all the makings for a perfect, idyllic city spot - the beach, outdoor activities, history, beautiful views, low traffic, access to the best city in the U.S., some quaint cafes, good parking, and great parks - except for one major, major flaw - the weather is consistently foggy, cold, and never seems to creep above 50 degrees. As a result, I am always miserably cold working outside and long for some sunshine that never quite seems to creep through the blanket of fog and towering trees. The ocean view is beautiful, and also a bit depressing, almost like an abandoned ghost town.

I'm torn on how to rate this spot, because it has all the makings for a cool place, but I just can't quite get over the weather!

There is nothing particularly mind-blowing about Monterey Boulevard, one way or another. It is simply a residential street that runs through Glen Park due west, almost to Highway 1. The Glen Park/280 side has some delis and a few Asian takeout places, but nothing to write home about. As you head west, the neighborhood gets more residential and more suburban, the houses get bigger, and the cars in the driveways get nicer. I wouldn't call this neighborhood a San Francisco mecca by any stretch, but there are some nice places (although they are pretty far off the map).

Traffic is not too bad, considering how close it is to 280, and the road is governed by stop signs rather than lights, which makes for an interesting driving dynamic. And the Safeway has rooftop parking, which is something I've never seen before. It's not the most exciting place I've seen but it certainly could be worse.

Diamond Street is probably one of the better streets in Glen Park/Portola, in terms of actually having things to do. I wound up here by accident one night as I was in the area and in search of dinner, and my GPS actually sent me here. There is a liquor store/deli, a Mexican restaurant with decent reviews, and a great frozen yogurt shop.

Parking sucks, which is understandable when you have a street that has something going on in the middle of a residential, car-friendly neighborhood, and many of the surrounding streets are one-ways or small side streets, making it easy to get turned around if you don't know the area.

The biggest problem I had was an encounter with a fairly aggressive homeless guy. He started asking me where I was going and insisted on following me when I walked away. Eventually I turned into a shop, but he was pretty persistent. This could be scary for some people.

The 101 from San Francisco to Silicon Valley is always bad - both directions, in the morning and at night. The Silicon Valley commuters return to their urban San Francisco home, while the San Francisco employees return to their suburban houses. As a result, traffic continues to be blocked in both directions, and the crux of the entire traffic problem is the San Mateo bridge, located (yes) in San Mateo.

Once this bridge is bypassed in either direction, the road opens up tremendously, but in order to get there, the blockage could definitely exist on either side of the intersection. If you happen to use this interstate, be prepared to slow down bigtime.

The only reason why this road gets as high of marks as it does is because there is no viable alternative that makes sense. At least the SF Bay Area drivers are friendly!