Once again I have had the pleasure of playing the Business Traveler. This time I was lucky enough to visit the sunny Silicon Valley and the surrounding San Francisco Bay Area.

In general, I found the area has absolutely amazing weather (even in February) and outstanding terrain. It's no wonder so many people have decided to live there. Therein lies the problem. Every morning, I stepped outside on my way to class and took a good whiff of exhaust. At sunrise and sunset, the dingy yellow haze can be seen along the horizons.

My hotel was in San Jose, south of the Bay. I did brave the freeways to visit San Francisco and the beach at Santa Cruz. The Golden Gate Recreation Area, near the bridge, appears to offer some very nice mountain bike trails. At the beach, after a stroll along the pier, I stopped at a restaurant for some fresh, locally caught halibut. delicious. I took some snapshots of the ocean and a sea lion. A very pleasant afternoon. It was about ten degrees back home, and there I was strolling about in a t-shirt on the beach. I called home to boast.

California is about what I expected. Cars are everywhere, everything is fast-paced, and the land itself is wonderful - if you can find your way out of the maze of freeways and enjoy it.

Homeless people I gave cash: 2
Times I was offered drugs: 1
Tallest Redwood I saw: 300 ft.
Temperature in February: 50-60 °F