

Ask HN: What do I do with a weekend in SF? - Brendan_Scully

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?<p>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.<p>(first post)
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BrandonM
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.

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j_baker
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.

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wombatticus
<https://www.noisebridge.net/wiki/Noisebridge>

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

~~~
yanowitz
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.

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

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

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

~~~
Brendan_Scully
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.

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johns
<http://hackerdojo.pbworks.com/>

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

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jesseendahl
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...](http://www.yelp.com/biz/ritual-coffee-roasters-san-
francisco#query:ritual%20roaster)) or Four Barrel
([http://www.yelp.com/biz/four-barrel-coffee-san-
francisco#que...](http://www.yelp.com/biz/four-barrel-coffee-san-
francisco#query:ritual%20roaster)).

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...](http://www.yelp.com/biz/baker-beach-san-
francisco#query:bakers%20beach)) for the beautiful beach and the incredible
view of the Golden Gate (though beware that it is informally a nude beach).

------
endlessvoid94
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)

~~~
mschaecher
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.

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

~~~
endlessvoid94
and san jose

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idefix
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.

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Cmccann7
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

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aagha
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.

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blhack
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)?

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

~~~
petercooper
.. 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).

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

~~~
petercooper
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.

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ww520
Here's an old Reddit post about visiting SF.
[http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/b9f4m/my_girlfrie...](http://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/b9f4m/my_girlfriend_and_i_are_visiting_san_fransisco_i/)

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scottyallen
<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.

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shalmanese
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.

~~~
Brendan_Scully
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 :)

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sutro
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.

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

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

~~~
lanstein
Wonderful summer weather? Where is it?

~~~
houseabsolute
Everywhere in California except San Francisco proper.

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

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sabat
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.

~~~
Brendan_Scully
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...

~~~
jesseendahl
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."

~~~
Chronos
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".

------
earl
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.

