Cities by the Bay

I've had several meetings in the Bay Area for my "other" job over the past few days which resulted in staying over the weekend and having the opportunity to do some exploring.

I've been to San Francisco several times before, but it's always fun to wonder around and explore further.  Over the past few days, I spent some time in North Beach and Cow Hollow in the city itself.  I also took a day trip down the Coast to Monterey, Carmel-by-the-sea and Santa Cruz.  It's interesting how totally different these towns are.

Monterey has a pretty touristy waterfront (Fisherman's Wharf and Cannery Row) plus a quaint historic town. 

Carmel is clearly a hangout for the Rich and Famous.  I passed by one house for sale that was $5.25 million, but other than it's location close to the beach didn't seem that impressive from the outside.  Another neighboring house was listed for $2.4 million for 1400 square feet.  The town itself was filled with shops like Coach, Tiffany etc.

Santa Cruz was the polar opposite with it's pretty sleazy "boardwalk" area that reminded me quite a bit of Seaside Heights.

I also drove through the beautiful Stanford campus and the equally impressive Palo Alto downtown, which seems to really get it right with an upscale mix of stores and restaurants, but also more moderate hangouts and services for the students.

It was a fun trip enjoying the scenery and amazing weather (I am glad I missed all the rain in NJ), but now it's time to come back home and return to "reality".