My husband and I have decided to go out west instead of northeast in Mid Oct to experience the season of FALL. We will arriving at the San Jose airport around 1 pm on the 12th but have two days before are reservation/check-in time after 5 pm in Yosemite. Any suggestions on what we need to plan to see and enjoy before arriving in Yosemite? Suggestions on where we might stay just outsite of Yosemite on the 13th?

Shelia,

Just returned from Yosemite via San Jose. The drive was exactly four hours. We arrived at 10 AM and were able to check in immediately. I wouldn't wait until late afternnon to enter the park. Even if you can't get into your room, park your car, store your luggage and head out on foot or shuttle to get all you can of Yosemite.

On the 12th I would suggest staying in San Jose and exploring the city and the surrounding Silicon Valley www.sanjose.org
Some key things to check out include The Tech Museum of Innovation www.thetech.org Rossicrucian Egyptian Museum www.rosicrucian.org and the interesting, although touristy Wincheter Mystery House www.winchestermysteryhouse.com A day trip to the redwoods in Big Basin www.bigbasin.org would also be nice. Staying Downtown would be the most convenient, and is best explored on foot. There are many great restaurants in this area especially in San Pedro Square www.sanpedrosquare.com A.P. Stumps is very good.

Between San Jose and Yosemite I think that the best place to stay on the 13th would be the old gold rush town of Sonora. http://www.sonoraca.com/index.shtml
There are plenty of restaurants and shops and of course there's alot of history associated with Sonora.

If you have two days I'd go to Monterey after landing in San Jose. We drove from Yosemite to Monterey and stayed there only one night before driving onto northern CA. The drive was fine and Monterey was very nice.

Monterey is not a bad idea however Monterey is actually going away from Yosemite which means backtracking. My main concern is that the most direct route to Yosemite would require you to take Highway 152 which can be a dangerous stretch of road, especially along Pacheco Pass, which is notorious for head on collisions.

We had no problem driving from Monterey to Yosemite during the day. The drive was not substantially longer than driving would be from San Jose. We never felt that the road was dangerous. The payoff was that we were visiting a very nice place. I know David really likes his town, but two free days cries out for a visit to a nicer place than San Jose.

X, Actually I was thinking about what would be most convenient for Sheila. The drive from SJ via 680/580/120 etc. is a better and quicker road, especially for someone who has not driven 152. I myself try to avoid 152 for the reasons I mentioned previously. Also, if she heads to Yosemite on Sunday the 13th, as she indicated, she will get alot of traffic due to people heading back from Monterey up to the point where she connects with 152

I think that San Jose, Monterey, and Sonora are all good choices.

Monterey would require a bit more driving. The drive from Monterey to Yosemite isn't much longer than SJ to Yosemite - it might even be a little quicker depending on traffic. I do not find Hwy 152 over Pacheco Pass to be particularly dangerous. There are accidents, particularly when people drive too fast, but that is true of Altamont Pass as well. The extra driving would be in driving from SJ to Monterey.

San Jose has some good things to see, and is pretty close to Big Basin. I think that the contrast in ecosystems between Big Basin and Yosemite would be very cool to see.

I haven't spent a lot of time in Sonora, but I have heard that there are some really neat things to see.

Given the choice, I would probably go to Monterey.

DJ that's thoughtful of you but when you're flying into a location and have 2 days to see something new and interesting is 'convenience' the priority? I can't imagine waiting around in San Jose for 2 days before I go to Yosemite when I could zip to Monterey for a couple of days before I go on to Yosemite. There are a few things to see in San Jose but it doesn't really warrent a 2 day stay just for the possible convenience(?) of the drive.

X, I believe that Sheila said in her post that she is arriving on the 12th and wants to stay in a town close to Yosemite on the 13th. So that really leaves her only 1 day. I agree that Monterey is nice, but it would not be worth it for Sheila to drive all the way to Monterey for just 1 day. There is plenty for Sheila to see and do in San Jose before she leaves for Yosemite.

I work in San Jose, and I like it, but with 2 free days, I would go somewhere considered more of a "vacation event". I'd think that in 2 days you could do a really fun Monterey, Carmel, Half Moon Bay, or Wine Country outing. Or, you could go up to San Francisco and spend a couple of days sightseeing. San Jose is a suburb, like any other suburb in America. It's got some interesting stuff and is a good place to live if you have the money, but it's not one of those places where you go home and say, "Wow, that was so cool, I got to see San Jose". I say skip SJ. I think that if you're schlepping all the way across country, you might as well have a "wow" experience.

I wouldn't classify San Jose as a suburb. It happens to be a city with close to a million people. Given that, I do think that the Monterey area is very nice. But San Jose does have points of interest. I think it makes more sense for Sheila to stay the nigh in SJ and leave on the morning of the 13th to head over to Sonora. Sonora is a great little town.

I guess it really depends on how long Shelia has. I thought she had 2 days - flying in 1 day, 2nd day free, and 3rd day checking in at Yosemite. In this case, it's definitly worth the drive down to Monterey. If she leaves as soon as she gets to SJ, that's 2 nights in Monterey. Half Moon Bay is another good option.

If she does not have that free day - flying in on day 1, checking in at Yosemite on day 2, then I don't think the drive to Monterey is worth it.

The way I read it Sheila arrives on Day 1 (Oct 12th), she wants to stay in a town close to Yosemite on Day 2 (Oct. 13th), and check in to Yosemite on Day 3 (Oct. 14th). That leaves really only one day free before leaving toward Yosemite. In that case, going to Monterey would not be worth it.

If you're only going to have one day to spend in the area as some of the posters are stating, I would definitely do a drive out to either Half Moon Bay or up to San Francisco. Half Moon Bay is about a hour west of San Jose, and SF is 40 minutes north depending on traffic. There's not a lot to do other than a cute area, but enough to keep you occupied for a day. If you go to SF, the drive to Yosemite will probably about the same or shorter. You can probably get up to SF by 3 (after the preliminaries of picking up your car), check into a hotel, go see a couple of sites, then have dinner somewhere fun. The next morning you can have breakfast/brunch, maybe do a little sightseeing, then leave in the early afternoon for Yosemite. Since the 13th's a weekend day, the traffic shouldn't be too bad. You can get to wherever you're staying outside of the park (sorry, can't help you on that one) and then have a good dinner. That's how I would do it.

But again, I would urge you to not stay in San Jose this trip, it's not a real city in the traditional sense of the word. I was raised here and have watched it change from orchards and farmland to business parks, housing complexes and malls. In between those, you get some good stuff. But otherwise, it's no different from any other post-1960's, mostly middle class suburban community.

If you REALLY want to stay in the immediate area, try getting a B&B or inn in Los Gatos or Saratoga. Those towns are within 20 minutes of SJ Airport and are cute little neighborhoods with good atmosphere and restaurants.

Have fun!

I think that we should let Shelia make up her own mind and quit the bickering.

Ann/x, Shelia has already stated on the San Francisco or San Antonio post that she does not really like San Francisco, so I wouldn't waste your time trying to convince her to go there.

Shelia, Sorry about this bickering. I think that X/Ann have this overwhelming need to give negative, and not to mention, false information about San Jose. As I said before, Monterey is a great place, and I do go there often. However, for the short amount of time that you have, your better off exploring San Jose and then heading over to Yosemite. San Jose has all the amenities of any major city.

Barb, I don't think any of my informationn is negative or false. In fact, I said it's a nice place to live and there are some interesting things to do around the area. Additionally, what have I said that is misleading? Do you deny that SJ is made up primarily of business parks, housing complexes and malls? Please identify any one square mile of SJ that does not have these things, and I will be happy to visit. And, I don't believe Sheila ever mentioned in this post that she doesn't like SF. Let someone else offer an opinion without jumping on their backs already! Sheesh!

Sorry about that Sheila.

Ann, You have basically described characteristics of every major city in the U.S. Even NYC has areas that are suburban in nature, most notably Staten Island. San Jose's urban downtown area offers plenty for a visitor to see whether its museums, performing arts, galleries, parks, restaurants. I have not seen any office parks in downtown. Other unique neighborhoods include Willow Glen, especially along Lincoln Avenue(restaurants and shops) and along the sidestreets there are many homes each with their own individual architecture,(hardly characteristic of what is seen in a suburban tract), the Rosegarden neighborhood with its stately homes as well as the Municipal Rosegarden and the Egyptian Museum, and how about Antique Row along West San Carlos Street, also Japantown, and the History museum and Japanese Gardens in Kelley Park, and the list goes on. And speaking of parks, let's not forget Alum Rock Park, also known as Little Yosemite. I think that if you take a look around, you will find that there is more to San Jose than just office parks, housing complexes, and malls, which as I stated before are found in any major city.

Ann, If you look on the "San Francisco or San Antonio" posting, Shelia did mention that she was not too fond of SF.

I would advise heading for gold country. Sonora was a good suggestion. You won't get that FALL experience in San Jose or Monterey.