My wife and I are getting ready for our big trip next month. As I posted several weeks ago we're heading into San Jose - Yosemite - Kings Canyon - Sequoia - San Simeon - Montery - San Jose. I got a lot of great info from several of you and all my reservations are set. I now have a strange question for you fodorites in the San Jose area. I found three Walmarts listed off the interstates in between San Jose and Mariposa (our first night). They were in Pleasanton, Livermore and Tracy. Which is the easiest to access off the interstate? The reason I'm asking is because my wife and I MUST have a 20" box fan going in our room in order to sleep at night (white noise). I do not want to bring one with us (which I usually do), packed in its' own suitcase (please no comments, I know we're strange). Please let me know which Walmart is easiest to access with a minimal amount of time and effort. We'll be arriving on Saturday afternoon.
Thank you and STOP smiling.

I'm not smiling - we are late already for dinner with friends and I'm sitting here waiting...

Anyhow, your best bet is the MILPITAS store.

As you leave the San Jose Airport, take the 880/280 lane to exit the airport. This will turn out eventually to be the RIGHTMOST lane. Then get on 880 going NORTH towards OAKLAND.

Milpitas will be about ten miles north of the airport. To get to the Walmart, you need to exit on Highway 237. Check out walmart.com and put in zip code 95129 which will pull up all the Walmarts located in towns nearest to San Jose. You'll also get driving directions to the Milpitas Walmart.

Once you have made your purchase, you need to stay on Highway 237 going EAST. A couple of miles eastward, 237 will join with Interstate 680. Take 680 NORTH and you should then follow the rest of your directions to Yosemite.

Good luck! And stay cool!

I agree with the Milpitas location - 2nd best would probably be Tracy.

Good info from easytraveler above. One small point: when exiting 880, take 237 WEST toward Mountain View (sign says Mountain View). You'll see the shopping center and the sign for WalMart on your right.

You might give some thought to those small noise machines. They work really well and are small enough to pack, and most have some version of white noise besides rainfall, birds, etc. Try amazong.con for a few. Just might be easier to take a small item like this than using your valuable vacation time at a Walmart.

oops! meant amazon.com

Thanks for the info on the Milpitas store. That's were we'll pick up the fan and travel goodies. Thanks for the other suggestion but we've tried the "noise machines" with little success. They are just not loud enough and most have too much noise variance (the sound of rain falling actually keeps me up). I don't see it is a waste to stop at Walmart for travel stuff including the fan. Our first day is a travel day, landing in San Jose and spending the night in Mariposa. That way we can hit Yosemite bright and early, all refreshed (also paying a lot less for the Comfort Inn than the Yosemite Lodge). We'll have five nights in Yosemite, 2 in Kings Canyon and three in Sequoia, then head for the coast. One hour at Walmart to pick up gummie bears, trail mix and a fan is time well spent.
I again want to thank all of you for your timely information and suggestions. The Fodor board is always a great place to find great information and great people.