Silicon

Our nephew -- "Big Bird" -- is over from China and wants to see sights -- Silicon Valley, Golden Gate, etc.  It will be a whirlwind daytrip, a big circuit around San Francisco Bay.

First on Big Bird's wishlist was Google Headquarters in Mountain View.

DON'T READ FURTHER if you want to keep a glamorous illusion of billionaires in Maseratis tooling around a futuristic Silicon Valley.

Towns close to the bay retain the gritty feel of wharfs & warehouses & railyards & chemicals.  Mountain View keeps that pattern.  We spot EBay headquarters in a small highrise behind a stripmall.  Graffiti on the overpasses.  The GPS says take a little industrial road off the highway; it leads to a nice but non-descript office park.   Google takes most of the space in a dozen 5 story buildings.

We're here on Google Drive at Google Headquarters and there's no traffic, no action, no bustle or commotion...  I was expecting helicopter limosines, towering gates with Pretorian Guards and machine guns...

I actually drove up to the front door ("Please Wait For Valet Parking") before skedaddling it back to the street.

Vignettes:

* free public bicycles in bright pastel colors for employes to ride building to building

* sign: "On-site haircuts today"

Next stop: Apple Headquarters in Cupertino, about 20 minutes away.

Big Bird arrived at our door with the latest Apple iPhone and iPad -- he works for Erikson in Beijing and they give Apple gadgets to all their employees.  Big Bird says Apple has the smartphone and tablet market sewn up in China.

Cupertino has a more upscale feel than Mountain View -- it's a new town, farther from the bay.  Every other person on the sidewalks and in passing cars is Oriental.

Apple Headquarters is even less impressive than Google's!!!

We drive down a sideroad beside a mall and across the street from Target's parking garage is THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE, Steve Job's secret lab.

Actually there are 3 identical buildings like this, side-by-side, and a vast parking lot in back.  We drive through the parking lot lookin for Maseratis but find only Toyotas and Fords.

Vignette:

* As at Google, the only employees you'd see were lonely geeks sneaking a smoke, exiled to the sidewalk.

We ate at Chili's down the street and Big Bird ordered "authentic American food".

Apple engineers sat behind us and we eavesdropped to learn trade secrets -- but it was nothing special.

North to Golden Gate.  A beautiful 45 minute drive through undeveloped rolling hills.

Into South San Francisco, the bridge in the distance, gingerbread houses (at a million dollars each), city traffic, funny characters.

Across the bridge...

...looking back to SF

Left to right: Alcatraz, Treasure Island, Bay Bridge, Telegraph Hill, downtown

We were back home 8 hours after we left.