I thought that was something to do in Vegas. It’s been a few years, but I remember billboards advertising gun ranges where you could rent/fire a machine gun.
I don’t know if the timing will work out, but if you are a more adventurous traveler I’d consider a Green Tortoise tour. They run loosely-structured nature-focused camping style tours out of converted school busses. It’s definitely not luxury travel (most of your showering may be swimming in rivers), but it’s an affordable and very fun way to travel.
http://www.greentortoise.com/adventure-bus-tours-california.html
San Francisco is a better place to live than to visit. I wouldn’t worry too much about seeing the sights (which are pretty lackluster), and instead focus on wandering around neighborhoods, enjoying the atmosphere and finding great restaurants. Do your research on the restaurants- there are amazing options at all price points. Note that a lot of the budget hotels are in a pretty run down area. It’s not particularly dangerous, but you’ll see lots of homeless people.
There is plenty to do in the area. Berkeley has lots of offbeat things to do, and is generally a fun town. Oakland is an underdog favorite, and has a less crowded and much more authentic Chinatown than San Francisco’s. It’s a little out of the way, but I’d eat at Lois the Pie Queen in Emeryville, a nostalgic Southern style diner.
Wine country is also an option if you are in to that sort of thing.
From the Bay Area, I would go down route one and visit a beach town- either Santa Cruz (for a hippie-redwood-Boardwalk vibe) or Monterey for a more industrial feel and a very nice aquarium. If it were me, I’d stop in Watsonville for very authentic Mexican food.
Then I’d either go to Yosemite or to see the Sequoias. Both are impressive.
OP doesn’t say what they are planning on doing in SF for 2 weeks, and what flexibility they have. And appears limited in terms of budget. If he is going to be bound by work/gamily obligations during that 2-week period, I’d suggest they simply plan on getting the best sense of things around SF that they can.
Good start would be looking at those numerous threads. If interested in “TAWOL” (whatever the hell that is) I’d suggest looking for diverse and non-touristy settings. So sure, see the redwoods, and Napa, maybe drive down to Carmel/Monterey. But also spend a day in Oakland, part of another around Berkley. Check out all of SF’s neighborhoods, make sure you hit a supermarket and a mall. Hit a bunch of churches.
Then maybe drive inland to see a couple of smaller towns. If you drive 4-5 hrs east you can see mountains, desert. Check out Sacramento, to see what a state capitol looks like. Maybe Tahoe and Reno might be achievable destinations.
Re: Vegas - before my parents died in 98, they travelled all over the world, and I remember them saying Vegas was like no other place they’d been. I’m not a big fan, but it may be distinctly American. And a quick trip east of there is Hoover Dam and Grand Canyon. So I’d say spend 10 days in and around SF, then fly to Vegas for 4 days.
What’s the difference between an American and a European?
An American thinks 100 years is a long time and a European thinks a 100 miles (or kilometers, as the case may be) is a long way.
I had some godparents from Canada who thought to tour the US by driving down from Maine, across to California, then back up. In two weeks.
So basically, driving straight for two weeks. :smack:
You’d think of all people, Canadians would know better. It’s not like that country is small.
Some other questions - will you be alone? If not, who else will be with you? What are their ages and interests?
I had a friend and her husband come to the US and one thing they did was spend an afternoon in WalMart. They’d heard so much. Also, they did Taco Bell and IHOP. She is now, unfortunately, a US pancake addict.
BTW, I’ll just throw out some of my favorite San Fran sites, if you haven’t considered them already:
- Alcratraz
- Golden Gate Park
- Muir Woods is one of the most strikingly beautiful places on earth, and only a few miles outside the city.
- Cable cars. You just gotta.
- Fisherman’s Wharf and Ghirardelli Square are great for waling around and taking in the sites. (It’s easy to waste a lot of money there, though.)
- The California Academy of Science is a great natural history museum, complete with dinosaurs and other assorted monsters.
- The Cartoon Art Museum
- The Winchester Mystery House (technically in San Jose, but the tours are amazing; well worth it.) This is a never-ending house built continuously over many decades by a crazed rich widow.
Yeah, but how much of the country is actually lived in? 
Reno/Tahoe is much closer than Vegas (a nice afternoon drive) and much better in my opinion.
Tahoe is someplace you should see before you die.
If you want to NASCAR, there are plenty of places to do that. If you want to see a giant crash, you need to schedule a trip to a restrictor-plate race in Daytona or Talladega.
Maybe I missed the answer, but did the OP mention how long they will have to travel… and, more importantly, how?
If you’re not driving, you’re going to be stuck in SF bay area. If you are driving, then yes, redwoods could be done in a weekend.
If budget is a concern, San Francisco may not be the best place to spend your trip. It’s a pretty expensive area. Is your housing covered? Have you priced accommodations?
I don’t believe there’s public transport to the Observatory. Their web page doesn’t mention any tours that include transport either. Google says it’s about a 50 minute drive from Pasadena, so I expect a roundtrip taxi would run in excess of $200.
Maybe contact some astronomy clubs in the area to see if you can catch a ride with someone. Or you can rent a car in LA for $20 a day. Driving on the right isn’t that scary (I’ve driven in left-drive countries before and it’s an adjustment, but not a horror). Derogatory remarks about LA drivers are misinformed. LA drivers are above average compared to those in other major urban areas. This is supported by Traffic Fatality statistics as well.
If you drive in LA, just be prepared for the traffic.
Was out there about 10 years ago. Picked up my rental car at 1pm, took me 3 full hours to drive 30 miles north.
Doesn’t that take four days?
another vote for Vegas. Its pretty much a giant adult amusement park with a broad variety of indulgences catering to anyone from paupers to kings.
If you are in Vegas the 24th how about Street legal drag racing. Las Vegas speedway lets the local hot rodders show off their stuff on the drag strip.
http://www.lvms.com/dragstrip/midnight_mayhem/
Rodeo in the bay area
Alameda County Fair Rodeo
Alameda County Fair Extreme Rodeo June 17-18, 2016
Fiesta Del Charro June 19, 2016
Pleasanton, CA
Since folks mentioned my home town of Fresno :D:D
Killing a day in Yosemite is never a waste. I lived in the area for about 10 years before I visited, pictures cant do it justice. Its so beautiful you have a hard time imagining you are still on the same planet.
Fresno has grown up alot in the last 10-15 years. We have an exploding arts and maker communitys. Buzz through fresno on an Art Hop night and wander the historic tower district as it collectively lets hundreds of local artists show their stuff. I regularly participate in art hop doing glass beads setup at the fresnoideaworks a 12,000 square foot community workshop.
You have not seen a Farmers market until you have been to a big one in the heart of Californias ag production areas. Our local restaurant choices have matured significantly as well for exploiting the availability of farm to field in hours fresh “damn near everything”.
Or even just pop over to YouTube and watch some of the Father Of The Pride cartoons, a parody of Siegfried And Roy and their menagerie of fully anthropomorphic animals.
Should you happen to be in the SF area, or if OP is interested, there is a major observatory in the Bay Area too: Lick Observatory, at the top of Mt. Hamilton, near San Jose.
Just noticed: Nobody has mentioned the Exploratorium yet!
Heh. Reminds me of the Killing Fields outside of Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where some enterprising fellows offered to let me fire a machine gun into a cow for a small fee. I politely declined.