imclab / us-travel-checklist

Experiment using Github as a crowd soucing platform

What is this?

This is my fun little experiment to see if Github's crowd source model could be leveraged, given adequate exposure, for something as simple as a todo list.

Why am I doing this?

Most threads I read regarding overseas travel, especially to the US I find overly touristy. I'm not one for hikes through national parks, or going to Disney Land.

I want to travel San Francisco the way people should travel Melbourne, Australia. Talking to locals, wandering the city's laneways for days with no plans. Discovering all the hidden awesomeness it has to offer.

I'll be spending the majority of my time there working with local collegues who I'm sure will show me a great time. But I'd like to break away and get lost :) My intention is to collect, and curate a set of individual, uniquely SF experiences that I can share back with you all, and anyone who stumbles across this is via Google :)

How can you help?

Long story short, I'm travelling to San Francisco for ~2 months (Aug/Sep) this year primarily, but by no means limited to, San Francisco. I've been to the US before, spending the majority of that time in Las Vegas, NV. Looking for some fun stuff to do. The kinds of things the locals do that you don't read about in the travel guides.

Contributing

Please open a pull request or issue with your suggestion. I'll review it, and if it tickles my fancy, I'll add it below. I'll add updates in the form of mini-blogs, vlog, or photos.

If a local's pizza or taco suggestion gets shortlisted, lunch is on me!

For pizza suggestions, please see here.

For taco suggestions, please see here.

About me

I'm a 25 year old Australian male web developer working for a successful web start up. I spend most of my days neck deep in (s)css and javascript and love it!

My interests include:

• the beach
• basketball
• all things inline - roller blades
• tech - meet ups, tech campus', and alike
• rock music - would love to go to a gig. Submit tour dates?
  • Papa Roach (http://www.youtube.com/artist/papa-roach/videos)
  • Trapt (http://www.youtube.com/user/officialtrapt/videos)
  • Seether (http://www.youtube.com/artist/seether/videos)
  • Three Days Grace (http://www.youtube.com/artist/three-days-grace/videos)
  • Atreyu (http://www.youtube.com/user/atreyu/videos)
  • Breaking Benjamin (http://www.youtube.com/user/BreakingBenjaminOFCL/videos)
  • Bullet for my valentine (http://www.youtube.com/artist/bullet-for-my-valentine/videos)
  • Finger Eleven (http://www.youtube.com/user/F1NGERELEVEN/videos)
  • Flyleaf (http://www.youtube.com/user/flyleafmusic/videos)
  • Rise Against (http://www.youtube.com/artist/rise-against/videos)
  • Theory of a Deadman (http://www.youtube.com/artist/theory-of-a-deadman/videos)
  • ...you're probably getting the gist by this point
• food, primarily pizza - show me your best!
• stand up comedy - would love to go to a gig. Submit tour dates?
  • Gabriel Igelias
  • Louis C.K.
  • Bill Burr
  • Robin Williams
  • Jeff Dunham
  • Bill Engval
  • Stephen Lynch
  • ...you're probably getting the gist by this point
• partying and drinking (tequila :)) - know an awesome night spot?
• your usual 18-25 year old age bracket stuff!
• poker - I played semi-professionally for a couple years

TL;DR I'm an Australian web developer spending two Aug/Sep in the US, primarily but not limited San Francisco. Looking for fun (non- touristy) stuff to do. I wonder if I can crowd source github for ideas.

Please open a pull request, or twitter @xzyfer, with your suggestion. I'll review it, and if it tickles my fancy, I'll add it below. I'll add updates in the form of mini-blogs, vlog, or photos.

Also please make my trip awesome by helping this go viral!

UPDATE response has been awesome, thanks everyone.

TODO

• Rock out at the Audium. It's like doing acid w/ headphones in the dark.
• Visit/tour the Google campus
• Skate around Golden Gate Park
• Segway around Golden Gate Park
• Drive (on the wrong side of the road)
• Marty McFly a cable car - probably illegal (Catch California street Cable car to avoid hour long waits)
• Road trip (on the wrong side of the road)
• See Penn & Teller in Las Vegas
• See a band play (US rock bands don't often travel to Australia)
• Attend a tech conference - seeing @paul_irish talk would be all kinds of awesome
• Eat a sushiritto
• Eat a Mission burrito
• Cross the US-Mexico border
• Check out some vintage games and coin machines at the [Musée Mechanique] (http://www.museemechanique.org/)
• Get swervy at Tommy's tequila bar
• Hang out at at a hackerspace like Noisebridge (a few times, get to know some folks)
• Visit Yosemite National Park, and do some Whitewater Rafting in the Merced or Tuolumne Rivers - check out Zephyr Whitewater
• Stay in a Yurt at Treebones - thanks @akcreek
• Visit Lego Land - nerd-gasim
• Eat at an In-N-Out. Make sure you get a double double animal style.
• IHOP!! - @fluffyguy
• Visit Santa Cruz. Only a hour or so south of SF, possible via public transit, and one of the great beach cities in California.
• Find somebody having a Labor Day party (early September). Get an invite. Or crash it.
• Drop in and say "G'day" to a fellow Aussie
• Get a bite to eat at the Farmer's market
• Attend some meetups: http://javascript.meetup.com/cities/us/ca/san_francisco/
• Shoot a .44 magnum at a Gun Range
• Drop into M5 and say "G'day" your resident Mythbusters (probably not a thing you can do - one way to find out)
• Visit Alcatraz Island
• Visit [Twin Peaks](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twin_Peaks_(San_Francisco,_California) - feels uber touristy but looks nice - thanks @sbacheld
• Eat all the Mission food
• Kinderfest at Touist club - thanks @ebidel
• Cruise down to the coast (Tomales Bay) - hopefully have a skate - thanks @ebidel
• Stinson beach! - thanks @baus
• Check out Castro - and do more eating - thanks @baus and others
• Check out Clement street - even do more eating - thanks @baus
• Go to a Giants baseball game - not my thing but when in Rome - thanks HN
• Hanger One Vodka tour - thanks HN
• Shake hands with the locals at Sunday street fests - thanks HN
• Have breakfast at Bucks (Hotmail, Tesla and Paypal just to name a few of the companies that had their first deals struck there) http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128874569
• Outside lands festival
• Visit and photograph to gorgeous Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park for a day trip
• go visit a game of the CalBears! schedule @tschaume
• visit the UC Berkeley Campus and the Gourmet Ghetto in North Berkeley (Cheeseboard Factory and many good restaurants) @tschaume

Preflight (what I should do/organise before I arrive)

• Register for Songkick - thanks @paulwithap - done!
• Simcard \w data - check out T-Mobile thanks @paulschreiber
  • First make sure your phone works on T-Mobile's unusual 1700MHz band or be limited to 2G EDGE speeds, if not AT&T is your best bet.
• Install a transit app so you can see when MUNI (buses and streetcars) and BART (heavy rail) arrive.
• Sign up for uber
• Check out Lyft and Sidecar as alternative to Uber - thanks @sbacheld
• Stalk Stubhub like a baws