Weekend trip on the first weekend of Jan.

Hi guys! I am a research fellow at Stanford and I have freshly arrived here last friday. Now I have found that Palo Alto is pretty deserted during winter break (I had anticipated that) and I am looking for something to do on the weekend - maybe a small road trip or anything like that. If we´re up to something bigger, I would take friday of and we could go for four days. But anyhow, I don´t have any fixed plan, just a couple of ideas that could make some intersting trips. I´ll be happy to here from you if you are interested in joining me. Take care, Benedikt
PS: any recommodations on New Years Eve? Thanks!