Mountain View is a town founded in the 19th century as a stagecoach stop between San Francisco and San Jose.  By the end of the 19th century, it had turned into an agricultural boomtown.  It remained predominantly agricultural until the 1950's when the changing local economy - with the emergence of aerospace and technology industries - swept Mountain View along in a trasformation along with the rest of Silicon Valley.

Today, Mountain View is a beautiful town with a lively nightlife in the heart of the Valley.  It is about 45 minutes from San Francisco and 15 minutes from San Jose, about two-thirds of the way down the Peninsula.   It is situated between Highways 101 and 280 to the north and south respectively, though is probably a bit closer to 101. 

Relative to other towns in the area such as Palo Alto or Los Altos, Mountain View retains a much stronger ethnic feel.  Castro Street - the main strip shown here blocked off with tents - includes a Japanese noodle house and sushi joint, coffeehouses/bookstores, tapioca drinks, gelato joints, and diverse Chinese Thai, and Indian restaurants.  At night, the restaurants have lively outdoor seating areas and pedestrian traffic, and the town - especially in the summer - seems to hum with a decidedly non-suburban vibe.  I should probably also mention that Google is Mountain View's most famous tenant with the Googleplex spread out over multiple buildings in northern Mountain View. 

All in all, a really lively and fun town worth checking out in the Bay Area.  These photos are from downtown Mountain View during a summer festival in 2006.