A few ideas for Vice President Kamala Harris’ Sunnyvale visit

We’ve all had our share of whirlwind trips, and Vice President Kamala Harris’ visit to Sunnyvale on Monday will probably be a hurried affair as well. But on the off chance there’s a little free time in her itinerary, here are a few spots the vice president should consider visiting before jetting back to D.C.

First, if you want to understand how far Sunnyvale has come after visiting Applied Materials’ advanced labs, take a trip to the Sunnyvale Heritage Orchard and Museum on Remington Avenue. The apricots aren’t quite ready for picking, but the orchard of 800 Blenheim apricot trees spread out over 10 acres is a visual reminder of the days when the Santa Clara Valley was the fruit-production capital of the world. You might even run into Charlie Olson, who continued to work the orchard well into his 80s.

Another very visible symbol of the valley’s agricultural heritage is the giant Libby’s fruit cocktail can at the Sunnyvale Business Park on West California Avenue. The former cannery water tower rises 150 feet high and was repainted to look like one of the valley’s most famous pre-tech products.

Enough with all these trees and dirt, you might say. Fair enough. Swing by Sunnyvale’s new City Hall, a high-tech marvel that opened last month on Olive Avenue. It’s the first city hall to be net-zero energy and all-electric, built to LEED platinum standards. The lighting is all LEDs, though plenty of sunlight comes through the big windows and skylights – and what doesn’t come through is captured by 1,600 solar panels. Once the old City Hall complex nearby is demolished later this year, it’ll add six acres of open space to the area.

A visit wouldn’t be complete without a visit to Historic Murphy Avenue, which captures all the small-town charm that Sunnyvale is known for. And if you’re hungry for a bite to eat, this would be the place to be. There’s Thai food, Italian food, ramen, beer taprooms and a couple of Irish pubs. If you need a suggestion, Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein should have a recommendation. He spent the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic visiting the city’s struggling restaurants and promoting them online.