It's exciting to walk around Stanford slack jawed, staring at the giant stone architecture, landscaping, never-ending expanse of learning, research, and sleaze-trepreneur while constantly exclaiming internally, "How much money do these fuckers have?! Haven't they heard of normal sized buildings? Every lecture hall here is a goddamn castle!"
I visited a few weeks ago. It reminded me of Perth (where I currently live). The actual urban area is quite small and all the rest is spread out and connected by freeways. Palo Alto, Mountain View etc -- all 45 minutes to an hour's drive from SF in non-rush-hour conditions.
Edit: when you can, take the 280. It's a little less direct but it's a lot prettier.