I actually grew up in silicon valley. I'm not really great at making contacts either. For some companies (especially startups) you might be able to make a cal

I actually grew up in silicon valley. I'm not really great at making contacts either. For some companies (especially startups) you might be able to make a call and stop by their offices, or have lunch with some of the people who work there. My advice is to call ahead and go with a friend. Even if you can't meet any new faces you can always explore the area (SF, stanford + cal ..) and go to hacker events (user group meetings, maybe even a conf)