oh, one other thing...flying in the bay area is the best thing you could do. i got my PPL in KBCT (Boca Raton, FL) which was uncontrolled, and the entire area in general was pretty easy to get around...
...but the instrument training i did in KSQL was great in the fact that the area is just a complete mess as far as airspace goes. you have KSFO traffic just outside the traffic pattern, and routinely have to get routed through the 28 approaches. KOAK is there as well, and then you have KSJC south of you. To top that off, you have a decent obstacle clearance to your west (hills) and VFR traffic scud running along 101. insane really. imho, no other way to learn to fly!
...then the weather. the bay area, you know by now, has about 100+ microclimates. flying anywhere will no doubt expose you to numerous weather conditions, and IMC is ALWAYS there in the winter and summer. good practice IMC too, very low lying clouds throughout the valleys. also, KSQL is known for its crosswinds, since it has no east-west runway. AND the final is right along that VFR corridor on 101.
...fly north to red bluff and you have serious winds off the cascades; fly to tahoe and you have mountain obscuration, winds, and density altitude to deal with; fly to santa rosa and you have fog; just about anywhere has its own unique lessons.
i did my cross country flight in total IMC for 3 hours straight from KSQL to KACV to KRBG through the oregon mountains (procedure turns below mountain tops in IMC are not fun). came back flying at 11k in IMC over mountains for an hour. experienced early signs of hypoxia (everything seemed to turn orange on the instrument panel) which was quite interesting. staring at instruments over mountains for an hour at 11k in a C172 will do that.
my point is, you have TONS of crap in that area -- once you have mastered the bay area, you will have little trouble anywhere else.
