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amazing fireworks
I heard the fireworks in San Fransisco were amazing...too bad all i could see from the rooftop was fog. Damn mother nature!!! The first three days of my travels brought me to San Jose California.
to clear things up: I have too much fun to proof read my blogs....if you are looking for perfect grammar read a textbook. with that said......
for the 4th of july, chris and kevin (who I was staying with), had some friends in San Fransisco who had invited us over for dinner. I didn't take any photos of the get togeher but I assure you it was a hoot and we all had BBQ for dinner. earlier in the day, kevin had mentioned that we would be watching fireworks from the rooftop and i was hoping to have some amazing fireworks pictures. Nonetheless, the famous San Fransisco fog screwed up that plan. Hope you enjoy the rooftop photo of the fog....I sure did.
San Jose may not be the cat's meow of northern california, and it seems that tourism has gone the way of the buffalo. but all of that aside, there are still many things to do and see within silicon valley. Take for instance the Winchester Mystery House. I wanted to go see what all the mystery was about the Winchester Mystery
Winchester Mystery House
We were going to go to the winchester mystery house but didn't House...you know, the big old house in the middle of San Jose with all the crazy stairs. I was very excited as I walked up to the admissions booth however, the 30 dollar charge for the one hour tour seemed a little to steep for a poor traveller such as myself. Sadly, to this day, the Winchester Mystery House still remains a mystery to me as we chose to see the motion picture Hancock instead. looking back on the experience I should have gone into the house that day, because Hancock sucked and now I want my money back.
With the sour taste of hancock in my mouth, and with directions given to me by my father, I thought it would be a jolly good time to go see my parents old condo in the area. I was excited becasue this was my parents first home and where I spent the first two years of my life. my parents had told me that the neighborhood used to be pretty bad and probably still was, but I had high hopes. While driving to the address, I had secertly hoped that the neighborhood would now be "the beverly hills of San
My old stompin' grounds
this neighboorhood was where i was born......take note of burning car just off camera. and yes dad this place is still a ghetto Jose" however, my hopes of getting a picture of a mansion as my old house were quickly stomped out as chris told me it was still a ghetto. Upon arriving to the old home I elected not to get out of the vehicle or drive deeper into the neighborhood as I like my life and didn't want to die....a picture from the car would do just fine. speeding away from that ghetto, I noticed a swap meet on the north side of capital expressway in a drive-in movie theater parking lot. I think this swap meet was the one my family used to go to when we lived in San Jose.
My last day in Northern California was spent touring the coastline. On our way to the coast we hit up the Los Gatos farmers market. The market was awesome and had various vendors selling a wide assortment of farmed goods (fruits and such) as well as prepared items. The highlight of that stop were the home made quesadillas...amazing. Aside from the market, chris took me to Powell's Candy Shop. Who ever owns this place is a huge willy wonka fan as the original movie and soundtrack is playing
Flowers at Los Gatos market
If I ever have the opportunity to date Anne Hathaway....i am going to buy her these flowers nonstop. The store also has a large amount of memorabilla from the movie as well. posters, cast photos, various props, and an original golden ticket.....pretty amazing. however, i was more excited for finding Fruit Stripe Gum as i hadn't had it in ages. After touring Los Gatos, we were off to the coast. We went over the hill and ended up in Santa Cruz. We didn't stay long but managed a walk on the Pier and even ran into a bird that could write (see photo below). The weather was nice and it felt great to be close to the ocean again. After Santa Cruz, we headed up the coast on highway 1 and came across lighthouses, windsurfers, handgliders, kitesurfers, regular surfers, kite flyers, and regular people just having a good time enjoying the sunlight. As we got close to Half Moon Bay, I convinced Kevin and chris to stop at a straw maze. The straw maze was good fun and we had a blast trying to find our way. Before begining our adventure, i bet the owner that I could finish the maze in 20 minutes...and I did it in 17. We drove up to half moon bay and
A straw maze and a little train
a fun maze that we discovered along highway 1. I bet the owner that I could complete it in 20 minutes....I did it in 17. i wanted to ride the train but was too afraid to ask enjoyed red snapper tacos at a small fast-food style mexican restaurant, The ride home was long (perhaps an hour) and I was tired from eating the great tacos. On the way back we took a looksy at the HQ's of some of the valley's most influential business (google and such) but I was much to tired to enjoy it. I got back to the townhouse with just enough time to write this blog and play call of duty 4 with kevin. also, a special thanks to chris and kevin for putting me up and showing me a great time!!!
I will be leaving in a bit to catch up with matt in Los Angeles.
catch you in Tokyo,
Jason
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