Advertisement
Published: September 28th 2010
Edit Blog Post
Our walk
The pathways of the park in the hills where we took our stroll just after hours after finishing my Greyhound experience. I finally got off the Greyhound in California making the long trek from the East Coast to the West Coast while meandering through the South, parts of the Midwest, Southwest and the Colorado Rockies. My Western leg included a ride through Arizona, Nevada and California from the Southern region all the way up to San Jose in the heart of Silicon Valley where I got off.
After arriving at the downtown San Jose bus terminal at 6am on Sunday morning, there was a remarkable shift in lifestyle as I moved from a seat in a Greyhound bus to a seat in a nearby Starbucks. This was followed by a seat in my aunt Michelle's sporty red convertible with which she picked me up from Starbucks and took me to her beautifully remodeled home. The beauty and travails of travel, where you are often out of your comfort zone, is that the extremes can be intense. Twenty nine hours prior to arriving in the California sunshine and getting picked up in a convertible, I had been stranded at Philips 66 gas station bus stop in a small Colorado town waiting for a broken down Greyhound bus with an unknown arrival time.
Heidi and I
In the hills of the park. As soon as I got to California and family, the once expanding Greyhound bubble world I had been in popped! I entered a new bubble of experiences that took on an entirely new tone. (in character and color)
Downtown San Jose is pretty tame, but it is near all of the tech industry in Silicon Valley which would likely pass your notice while going past by car. The big names of Google, Apple, Intel, etc. are quite dispersed throughout the valley and their campuses pop up as you are driving around.
My aunt Michelle took me back to her house in what I would label the suburbs of San Jose. The last time I visited her house some twenty years ago, it felt like it fit the textbook definition of the "house in the suburbs" or the "house in the subdivision." Although the location and exterior appearance of the house still might fit that definition, it is so much different once you step inside. The house has been landscaped and designed with lots of individual flair, creativity and especially personal touches. My uncle David's glass work (and lots of other art) are distributed pleasantly in different spots around
the house while environmentally and artistically embellished sitting areas accompany both the front and back of the house. Both my cousins, Heidi and Robyn, have some of their work decorating the walls. The suburban feel of the home I once recalled is long gone. Perhaps i have become more observant as I am aging, but the house feels so much more like it belongs and suits my cousins Michelle, Heidi, Robyn (and now Pam) than it did the last time I was there. Perhaps the California sunshine influences my descriptions here or just my happiness to meet my cousins again, but hanging out with my cousins in their redone home felt so lively, happy and with a distinctly new personality. (I was not the best photographer taking pictures here so adjectives are all I can provide).
Once I arrived and got my things settled, Michelle fixed a fantastic egg breakfast infused with savory spiciness and complemented with fresh jams. We then got my cousin Heidi to take a hike with us through a mountain park not far away. The small park in the California hills is public and not too strenuous but there are some beautiful houses along the
Bernadette
She is a sweet dog and really pushed the pace of our walk. way. The deer you encounter along your walk add charm and invigorate your spirit to explore more. It was a fine Sunday walk (the one day of the week where Michelle isn't working or traveling around the globe giving workshops and presentations). I built up an appetite for the dinner we had at a Vietnamese restaurant not far from my cousins' house. Apparently, there is large concentration of Vietnamese people living in San Jose and the plaza where we ate dinner has lots of Vietnamese and Asian shops, restaurants and markets to help them feel at home. Michelle and Pam also took me on a grand tour of their expanding office and publishing house in a conspicuous downtown location that overlooks the city. Their business has really really grown. I don't know how they continue to manage all of these new stresses along with their insane travel schedule. I guess this is why I am not a successful entrepreneur........LOL
My second day in San Jose I was given the keys to my cousin Michelle's hot red Lexus convertible and I drove south down the California coast (I-17 to Route 1) to visit my aunt Lucia and her husband Olaf
Artichoke Heaven
Driving down to Carmel I passed many fields like this. Apparently, this is Castroville which is the "the artichoke capital of the world." It is a visual experience hard to ignore as you drive by. in Carmel. Michelle, Pam and Heidi were working so it was a good idea. I stopped in Monterey Bay (the town neighboring Carmel) to visit their famous aquarium and walk around the town which was once the subject of John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row." The aquarium has some of the old machinery from the old sardine canneries inside and the town has retained a lot of the old buildings. It is very pleasant to walk along a public path abutting the Pacific Ocen just outside the town. I took this seaside walk before briefly strolling through the town of Monterey which has tons of little shops capitalizing on its fish cannery past. The aquarium is fantastic and a great place to take kids (or playful adults) because there are lots of places where marine experts let you touch and enjoy various kinds of sea life. The main tank reproduces the local sea life in the bay and the sea otters are such fun to watch.
Lucia and Olaf's house is in a neighborhood which probably has some of the most expensive and architecturally extravagant houses I have seen in California. I sat down with my uncle Olaf to catch up
Wind blowing in my hair
I could resist taking a picture as the wind was blowing through my hair in a convertible in the California sunshine. Narcissistic?? Yes.......but some fantasies have to be I guess. Would have been better if I wasn't alone.....LOL on some of his quite distinguished personal history as an architect. His artwork flourishes decorating their home. My aunt Lucia took me on a stroll along the pristine white sand beach just down the road which leads to (among many other things) the Pebble Beach Golf course. Beautiful cyprus trees provide shade along the road that fronts the beach and also provide some privacy for the many of the famous and brilliant homes that line the road. It was along this beach that I got one of the few opportunities in my life to dip my feet in the icy cold Pacific waters. I recommend a quick dip but nothing more!
My last night in San Jose we had dinner at a small but reasonably chic Mexican restaurant in Campbell, a small historic town neighboring San Jose. Campbell appears to be an up-and-coming place as lots of trendy looking cafes, restaurants, bookshops and retail stores dot the walkable streets. Getting a ride to the airport with Michelle and Pam the next morning was bittersweet. My cousin Michelle (with Pam and Heidi) was the last person in family to visit me in Thailand so I made a point to see
The convertible
Michelle's ideal California car. her first on my California swing.
Sometimes visiting family when you travel is the best way to go. I don't think I would have enjoyed California nearly as much without them.
Next stop Portland, Oregon and my cousin David and his wife Terry.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.054s; Tpl: 0.017s; cc: 12; qc: 27; dbt: 0.0219s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1mb
helen
non-member comment
San Jose
This is a happy review of your San Jose and Carmel days, with photos to enlarge all the details you gave us. Loved it, and hope this comment works this time!