California - Week 1

Day 1 - Our Airbnb Business Travel Garden Bliss was located in a residential neighborhood that was quiet and easy to access. We had our own private outdoor sitting area and enjoyed coffee outdoors at the garden patio. (Click on any photo to enlarge)


Today was all about family, so we took a 40 minute commute to Palo Alto to visit. Midday we got lunch at Mendocino Farms. It was a nice relaxing day.

Day 2 - Started with a stop at Chuck's Donut to pick up some tasty treats. Then we headed to Philz Coffee in Menlo Park, a place we were very familiar with from a previous trip. It's amazing to watch, they make one cup of coffee at a time, and deliver in order received. There are a lot of call in orders that sit on the counter with names on them; you just walk up when your name is called. Delicious and fresh!

Later, Jessica gave us a 2.5 mile, 2 hour walking tour of the grounds at Stanford University.


We took so many photos and there was so much to see that I considered this another special place and created a separate page. To see more photos go to https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/stanford-university.html

Day 3 - Little routine here, Chuck's Donuts and Philz Coffee. Today we went birding and walking on the San Francisquito Creek Trail. We walked about .6 miles on this 1.1 mile trail. Saw lots of birds on this short walk and used Merlin to identify them.

John & Jessica birding
Acorn Woodpecker
Anna's Hummingbird
Anna's Hummingbird
Bewick's Wren
Blue-green Swallow
California Scrub Jay
Cedaar Waxwing
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon)
Lesser Goldfinch
Oak Titmouse
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Red-tailed Hawk
California Towhee

Day 4 - Morning temperature is 54 degrees. Spent the day with family.

Day 5 - Julie's Birthday! We started our day at The Little Belmont Cafe sitting outside and having a delicious breakfast.

Welcome
Egg Specialties
Birthday Girl
Huevos Rancheros
Birthday Girl Breakfast

From there we headed to the Winchester Mystery House. This place was busy and you need tickets to get in. The architecture and folklore of this mansion are very interesting. Our friend Joe met us there and treated us to the tour. We spent almost 2 hours walking around the house and estate.


After, Joe led us to Santana Row where we enjoyed Italian food at Maggiano's Little Italy. Santana Row was like Church Street in Burlington, VT with lots of vendors set up in the street selling their wares.

From here Joe took us to a fantastic, beautiful place, the San Jose Municipal Rose Garden. I would highly recommend this place to anyone. There was no admission fee and the place was amazing!

San Jose Municipal Rose Garden

It was definitely a special place and deserves its own page. To see more photos https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/san-jose-municipal-rose-garden.html

To end the day we went to SusieCakes in Menlo Park, CA to pick out some birthday treats and stopped in to share with family.


Day 6 - Today we packed up to move to another Airbnb. We made our final stop at Chuck's Donuts, then headed to Philz Coffee. This morning we were introduced to Pressed Juicery in Palo Alto; we enjoyed some delicious pressed juices and Acai Bowls. We spent the rest of the day with family. Our day ended at Modern Studio Cottage Airbnb . This Airbnb was located in a private backyard and was quiet and relaxing; we only spent one night here.

Day 7 - Philz Coffee, Pressed Juicery, then spent the day with family. Moved to our Menlo Park Bungalow Airbnb where we will stay for a week. We were familiar with this place as we had stayed here before. The host is very nice and we enjoyed seeing her again.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Oregon - Week 1

Image
The tent is pitched. We are with family and we are happy to be here. (Click on any photo to enlarge)   Day 1 - Woke up in the tent this drizzly morning, temperature 46F degrees. Slept pretty good last night. Could hear the neighbors wind chimes on and off during the night. Made a couple batches of coffee in our French press.  It was nice to be with family and not have to go anywhere. We did go to Schmizza Public House for Dinner. Day 2 - We found a place to eat breakfast at Kevin's Cafe .   After we headed to Waterloo County Park . We found a nice 1.2 mile walking path on Alltrails , full of wildflowers and birds. We spent nearly 2 hours here.  This was a special place that we will create another page for. Lots of wildflower and bird photos! https://travelingvtjs.blogspot.com/p/waterloo-county-park.html . Day 3 - 49 degrees and raining this morning. We found Randy's Main Street Coffee in Brownsville, the food was delicious. After we w
Read more

Day 1 - Vermont to Amsterdam, NY

Image
Today's plan is to drive 6 hours, 261 miles, with several interesting places along the way.  We left Northeast Vermont Sunday morning, April 16th with a fully packed car. Our first stop was at Singleton's General Store in Proctorsville, VT for lunch. Julie and I grew up in the area and knew this was a great place to get a sandwich and some gifts for our relatives out West.  Bennington, VT. was our next stop to photograph 3 covered bridges. Silk Road Covered Bridge There was also some Black Poplar and Bloodroot flowers here. Black Poplar Bloodroot Paper Mill Covered Bridge was our next stop. Paper Mill Covered Bridge Then, Henry Covered Bridge. All were within a few miles of each other. Henry Covered Bridge We crossed into New York on Rte 67, a beautiful country highway, to find Buskirk Covered Bridge in Buskirk, NY. Buskirks Covered Bridge Buskirks Covered Bridge  Buttermilk Falls was another point of interest in Schaghticoke, NY. Buttermilk Falls After meandering through the
Read more

Day 4 - Maumee, OH to Peru, IL

Image
We started today behind schedule! It was the scones fault. Turns out our host at Suite T Airbnb  is an instructor at a local culinary school and delivered scones just before 9AM and they were so good we wanted more! We waited for the tea shop downstairs to open at 10AM. By the time we got on the road it was 10:30AM, an hour and a half behind schedule, but it was SO worth it; Coconut Rum Scones with Lemon Curd, Devonshire Cream, and Strawberry  Jam for toppings.  (Click on any photo to enlarge) Scones and Clotted Cream History of Suite T B&B Breakfast with History Clara J's Tea Room Suite T B&B and Clara J's Tea Room Scones to Go Today's plan was to drive 6.5 hours, 332 miles, and visit two historic sites. Because of the late start we skipped Fallen Timbers Battlefield National Park and headed straight for Gene Stratton-Porter State Historic Site . It was a 2.5 hour drive through beautiful countryside following Rte 6  and Rte 66 (Yes, that Rte 66).
Read more