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Activities Blog

The Hidden Beauty of Cupertino Wine Country

On cue, our feathered friend hopped up onto the wine barrel and struck a pose. He was the photogenic one. A friend of his was laying in the shade preening himself and another went roaming the grounds for bugs, but that wasn't him.

Image of Cupertino Peacock

No, he'd been following some of the other visitors around the winery but he put on his full strut when he saw the gleam of my camera lens.

Here he was: the side of Cupertino not many people get to see. Hidden off the rugged Santa Cruz Mountains with Montebello Road carving its winding path, Cupertino is Silicon Valley wine country.

Apr.06.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Cupertino ] Comment Here »

AMC Cupertino Square 16 Coming Together

Image of Cupertino Square AMC Entry [The AMC Cupertino Square 16 movie theater is now open.]

Going up? Cupertino Square pulled the wraps off the construction they’re doing on the AMC theater set to open in April.

Stairway to heaven? Normally an escalator wouldn’t be that interesting, but in this case it’s the visual centerpiece of the Vallco revitalization.

The entire area had previously been cloistered away behind thick plastic wraps to keep the construction hidden and the corridor free from dust.

While the Strike bowling alley is still several months away, the automated ticketing kiosks and the ticket booths are already up and new tiles leading to the theater are being installed.

People who usually find themselves going to other theaters near Cupertino like the Century San Jose 25 at Westgate Mall, AMC Saratoga 14, or the Century San Jose triplets will find these newer facilities more convenient.

Apr.05.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Cupertino Square ] Comment Here »

A Sunset at Muir Beach

There was nothing I could do at that point. The rain was coming in over the horizon and the only choice I had left was to be hypnotized by the sight.

And as the impending sheet of water draped itself over the sky, the reflection from the setting sun faded through the last details of the ocean below, to the point where only the glow of a golden shadow remained. Welcome to Northern California.

Image of Muir Beach Sunset

Mar.29.2007 [ Filed under: Activities ] 4 Comments »

One Lazy Saturday at Shoreline Park – Mountain View

Image of Rabbit at Shoreline Park I'd completely forgotten and now I was regretting it. I pulled in past the gate to Shoreline Park, which hasn't been manned in years — or at least I hadn't seen anyone there — and into the parking lot where they fly all those beautiful kites on Saturday afternoons.

You can see the giggling children and the families gathered around a wound-up piece of string as it's whipped through the air by the acrobatics of its airborne companion.

At least the people who could find parking could. Me? I'd forgotten that there's only one way in or out of this parking lot and, since I'd pulled all the way through, I was about to take the hardest driving test I'd had to face since parallel parking as a 15 year-old: reversing 50 yards past families with toddlers hypnotized by the mylar tails of kites gone by. It turned out to be worth it.

Mar.23.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Mountain View ] Comment Here »

Silicon Valley Farmers Markets

Image of Cherries One great way to spend weekend mornings is to check out the freshest produce, delivered right into your town by the local Northern California farmers. Not only do you get to pick from the best fruits and vegetables the area has to offer, but you also help your dollars go back into the local community.

The Pacific Coast Farmers Market Association publishes a detailed calendar to where you can find the local farmers markets (and what vendors will be there) in your area and the SFGate publishes a more comprehensive list of cities, but no vendor information.

Here's a sampling of the farmers markets in the cities across Silicon Valley and the rest of the Bay Area; many are open year-round and some of them are open during the weekdays too.

Mar.17.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News ] 2 Comments »

Walking Tour of Santana Row

Image of Villa Cornet and Lamborghini

Who says startup companies are the only reason Silicon Valley is glamorous? Who says you need to head up to San Francisco for the urban scene?

Santana Row is a uniquely Northern Californian fusion of design, culture and accessibility, recreating the atmosphere of Paris’ Champs Elysees using a distinctly Silicon Valley neo-Mediterranean architecture.

A bustling farmers market lines the streets on Sunday mornings in quaint contrast to the exotic car meets on Saturdays.

But for all the testosterone from the horsepower and club life of the weekends, Santana Row is an amazingly eccelctic place where strollers share the spotlight with Ferraris and people of all walks of life can enjoy the live music.

This walking tour starts from the garage on Olin Avenue, which is most easily accessible from Winchester Blvd.

Mar.16.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Neighborhoods, Santana Row ] 4 Comments »

The Ghosts Haunting Silicon Valley Buildings: Does Yours Have One?

Image of Ghost Tired of hearing that friendly "Howdy, Neighbor!" from the folks who live down the block? How about the encroaching silence of a winter breeze followed by hollow footsteps falling beside you, matching your cadence as you peer over the breath on your shoulder to… nothing?

Did you ever think the odd chill you feel when you walk into a house may not be the air conditioning? No? Well, let's rest our left hemispheres for the moment and let our imaginations run for a little while.

As fortunes come, go, and IPO here in the only land that's had a gold rush in three different centuries, the Bay Area and its Valley of the Heart's Delight (now modern-day Silicon Valley) isn't without its own stories of mystery.

Mar.10.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info ] 4 Comments »

Any Tour of Menlo Park Starts at Keplers and Ends in Xanadu

Menlo Park is a Tree USA city, adhering to four national standards for tree management and budgeting on forestry maintenance. Nestled into the lush greenery is a bustling area in central Menlo Park where hundreds of people will gather on a typically bright summer afternoon in Northern California, enjoying a glass of wine and walking the local scene.

Image of House in Menlo Park

Feb.23.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Menlo Park, Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News ] 1 Comment »

Silicon Valley Neighbors, Mountain Lions

Image of Mountain Lion Responding to reports about mountain lions sunbathing at the Fremont BART station, California Department of Fish and Game officials flew over the area with a helicopter and heat-sensing equipment but didn't find the offending felines.

When I first moved to Silicon Valley almost a decade ago… I spent a lot of time inside because of El Niño. But when it finally dried out, I dismantled the ark I'd been building, and took to hiking around beautiful Northern California.

Feb.21.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Neighborhoods, Silicon Valley News ] 1 Comment »

Walking Tour of Downtown Palo Alto

Palo Alto calls itself the "Birthplace of the Silicon Valley" and has a legitimate claim: it is the home of the garage where Dave Hewlett and Bill Packard founded the original Silicon Valley startup, HP.

Image of Palo Alto Plaque

But Palo Alto, with Stanford University to the south, has grown into an upscale community complete with an active downtown area that boasts high-end stores, an affluent atmosphere, and great restaurants.

Feb.17.2007 [ Filed under: Activities, Bay Area Info, Neighborhoods, Palo Alto, Silicon Valley News ] 2 Comments »