Month: June 2019

Dragon at the Magic Mountain playground, San Mateo.

Play by the Bay

Silvia

Even now that I have a teenager, I still remember the value of a good playground. Magic Mountain Playground on the Coyote Point in San Mateo is one of my favorite playground designs.

The two dragons with the wide mouths open invite anyone to climb about. There is an area for little kids 2 to 3 year olds, too. But let me tell you the real attraction is the ‘castle’, a tower that is three stories high (18 feet) and has six slides. One of the slides is, at 55 feet, the longest metal slide in Northern California!

Longest metal slide in Northern California at the Magic Mountain playground in San Mateo.

And there is so much more to do at Coyote Point. For example the nearby SFO supplies an almost endless amount of planes landing and taking off to stop play and point to the sky. There is also CuriOdyssey, a science center and zoo for little kids. CuriOdyssey’s admission is $13.50 for adults, $9.50 for children and $8.50 for seniors and students (13-17). The park is also great for hiking, bbq’ing and the marina is located here, too. On June 29th, 2019 the third annual Coyote Point Kite Festival  will be happening (12 – 4). You can make kites or bring your own. Admission is free (except parking).

Sign of CuriOdyssey at Coyote Point, San Mateo.

The Entrance fee is $6 per car, which allows you to explore all of Coyote Point. 

What is your favorite playground by the Bay?

 

Part of Cubberly hands at the Cubberly Community Center in Palo Alto.

Mix in with the Cubberly Project

Silvia

The halls feel like a school with rooms on each side. There is a roof, but it is not enclosed. This brings some nice welcome shade in this heat. I wander the halls trying to find the Cubberly Project – an art installation depicting the diversity of this community center in Palo Alto.

Some of the Cubberly hands at the Cubberly Center in Palo Alto.

On the walls around the community center are photos by Martha Sakellariou; writer Jennifer Lee supplied the content. The exhibit is the result of three weeks of gathering information about the people you might meet around this campus.

I can feel the diversity just by wandering the halls. I hear kids repeating a teacher’s word in, I believe, Chinese. There is a group of children running down the hall. Dance classes and karate are being offered. This all shows the great mix of community.

Part of The sixteen Avenidas, Cubberly Center in Palo Alto.

Martha Sakellariou captures this in a fantastic way. In The sixteen Avenidas, 16 women are making flower arrangements. These women vary in age and ethnicity and you can see them enjoying their tasks and each other in a photo mural in the courtyard.

Part of The Cubberly hands, Cubberly Center in Palo Alto.


The Cubberly hands is a collage of different hands and activities involving hands. Again these images show the diversity and speak without words about the inclusion of different backgrounds and habits.

I enjoyed the Cubberly Project and hope this will make us all want to learn more about each other. All summer you can see the installation at the Cubberley Community Center in Palo Alto. There is an audio installment that will play some of the interviews until June 21st, 2019, Monday – Friday 5 pm to 7 pm, and weekends from 11 am to 1 pm.

 

Have you seen the Cubberly Project?

Resources:

https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/19/cubberley-stock-art-event-planned-for-march-24

https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/03/27/soup-bowl-sunday

https://paloaltoonline.com/news/2019/06/13/the-cubberley-project-celebrates-community-voices

 

Table setting at the Los Altos History Museum Silicon Valley Eats exhibit.

Foodies reunite in this exhibit

Silvia

The last time I went to the Los Altos History Museum I came back with some old recipes. This time it was again a food inspired exhibit that spiked my interest: Silicon Valley Eats. Silicon Valley was formerly known as the Valley of Hearts Delights with orchards and canneries. This  is the natural starting point for this exhibit. I liked the different menus from restaurants in Los Altos displayed on the wall.

Place setting at the J. Gilbert Smith House, Los Altos.

There were a lot of information about new and inventive foods. Did you know that 80% of the world’s population eats bugs?

The J. Gilbert Smith House next door also has a Silicon Valley feel to it with its scavenger hunt-like exhibit about Gadgets Galore! Our guide pointed out different old mechanical devices. For example, there is an adding machine – and in fact, all it does is add.

Adding machine at the J. Gilbert Smith House, Los Altos.

In the spirit of invention, the History Museum can point to the walnut huller. They own the prototype and the actual working huller. All invented in Los Altos.

Part of the walnut huller, Los Altos History Museum.

Both exhibits run through early September and are free (donations are appreciated). The Los Altos History Museum is open Thursdays to Sundays noon – 4 pm.

This was our first group outing. Thanks to everyone who joined me! If you like to be included in future group activities contact me, or sent me an email under untilsuburbia@gmail.com.

Are you a foodie?

Rose bush at the Los Altos Nursery

Go plant shopping

Silvia

By the rate I tell you about public gardens you must know by now that I do like seeing growing things. A nursery, a place where they grow plants and sell them, is the perfect outing if you just needed to see some greenery. I did end up buying some plants anyway, but enjoyed the view nonetheless.

Los Altos Nursery painted by Will Maller.

I learned about the Los Altos Nursery at Los Altos City Hall of all places. At City Hall, in the council meeting chamber, they exhibit local artists depicting some of their favorite places in the city. I was drawn to the image from Will Maller, titled Los Altos Nursery, showing a little bridge over a fish pond. The description revealed a much deeper history of this commercial business.

Accounts vary but by around 1915 the Furuichi family had bought 5 acres of land and began farming on Hawthorne Ave. By 1942 the Furuichi were forced out and detained to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wisconsin. George Furuichi served in the 422nd Infantry Regiment. Ironically, after the men were placed in the camps as a security risk , they were drafted out of the camps into the US army.  The 442nd was almost entirely comprised of second generation Japanese Americans; it is the most decorated unit in U.S. military history. Thanks to Frank and Marge Rossi, friends of the Furuichi, who protected their property, the Furuichi were able to return to their land, unlike other Japanese Americans who lost everything. In 1947 they established the Los Altos Nursery.

Koi pond at the Los Altos Nursery

The little bridge with the koi pond is still there. Hidden with bamboos and some buddha statues watching over it, it is the perfect entrance to this well loved establishment.

Buddha statue at Los Altos Nursery

Open from May to September, Thursdays – Mondays 9 am – 5 pm.

Have you been to the Los Altos Nursery?