San Carlos Archives - until suburbia!

Hike up to Contemplate

January 31, 2020December 15, 2020Silvia

We did pick the easy route, parking on the highest spot for Eaton Park in San Carlos. But if you are feeling adventurous, and in great shape, you might want to start with 72 stairs and climb your way up to this amazing view point.

Views of San Francisco at Eaton Park, San Carlos.

On a clear day you can see San Francisco!

With a view like this it is hard to focus on the labyrinth in front and look down to follow the path. Nevertheless, this too is very satisfying. Start with a specific question or just follow the path and see where it leads your thoughts. For more ideas on where to find labyrinths in the Bay Area, you can click on the article:

Follow the spiral/spiritual path

A great viewpoint in San Carlos.

Would you walk the labyrinth or just enjoy the view?

Kid admiring Rudolph on Eucalyptus Street, San Carlos

Admire the Lights on Eucalyptus Street

December 21, 2018October 27, 2023Silvia

This is the season of lights. There are many neighborhoods in the Bay Area that cherish this tradition in an extraordinary manner.

Santa landing strip, Eucalyptus Street, San Carlos

Eucalyptus Street in San Carlos is two blocks of Holiday Wonderland. Parking is tight but not impossible. There is a park nearby, Burton Park, that might be your best option for parking. If you start on the corner of Orange and Eucalyptus Santa is asked to land there. He might as well stroll up and down to see all the beautiful lights. There are a lot of people and the little ones are plentiful, too.

On my visit on Saturday night I saw a lot of residents having private holiday parties. Nevertheless they made this an event for everyone by having a brass band playing Holiday favorites, a young juggler performing, plenty of photo opps for the instagram or Holiday cards, and of course the lights and moving objects to look at. My favorite attraction was the letter to Santa mailbox. Kids can write letters to Santa, last year they wrote 3217, and Nan Pat and Bumpy personally will deliver the mail.

This is a nice festive activity. A little boy of maybe two pointed at the moon as if he just saw Santa’s sled. Overall I think they did a great job! Got me into a merry mood.

Happy Holidays everyone!

Chat with an artist

May 4, 2018Silvia

3 weekends

360+ artists

28 cities

150+ locations

These are the impressive statistics for the Silicon Valley Open Studios in the first three weekends in May 2018.

Each weekend is dedicated to an area in Silicon Valley. Nonetheless, some artist’s work can be seen in multiple locations. The best place to start this adventure is by downloading the directory or checking out their website and consulting the map. You might also find the directory at a newspaper vending machine in the area.

Once you are on the road look for sandwich boards with arrows and “open studio”. This makes for a fun treasure hunt before you get to the treasure!

Chatting with the artist is encouraged. After all, the motto for the Open Studios is Connecting artists to the arts enthusiast. So, please ask questions, be enthusiastic, and buy a piece of art.

2018 Open Studio Dates – 11am to 5pm

WEEKEND 1: Northern Area – May 5th – 6th

Belmont, Burlingame, East Palo Alto, Hillsborough, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Palo Alto, Portola Valley, Redwood City, San Carlos, San Mateo, Stanford, South San Francisco, and Woodside

WEEKEND 2: Central Area – May 12th – 13th

East Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View, Palo Alto, Santa Clara, Stanford, Sunnyvale.

WEEKEND 3: Southern Area/Pacific Coast – May 19th – 20th

Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Gatos, Milpitas, Morgan Hill, San Jose, and Saratoga, El Granada, Half Moon Bay, Miramar, Montara, Moss Beach, and Pacifica

Have you in previous years explored the Silicon Valley Open Studios?

Fly a drone or model airplane

September 8, 2017Silvia

I have never been intrigued with flying – in fact I get really frustrated with flying video games. But, I find watching these little airplanes and flying objects fascinating.

There are few places in the Bay Area for model airplane flying.

If you want to pursue this as a hobby you might want to join Bay R/C.

If you are like me a watch-only kind of person, your best chances to see the little flyers are at Baylands Park in Sunnyvale (parking is $6 from March to October). Rancho San Antonio also has a field for non-gas powered model airplanes.

For those of you who like to get hands-on education, the Hiller Aviation Museum offers the Drone Plex. Each Saturday and Sunday from 10:30 am to 12 pm there are demonstrations; from 1 pm to 3 pm you can sign-up for the flight experience – (an extra $5 for 20 minutes; museum fee is $16 for adults and $11 for seniors and youth, 5-17 year olds, under 4 year olds are free). The museum also has flight simulators.

Are you an aviation geek?

Learn how to fly

September 16, 2016Silvia

Another inventor, who started in a garage in Berkeley, was Wunderkind Stanley Hiller Jr. He was only 15, but already accepted at Berkeley University when he build his Hiller-copter.

Hiller, at age 8, the inventor, build a motorized buggy with the engine of his mother’s washing machine, at age 10, the aviator, he learned to fly, and by 12, the businessman, he had a $100.000 a year business.

The Hiller Museum of Aviation in San Carlos shows a lot of his prototypes. The volunteers who know so many great stories of all the helicopters and planes that are surround you, bring it alive. Some of the stories are about people that made aviation history, like General Valérie André, the first woman to have piloted a helicopter in a combat zone.

They do a tribute to women aviators with short descriptions about them. Did you know that there were two Amelia Earhart’s (not related) that made flight history?

This is a great museum for kids of all ages. Lots of exhibits that allow you to climb in. On the weekends they teach you how to fly a drone or you can try to operate a plane in a flight simulator.

Are you a flight buff?