take the kids – until suburbia!

Park your bike

August 16, 2019Silvia

It’s been hot the last couple of days. High temperatures and exhaust are causes of smog. That’s why we had ‘spare the air’ days the last couple of days. Since I’m not too impressed with public transportation around here I usually enjoy my bike rides.

In 2013 the city of Los Altos started the artistic bike rack policy. Businesses and property owners are allowed to install interesting bike racks in front of their property. In 2015 and 2016 the city had a bike rack competition.

It makes for a great treasure hunt. Try to find them all!

Do you have a favorite bike rack?

Sign for the Woodside library and the native plant garden.

Work in a native plant garden

August 10, 2019Silvia

Native plant garden at the Woodside library.

The sign at the Woodside library announces the library, and right below, the native plant garden. This acknowledgment is well deserved; the space of the garden seems as large as the library itself. You have to enter the garden from the library. The chairs and tables makes it clear that al fresco studying is encouraged here. And the people of Woodside take advantage of the natural office setting.

Map of the native plant garden at the Woodside library.

Right away there is a map of the garden. This garden was established in 1970 by the Woodside Atherton Garden Club. They also provide a pdf of all the plants.

Manzanita grove at the Woodside native plant garden.

The manzanita grove to the right immediately delighted me with their dark red bark. The horse smell from next door reminded me that I’m in Woodside. Every place, even the library, has a horse rack in front.

Redwood grove at the Woodside native plant garden.

The redwood grove in the back uses its half arch for benches. A great place for a school class to enjoy some lunch. Benches are sprinkled throughout the garden, inviting everyone to take a break.

The native garden is open during library hours:
Monday – Thursday 11 am to 7 pm
Friday and Saturday 11 am to 5 pm

Have you been to the native garden?

Resources:

The Woodside Library Native Plant Garden

http://woodsideathertongc.org/cgi-bin/p/awtp-custom.cgi?d=woodsideatherton-garden-club&page=9513

Find Nemo at the library

August 2, 2019Silvia

Butterfly fish at the Cupertino library aquarium.

Sure, you can find a good book on Nemo or clownfish at any local library. If you go to the Cupertino library you can try to find the clownfish in the aquarium next to the children’s books. This 16 feet long tank holds 3,240 gallons of water. To support such large tank the glass is 2.5 inches thick and there is a 5 foot concrete base underneath.

Besides clownfish, there are also yellow tanks, foxface bubblefish, yellowtail damsels, butterfly fish, and hermit crabs.The corals are man-made and therefore more environmentally friendly. Real corals are threatened by many factors like over-fishing, increased sea temperatures and tourism.

Plant petting zoo at the Cupertino library.

If your kid prefers land over water maybe come by on Tuesdays from 11 am – noon (summer hours) and let them explore the Children’s Garden in the courtyard. This garden has a plant petting zoo and a scratch and sniff area. For the teenagers that are into planting the Green Teen Garden might be attractive. Designed to provide local teenagers with hands-on garden experience.

Kids splashing around the water fountain in front of the Cupertino library.

And to cool off your child they can splash around in the water fountain outside.

What a fun place for kids!

Have you seen the aquarium at the Cupertino library?

The Apple 1 computer at the Historical Society and Museum in Cupertino.

View the Holy Grail of Computers

July 26, 2019July 29, 2019Silvia

Cupertino is mostly linked with Apple. The garage where Steve Jobs and Steve Woziak build the first Apple computer is in Los Altos. But the first office and all the preceding offices are mostly in Cupertino, including the old headquarters at Infinite Loop and the new ‘spaceship’.

So it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum is currently showing: Homage to the IT Revolution.

Entrance to the Historical Museum in Cupertino.

This traveling exhibit will be here until June 2020 and it is well worth the time. The Italian curated exhibit by a group called BasicGallery takes you on a journey of the visionaries of personal computers from 1975 to 1985.

Olivetti's Programma 101 at the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum.

It starts out with the first personal computer, the Programma 101, manufactured by Olivetti in Italy (1965). In a small space they have packed a cornucopia of information, illustrating it with the responding artifacts and stories about them. There are all the famous players you would expect, like the Commodore 64 and Atari 400, and of course multiple Apple computers. All artifacts are labeled with launch date, launch price, and units sold.

Apple 1 computer with keyboard, monitor, original package and letter from Steve Jobs, at the Cupertino Historical Society and Museum.

The star of the exhibit, titled in the showcase as the Holy Grail, is the Apple 1. This is believed to be the only surviving complete kit, of the 50 sold Apple 1’s, with the original box and a personal letter from Steve Jobs!

You can listen to interviews of key players at that time, like John Sculley, former CEO of Apple Inc., and Steve Wozniak (Co-founder of Apple Inc). The introductory video is online:

http://www.basicpress.com/contenuti/media/resultmedia.asp?id=143654

I highly recommend this free exhibit (donations are welcome), from Wednesday – Saturday 10 am – 4 pm. Please call ahead to verify that the museum is open (408) 973-1495.

What is your earliest personal computer experience?

Climbing structure at the Palo Alto Junior Museum.

Crawl like a spider

July 19, 2019June 27, 2019Silvia

Tree house, part of the plan for the new Palo Alto Junior Museum.

Temporarily, the Palo Alto Junior Museum is at Cubberly Community Center. Their old site is being renovated and expected to be ready in the summer of 2020. In the front of the Center you can see the plans they have – it looks pretty cool – e.g. a tree house!

Because of the limited space all the larger animals like bobcats and raccoons, are in the back. I was told that they do special events for members where they bring some of them out. Membership starts at $100 and relieves you of the $5 suggested donation.

Kids looking at the rats exhibit at the Palo Alto Junior Museum.

What you can see is a pretty cool insect exhibit, alive and dead. The sunburst diving beetles for example are constantly diving down in their little aquarium. I did not hear the hissing roaches hiss, but you can still marvel at their size. All the exhibits are kids height.

In the middle of the room is a spider web big enough to entertain toddlers for a while. There are also some life spiders, like a tarantula and a black widow you can look at.

Reggie, the kingsnake, at the Palo Alto Junior Museum.

Reggie, the kingsnake, decorated his mantuary with some old skin. Enough rats to learn counting are next door to Reggie.

The Clean Green Energy Machines teach children about renewable energy. These machines are hands-on, start-to-bubble-and-spit types, which makes it fun to look at and learn.

The Junior Museum is closed on Monday, on Tuesdays to Saturdays open from 10 am – 5 pm, and Sundays from 1 pm to 4 pm.

When it comes to animal walks what creature do you resemble?

Learn about 4-H

July 12, 2019June 26, 2019Silvia

Walking around the premise of McClellan Ranch I was greeted by a pony. The owner was walking it and I was allowed to say ‘Hi’. McClellan Ranch in Cupertino is not a working farm. It is a museum and blacksmith shop. The pony is a resident of the Rolling Hills 4-H that is located on the McClellan Ranch property.

After my encounter with the pony I saw my favorite barn animals: pigs! I went over and talked to one of the young persons herding the pigs. I learned that these piggies are about one year old and they will be shown off at the Santa Clara County Fair August 1-4, 2019. The pigs have to move for about 30 minutes at the fair, so here they were practicing not to stop and doodle. Every pig in this pen had a walker with a stick, tapping the pig away from anything and each other.

I asked the girl, who was about 15 years old, if it was hard to sell a pig you’ve been taken care off for so long. She replied: “Selling your first pig is hard, but you really don’t get too attached to them since you are not with them all the time. Not like a dog that lives in your house.” She also mentioned that the $2000 you can make for it makes up for it. I also learned that luau pigs are the latest craze in the Bay Area.

Every second Saturday this 4-H has an open house from 10 am to noon, from March – November.

I think it is a lot of commitment caring for farm animals, but I was really impressed by the kids I met.

What is your favorite barn animal?

Resources:

4‑H Home Page

Waterslide at Blackberry Farm in Cupertino

Swim in an outdoor pool

July 5, 2019June 16, 2019Silvia

I’m from Germany and I remember entire summers being spent in the local outdoor pools. You would meet some friends, make new ones, and every once in a while cool down in the water.

In the U.S. I always thought swimming was more a sport than a social affair. You can go to your gym and swim the lanes. There is even a 100 mile challenge at my swimming hole. I calculate at the rate I do laps it would take me 3 ½ years to complete the challenge.

The other day I visited Blackberry Farm in Cupertino. Steve Jobs named a whole company after a fruit in this city, so I expected an old blackberry orchard. To my delight I saw two pools! One with a waterslide, and the other for swimming, and a lot of people frolicing about in the water. There was a birthday party! If you check out their website, you can see that they encourage parties. But this place is a recreational activity for the whole family.

Pool rates are $8 ($6 for residents) during the week and on Saturday and Sundays $10 ($8 for residents). The Blackberry Cafe is open from 10 am to 6 pm and serves all the classic foods, from burgers and hot dogs to salads and ice cream sandwiches.

Do you have an outdoor pool you like to spend summer days in?

Dragon at the Magic Mountain playground, San Mateo.

Play by the Bay

June 28, 2019June 28, 2019Silvia

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

June 21, 2019June 15, 2019Silvia

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

June 14, 2019Silvia

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?