Gearing Up

I'm moving back home -- my childhood home in Willow Glen where my parents have resided for 38 years -- for an eight week summer teaching job.  I love being in San Jose because so many of my friends and family are here, and also because I get to experience the "big city civilization" (a.k.a. Thai restaurants, malls, REI, amusement parks for my kids, Starbucks, stoplights, etc.) that I have been missing for the past fifteen years in Los Olivos. (No, I don't miss stoplights, but since my entire town doesn't have a single one, it helps illustrates just how remote and small Los Olivos is.)  However, being here also reminds me why I left, and why I love my quiet, community-based life at Dunn School.

My life in Willow Glen is very relaxing and peaceful.  My parents help out amazingly with my kids, and I can be as lazy or as social as I want without any judgement from them.  But that is my big concern in taking this job: if I'm not careful, I could turn into the laziest slug, wasting away my time on Netflix, Minecraft, and huge restaurant meals with my dad.  As the Elite Prep job is only three to five hours a day, this is a very real possibility.

I have decided to challenge myself to "revisit" San Jose, searching out museums, activities, hikes, cafés, and tourist sites to find the gems of this city.  I'm going to shoot for five visits a week and will blog about my discoveries.

A few choices on my list:

• Alum Rock Park
• Quicksilver Mines
• Comedy Sportz SJ
• Winchester Mystery House
• Mystery Spot
• Villa Montalvo
• Lick Observatory
• Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
• Rose Garden
• San Jose Museum of Art
• San Jose History Park at Kelley Park
• San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art
• Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph
• SJ Center for the Performing Arts
• Stanford Theatre
• I also bought two books full of south bay hikes, so I'd like to choose at least one or two a week as well.

There are plenty more, but several San Jose icons I frequent regularly while I'm here on other visits: Happy Hollow, the Japanese Friendship Garden, Children's Discovery Museum, etc.  Most of the ones on this list I haven't visited since I was in my teens or earlier.

Please list any other suggestions you may have for me in the comments section, and let me know if you want to join me on any of the trips listed above.  I'd love the company!