Hi,
Back from our Palo Alto/San Jose weekend. Lots of driving, smiling and talking. We had a great time at the party and made some new friends.
The 'Old School Friday' tune was "Rockin' Robin", originally recorded by Bobby Day. Now you know. 'Easy Monday' came from across the pond. "__ __ __ __ __ __ (repeat). If you don't take her out tonight, she's going to change her mind. And I will take her out tonight, and I will treat her kind. __ __ __ __ __ __, (repeat)."
Hint: Someone is about to be without their girlfriend. Hmm.
Saturday morning we flew to San Jose. Flying at mid-day was good because there weren't many people going our way. We had booked a room at The Zen Hotel in Palo Alto and it was very cool. We were in a room that had a back door that opened to a Zen garden. It's someplace we'd stay again.
After we got settled in our room we drove into the main part of town and met with Ming. While we ate lunch he told us about the research he's doing, studying American film making. We learned a bunch about the structure of movies and spent time talking about Thailand.
Palo Alto is a city made up of many distinct elements. It's a college town, a business hub in the tech world, and also an area with lot of 'old' money. There were lots of signs on the streets letting you know the fine for running a red light. The fees were not the same on all roads. There was a $100 range for the same offense. There were also lots of concessions for bicycle riders, like special lanes and places to lock bikes. The main street was a crush of cars and people on Saturday afternoon. That night we saw a line almost a block long for an ice cream parlor. Must be some good stuff.
The birthday dinner party for Joe & Eva was a smashing success. All of their dearest friends and family were there. There was a large assortment of Chinese food, and a big helping of conversation. We made some new friends and saw people we haven't seen in years. Great Grand Children brought paintings they'd made, one danced and another read a poem she wrote on the spot. Lots of creativity was flowing. After the party we went back to their house and just hung out for a while. Sunday morning we picked up Joe and went to breakfast and then returned to his studio. He showed us his recent art projects and some experiments he's been doing.
From Palo Alto we drove south to San Jose where we were to have lunch with Bill, Rachelle and Cordelia. We haven't seen them in a couple of trips to the US, so it was really good to spend some time with them. We saw something new to us on the streets of San Jose. They have public toilets that are large enough to take a bicycle inside. After they are used, they apparently shut down for 'decontamination' for a few minutes before the next use. We noticed a guy standing, waiting for this process to be over before he could go inside. Clearly not an emergency friendly unit.
After lunch we had time before we had to be at the airport for the flight home so we wandered around a big shopping center. Pet stores are high on our list of places to check out. We have been looking for yellow or blue rubber balls for playing catch with the dogs. Those are the colors dogs see best, but no one seems to make balls in those colors. Hmm. We went to a Target, where I got a hat.
Back in Culver City, after a chilly flight home, we were hanging out with Mr. August and he playfully put on my new hat. It was a cool look for him as you can see from this photo.
Mr. August
It seems like it has taken us the whole two weeks to get over Jet Lag. This should make the return to Thailand very interesting.
Have a Great Week.
Peace,
Danny
~Erica Jong
Gettin' Funky, Thai Style
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