Residence Inn By Marriott San Jose South

04/11/2009 - Woke up in the morning, had our usual breakfast (cereal in our room out of paper bowls!), and checked out of the hotel. We picked up the car from the backstreet car park (it was still there, with all its wheels on, thank god) and headed south on Highway 1. We had initially planned to travel seventy miles or so and stay in Santa Cruz, but the reviews on tripadvisor.com said it was past its best and a ...

... me back. Harassment isn't a new idea and so I just do a double check to make sure these guys aren't gonna follow me into the dark, and they weren't, they were just standing together under a streetlamp. So, on and on I go, and I look up to see Lola and I see 3 guys. One with the hood open, working some jumper cables or something, another in the driver's seat, and one standing in the street under another streetlamp. My first instinct at that point was "OH ______!! THEY'RE STEALING LOLA ...

... to. Skype is .02 cents a minute to call landlines or cellphones in the US & Canada from abroad. If you are skyping with someone else who has a skype account (computer to computer), it is a FREE call. Whereas my AT&T cell phone plan has "DISCOUNTED" rates of over $4.00 a minute in some countries. Yep...those are "discounted" folks...as a result of those "discounted" rates we have made a rule that any Non-Skype calls from my cell are for reasons ...

... to rent a car during the end of my trip. I was staying in Staybridge Suite. Not a big brand, but it had pretty good facilities. It was a kind of full service Suite with complementary breakfast, dinner, laundry, Internet with all other amenities one would expect. The complementary dinner is something I have not seen anywhere else. The hotel is walkable from Cisco campus building ...

... my Irish accent...and alcohol tolerance. Frigid wind on my face as the ferry crosses the English Channel. Stereotypically smoking a cigarette at a stereotypical French café. Getting sauced with my new friends after a sweaty day in the sun. Running from the police with the naughty Marseille taggers. Going to southern France nude beaches ...

... up on some of my writing, I went to the meeting. I was surprised to see that many of the young men that I saw at bowling came out to the discussion meeting for the Berkeley Marina District. The meeting that followed was fantastic with lively discussion about the meaning and value of developing leadership for our communities and for our practice. Two members shared their heartfelt experiences about overcoming somer serious obstacles in their lives. One ...

... valet when the bouncer wouldn't let Steven in on account of his expired driver's license - he was still waiting for his new one in the mail. What difference did it make, since his birthdate was right there in black and white, even if the license was expired? Alternate plans were made to park and walk around the Kodak Theater and grab a bite and a few pitchers at Hooters.

... the omnipotent mother sea. We only had half-an-hour before the train left, but I kept turning around while walking back, mesmerized by the two races of water uniting to form an intermediary, a compromise, a dynamic solution to the collision of two seemingly disparate powerful forces. I think I found Bocas de Ceniza difficult to walk away from because the mouth of the Magdalena is just one more reason why this river is a microcosm for this complex ...

... we drove to the Muir forest 10min north of SF, up a windy european street with hairpin turns and 90 drop off cliffsides. It was pretty amazing, though i probably took too many pics of the redwoods- since there's all this hype around it, it felt like a big touristy snap happy moment, I'm gonna wonder why I took so many pics of trees when I see them. Also I don't think they're as big as the ones up north where i've seen pics of them as wide as houses, these were more like ...

... the windsurfers. then upon to the Golden gate bridge a thing of real beauty then across it and down into Saucilito. then get the ferry back to pier 39. it was truly amazing. A very close 2nd however is visiting Alcatraz. for anyone who is a fan of the Rock or the CLint Eastwood film escape from Alcatraz this place is well worth it. it has an amazing history and was home to Al Capone no less. the cells are tiny and the ...