I knew I was in California when…
… leaving my hotel room one bright, sunny morning to walk to Starbucks and then to the conference, I passed by some California girls who were, well, just sorta hangin’.
During the week I was in Redwood City I must’ve walked over twelve miles. When I attend conferences, if I don’t stay in a room at the conference venue I like to stay about a mile or so away so I can walk to and from each day. This past week was perfect, I stayed in a mid-line hotel about 0.8 miles from the conference, with a Starbucks located conveniently in between. Every morning was clear, sunny, and windless; perfect for a walk along a serpentine path lined with pines and the occasional eucalyptus tree. Twice for dinner I walked to the nearby city of San Carlos, about 2 miles each way, ending up on Laurel street which is packed with restaurants, bars, and shops. No evidence of a bad economy here — the bars and restaurants were filled with well quaffed patrons buzzing about this and that, blissfully unaware, it seemed to me, of any looming fiscal cliff.
My last day there I connected with my friend Kevin. He’s gainfully employed as a scientist with Big (more like Medium) Pharma. We went for a nice 30-miler starting at his house, through the Stanford campus, out to the Portola Valley, back through Stanford, a stop at Philz Coffee, where they make it one cup at a time, a loop around Googleplex and then back to his house. I rode my old Merlin which now belongs to Kevin. It felt good to be in the company of friends.
A little shout out to the cute Stanford coed who took our picture.
In the dead of winter in Alaska, when I close my eyes and imagine road biking in California, this is what I envision. Kevin leads the way.
