I flew into California on Wednesday. Jacobo
came to my hotel to pick me up and showed that his beaten down old Honda is even older
than my beaten down old Honda. Barbara
joined us for dinner as well.
The next morning, we got up bright and earlier – earlier than we would have liked thanks
to the smoke alarm at the hotel. Marsha led the way
into Hobbee's where this gentleman
brought my tofu scramble
complete with their famous blueberry coffee cake and exceedingly strong cinnamon tea.
After a break, I went to Portal where they gave me this
badge
and let me in to see John Little
and hear about the exciting things happening there while
drinking this water
My next stop was Network
Appliances where this woman
was kind enough to give me this badge
so that I could see Tom Kessler
and drink this Snapple
After finishing with Tom, I admired the company flags
and sculptures
before heading across the street to this establishment
where this gentleman
prepared coffee for Peter
and Marsha
We returned across the street to Network Appliances
and got new badges
that let us see Dan Warmenhoven in a
variety of poses, first in cardboard
then in front of the company's logo
and finally in front of their products
Along the way, I drank this water
We left after dark and I followed their car
back to Palo Alto.
Friday morning, Kai Li
came to the hotel for breakfast. Being a real Silicon Valley type, he was required to
make a call on his cell phone
during the meal. After the meal, it was time to say good bye to the hotel
and to the friendly valet parking attendant
so that we could go to building 3
which is where the WebTV people
live at Microsoft's Silicon Valley campus. This woman
was kind enough to give me this badge
so that we could go to lunch at Phil Goldman's
favorite Mexican restaurant. Phil
and Marsha
were kind enough to pose for pictures as I enjoyed the chips
and veggie burrito
After lunch, Marsha was nice enough to take the obligatory phone booth pictures
My time in the Bay Area was almost over, so I brought the rental car
back to Hertz
and followed the signs
to the shuttle bus
to the signs leading to Gate 16
. But first, I had to go through security
where this woman
was kind enough to ask me to try out my camera. Once at Gate 16, I queued up
so that this woman
could give me my boarding card
and I could prepare to board this plane
in the third group. When I got to San Diego, I was happy to see DanSyl
at the gate. We had dinner at which I drank this beer
and then called it a day.
The next day, Larry came to visit and brought too much light with him
Once we got him into a darker environment
it was also possible to greet Janet
and then we all sat down to lunch where the vegetables
were good and the soup
was even better. As you can see from the faces
and hands
of those gathered, everyone was too busy enjoying the meal to put on their favorite smile.
When we finished, there was one lonely piece of potato kugel
left. This inspired Larry to try his hand at photography taking pictures of Janet
Sylvia
and even me
After lunch, we decided to play bridge. I spent a lot of time with my cards like this
acting the part of the dummy. And my score
showed it. Larry got us into his car
and we headed to La Jolla to look at the apartment
complex
where Dansyl are planning to move. The place even has
valet parking. The agent led us into the apartment
which unfortunately gets light and noise from the portico
but has a beautiful shower
and nice closets
where you could take a picture of yourself off the mirrors. The kitchen had opportunities
for great photographic effects
Next we took the elevator to floor 21 where the view of the Mormon church
is something to behold as was the dining room
which was overseen by these pleasant waiters
Next we headed off to see Aunt Anne
and Uncle Irv
and Robin and Linda
Once we were all assembled, we went downstairs for dinner. Everyone else
recommended this mixed drink
so I tried it. Larry
Janet
Linda
Anne
Rob
Dan
Sylvia
and Irv
all enjoyed being served by Nicole
our waitress for the evening. Sylvia's fish
was more photogenic than my portabella mushroom lasagna and so it is
the final picture I took on the trip.