I’m posting this on Saturday night from Monsieur Beans of Willow Glen, a quaint coffeshop near where Nicci’s mom lives. Live music in the opposite room, we’re huddled in a corner booth enjoying some quality baked goods and a soda. Thanks for letting us use your free Wi-Fi!
Awoke on Steve’s couch this morning, wondering what the hell had happened at the very end of last night. There were games involved, but I’m pretty sure the table conversation devolved into some unusual topics. I don’t know for certain — it’s really just a hunch. Nevertheless, Nicci and I dressed rapidly and quickly departed our temporary residence so that Steve and Anjuli could begin their trip down the coast to Los Angeles as early in the morning as possible. We’re trading places for the weekend. The two of them will be living the life as visiting hipsters in east LA while the two of us will be touristy bay area losers hanging out a considerable distance from the bay in Gilroy.
Our first stop of the day came at the Winchester Mystery House in San Jose. Built by the widow of what’s-his-name Winchester — the guy who invented the rifle which bears hi name — the “house” is actually a sprawling, 160-room mansion with a number of odd features. There are doors leading to nowhere, stairs that lead to ceilings, chimneys that don’t reach the roof, cabinets with no storage space, and only one shower! It’s a ridiculous and at times very depressing tour. Most of the original stairs were replaced with easy steps to help the old widow when she had arthritis, so taking 70 stairs and making seven complete turns to travel a distance of three or four feet kind of makes you feel pathetic. Still, the property and the architecture (on the outside) is unique and visually pleasing, so there were a great number of photo opportunities.
Another slighty-less known attraction in San Jose is the life-sized Monopoly board in Guadalupe Park. It measures 930-square feet, and would make for the most amazing drunken gameplay site I’ve ever seen. I know you have to rent the space and get the special tools from…somewhere, but if you brought your own Monopoly kit from home and we’re okay playing with small money and small cards and small houses/hotels, you could have a really good time. Throw in some booze and you’ve got an amazing summer evening.
Nicci gave me a driving tour of Gilroy. I drove, but she pointed things out. Traffic wasn’t horrible even though the Garlic Festival began today. The air here certainly smelled good. I saw her childhood home, her high school, some local handouts and a place that breeds its own hybrid flowers and sells seeds. It was very colorful.
After a brief meeting with Nicci’s mom at her house, the three of us travelled to an area called Santana Row, which is an outdoor shopping strip with a bunch of eateries. We stopped at a wine bar and had our own flights of wine. I tried my best to pretend I knew what the hell I was drinking, but I really didn’t know what the hell was going on in my three glasses of wine. Afterwards we went for Cajun food and drank another bottle of wine. All was well. Our buzzed troupe stumbled into The Container Store and made jokes about containers. Then we returned home to Nicci’s mom’s place. Then I pulled out my computer and wrote this entry.
M. Ward – Post-War
Bob Dylan – Girl From The North Country
Man Or Astro Man? – Eric Estrotica
Universal Jubilee – Childhood Days
