How Could I Forget Palo Alto?

One of the World's Funkiest Hotels

Flora and Flora in every single Impossible Space

Check out this video of this special garden area just off the parking garage that greets you as you head toward your room: http://youtu.be/LaBUqbLd9B4

Good, This will be Big D's first chance to go Swimming!

He Loves it, cautiously....

We came to Palo Alto so my daughter could attend one of her annual Conferences at Stanford, she works for the Stanford Medical Research and does all their blogging and Social Media.

Fun for the Whole Family here

We spent the better part of two days here.

First time for us to see Canada Geese chicks

These wetlands are part of the San Francisco Bay that pass way South and behind Palo Alto

We saw a lot of Stilts here

Huge panoramic vistas

There we 5-6 of these artist, I wanted to hang out behind them and watch but I thought I was invading their space.

"Above the Baylands rippling green
the smooth winds roll, smooth and clean
and the crisp clear flocks of birds, skim serene
exalted above the Blue expanse".

Definitely have to wait for high tide to get a boat out from here

On the map

Drew likes Birds

Our son called and told us about the Greek resturant Evvia http://www.evvia.net/about/ , he said we had to eat here and to get the Lamb chops

He was So right

Drew learned that if he wanted to get a ball he had to be fast to beat the others looking to snatch one.

Palm Drive into Standford.

We decided to do lunch at the Alumni Center

D liked Standord, all I have to say is they are gonna have to up their game if they want Drew to attend here. 

D and I had some time to kill while waiting on the Admiral so we watched this Over 60 men's soccer game. The Old dudes enjoyed talking to Drew and they invited me to come join them. The oldest guy on the team was a 92 year old Forward!

I went to get some take out salads for dinner with my daughter and she told me about these Killer Sangria's at Sprouts http://www.cafesprout.com/home so I got us a couple while we waited. The Sangria Mark made for us in Palm springs was a bit better though.

I always passed these massage chairs up in the airports, never again!

Take a picture so you can remember where your car is at the Sea-Tac Airport

How Could I Forget Palo Alto?

It just dawned on me.Since we came up to Seattle we have been immersed into the world of 30 somethings. Their whole world is way faster and since they value their time more than money, any time away from work is filled with doing something. They never take advantage of a day off just to chill out and sleep or just laze around. Way different from a couple in their 60's cruising around the Coastal US in a sailboat and never faster than 7 mph! My brain is struggling to keep up.
So that is how I forgot to blog our Palo Alto trip. The last time we were there in 2003 was to attend our daughters graduation where she earned her Masters in Communication. Since that time she has had several jobs as a writer for various online and print newspapers, magazines, and Journals.She currently works for the Stanford Medical Research as their Blogger and Social Media person. She does this from her home in
Seattle and only has to physically report in to her office in Palo Alto a few times a year. So she asked us to accompany her and Drew for her annual week long Big Data in Biomedicene Conference http://bigdata.stanford.edu/conference-2014/  We were up for it since the last time we were their we really only got to see Stanford and then help her move out of her apartment. Don't get me wrong, anytime during our travels there was a college or university near by we stopped and walked around the campus There is just something that is always positive about being on a college campus.
This time we wanted to see Palo Alto. It all started with the funky hotel that was just a couple blocks from the Stanford Campus, The Stanford Terrace Inn: http://www.stanfordterraceinn.com/ "An oasis of unexpected elegance" For Sure!
There were potted plants in every available space through out this hotel including small fruit trees of all types. It created a special funky atmosphere in a hotel that draws a international clientele since it is right next door to Stanford so you have quiet the mix. It seems like it was an old apartment building converted to a hotel since the rooms are really spacious and have full kitchens and living areas. The pool was perfect for Big D's first swimming pool experience.
We found the Bay Lands, a protected wetlands on the East side of Palo Alto that had the Lucy Evans Nature Center. We took D birding and exploring this wetland area that also had a bit of boating history connected to it since it is part of the San Francisco Bay area estuaries. We managed to get in two visits and each time there were several artist there working on Panoramic type vistas with the Santa Cruz Mountains as the background. We all liked our time there and we saw some familiar birds and our first Canada Geese chicks.
Another day was spent meeting up with Drew's Aunt and cousin at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/csd/jmz/ This was his chance to see if he could keep up with a 4 year old super smart girl...nope, to fast! Then a day walking the Stanford Campus and eating a late lunch at the Alumni Center.
The best part of following your daughter around on her adventures is that she has the local knowledge before we arrive so she knows all the good places to eat and we did like the Salads and Sangria at Sprouts http://www.cafesprout.com/home