CALIFORNIA DREAMIN', Day 10, August 2

Well, the 11th hour is upon us, and we are facing our last day in northern California. Once again, a beautiful day. After a breakfast of blueberry muffins, peaches and blackberries, and a marvelous cup of decaffeinated Ethiopian coffee, Maureen and Alexandra left to buy some things for our subsequent picnic. Alexandra wanted to go to Rasputin Records, and walked back home afterwards, having purchased three LPs. Maureen soon followed, and we put together a great lunch of ham and turkey sandwiches; Cerignola olives (both black and red); carrot sticks, cucumber salad, and figs and apricots for dessert. We packed all of it up and drove to Mountain View Lake, where we ate, watched the squirrels, the pelicans, and the Canada geese, and then took a walk around the lake. Afterwards we decided to explore Google, based in Mountain View, so we went to the building which displayed all its androids on the front lawn (honeycomb, eclair, cupcake, donut, gingerbread man, and sundae). We took some initial pictures, determining to come back later when less tourists were doing the same thing. Next, we headed towards the Computer History Museum, dedicated to the preservation and celebration of computing history. "Revolution: The First 2000 Years of Computing" chronicles the evolution and impact of modern computing from the abacus to the smart phone. The multimedia experience includes computer hardware, software, documentation, ephemera, photographs, and moving images. It was a marvelous exhibit, much of which was over my head, but which was very interesting nonetheless. Afterwards, we went back to the androids at Google and finally got our pictures. Alexandra also got in touch with a friend (Tom) she had known in high school, who currently works at Google, and he came by to say hello, heading, afterwards, to the gym. As an employee, he lives in SF, but can catch a Google shuttle to and from work every day and borrow a bike to travel to and from within the Google campus. Additionally, as an employee he can eat at their restaurant for free, and there is a Google employee gym in the vicinity as well. An amazing setup, and a gorgeous campus! After he left, we also left for Sunnyvale, for the historic Murphry St. section of town, where we parked and went to a bookstore and then to an Indian restaurant called Turmeric, where I had lamb kebabs; Maureen had kofta (a vegetable dumpling in a tomato-based curry sauce) and saffron rice, as well as cucumber raita (a cooling agent yoghurt in Indian cuisine). Alexandra had makai khumb matar paneer (a combination of corn, mushrooms, green peas, and homemade cottage cheese). We also ordered 3 types of naan--onion, plain, and rosemary. Fabulous dinner, and we had quite a bit of it to take home. We also met the chef, Arvind Bhargava and his wife Vinita, and complimented them on the great cuisine. In fact, Mr. Bhargava, who is a graduate of CIA in Poughkeepsie, NY, has cooked for President Clinton, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, The King of Jordan, and Indian Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Ghandi. After the splendid meal, we walked up and down Murphy Street one more time, then drove home, and here we are. Final count of pictures now: 409, which will, of course get cut down ultimately. What a tremendous stay we have had with Maureen! How I hate to leave--for so many reasons. One final say tomorrow night, upon my return, but as for now, the mellow evening and the good company of Alexandra and Maureen are enough for me! SV