"To make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee, One…read moreclover, and a bee, And revery. The revery alone will do, If bees are few." -- Emily Dickinson I've been meaning to visit this location for over a year now, as I first found it while perusing the State's Historical Landmark Website*. It's essentially a plaque that was installed at the approximate location of an old ranch that imported in the first Honeybees into CA. The plaque is located in front of the USO office at Mineta International Airport (SJC) in between Terminal A & Terminal B. The inscription on the plaque reads: "Here, on the 1,939-acre Rancho Potrero de Santa Clara, Christopher A. Shelton in early March 1853 introduced the honeybee to California. In Aspinwall, Panama, Shelton purchased 12 beehives from a New Yorker and transported them by rail, 'bongo,' pack mule, and steamship to San Francisco. Only enough bees survived to fill one hive, but these quickly propagated, laying the foundation for California's modern beekeeping industry." It's a pretty tame tribute to something that's actually a pretty historically significant event that still affects our everyday lives. So, to liven things up I dug-up a few fun/interesting facts** about our friends the HoneyBee: 1) The average worker bee produces about 1/12th teaspoon of honey in her lifetime. 2) A hive of bees will fly 90,000 miles, the equivalent of three orbits around the earth to collect 1 kg of honey. 3) A colony of bees consists of 20,000-60,000 honeybees and one queen. Worker honey bees are female, live for about 6 weeks and do all the work. 4) The bee's brain is oval in shape and only about the size of a sesame seed, yet it has remarkable capacity to learn and remember things and is able to make complex calculations on distance travelled and foraging efficiency. 5) Americans consume about 285 million pounds of honey each year. On top of that, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that honeybees pollinate 80 percent of the country's insect crops--meaning bees pollinate over $20 billion worth of crops each year. The plaque isn't worth going out of your way for; especially since it's at the airport and there's no free parking. But, if you're visiting the USO office, or looking for some time to kill before your flight, then head on over and pay tribute to our bestest insect friend: The Bee. *http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=21387 **Facts courtesy of: http://mentalfloss.com/article/53691/13-fascinating-facts-about-bees & http://www.benefits-of-honey.com/honey-bee-facts.html

History, innovation, and whimsy all in one beautiful historic house situated in Downtown Campbell,…read moreand It's even listed on the National Register of Historic Places! From the outside it looks like it's straight out of a storybook, like Goldilocks & the 3 Bears. They offer tours Friday-Sundays and our group of 4 adults + 2 kids (ages 10 & 15) had so much fun! Esther was our tour guide and she was excellent! She really knew everything there is to know about this unique 1925 English Tudor-style house (turned museum), the fascinating history of the Ainsley family, and even the details of all the impressively preserved original furnishings, decor, appliances, and even some of the fashion from that era. It was so cool to see what life was like in those days! The outside courtyard/garden can even be booked for special events and weddings. There's a visitor's center and gift shop as well. Overall just a fun and interesting peek back in time, while also learning about an important part of Campbell's history. Big thank you to Esther!

What a delightful little jewel in Campbell! I had no idea this place existed until recently based…read moreon some volunteering work that someone I know did here. Each of the rooms has been decorated by a different organization for Christmas and it looks awesome. The volunteers here were so friendly and earnest. Loved it! Check out a slice of history in our backyard!

So this pedestrian bridge is pretty iconic as it passes across Interstate 280 in Cupertino. I don't…read morereally call it by it's real name and I just call it the Mary Avenue Bridge lol. It's nice to walk on in the daytime to watch the cars pass by and it's absolutely stunning during sunset and at night. Be careful though, there are a lot of bicyclists and sometimes if you're taking photos or just standing in the middle of the bridge, just be on the lookout. I kind of wish the bridge was a bit wider with a side for pedestrians and another side for bicyclists. But it's okay, it's like a mini Bay Bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists. This is a true Hidden Gem because I don't really see a lot of people visiting it even though people drive by it all the time on the freeway. When you get the chance, park on Mary Avenue on the south end and then take a nice walk across the bridge. You'll absolutely love it.

This is a pretty great place to see the sunset in Cupertino! Nice spot to take a few photos if…read moreyou're in the area.

Beautiful new event space in Mountain View with a large banquet room with lots of natural light…read more Patio space area adjoining. I attended a lunch celebration. They have an approved caterer list.

This community center is a beautiful center with great people and activities, this is not the same…read morecommunity center as in Edgewood Washington where poor management and racist policies are apparent

"In a rich man's house there is no place to spit but his face."―Diogenes…read more Cool SJ Historical Landmark I stumbled upon the other day. You can't go inside and visit, just admire from afar. According to one friend, they used to put up a marvelous Christmas lights display in years past, but that tradition seems to have stopped. However, you can still see remnants of it such as the Leg Lamp from "A Christmas Story" in the front window. There's a plaque out front that reads: "City of San Jose Historical Landmark #201 W.W. Cozzens purchased 13.5 acres of land and built a on this site between 1873 and 1875. He was a pioneer of Santa Clara Valley who introduced a revolutinary process of drying prunes and apricots, that would eventually be shipped all over the world. Unfortuately, the house burned down in August 1889. The house you see before you was built in 1890. In 1976, the house was purchased by Anthony and Paulette Ornellas, who spent the next nine years restoring it. They lived here for 37 years until 2014. They are owed much gratitude for the major restoration of this property, both for our enjoyment and the generations that will follow. With affection, The Present Owner May 24th, 2014"

Hanna House is one of the few northern California buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. Located…read morein a residential neighborhood within the boundaries of the sprawling Stanford University campus, the home is currently occupied by a private party and is not open to the public. However, it once served as the official residence for the Provost where the university regularly held alumni and fundraising events and one might reasonably assume the home may someday return to it's previous semi-public stature. Although visitors are discouraged from trespassing on the property, the house has been magnificently maintained and is visible from the street below. A relatively new arrangement with the Stanford Historical Society will enable the public to tour the house twice each year. Interested parties should contact hannahouse@stanford.edu to receive information about future tour dates and booking arrangements.

1 of only 3 Public Frank Lloyd Wright sites in CA and they only allow visitors twice a year so…read morecount yourself an architecture nerd and a lucky-one if you do get a spot on the tour. Older review from before Covid, you can email hannahouse@stanford.edu for next tour dates. You can take as many pictures as you want outside but no pictures of the interior so I added some I found online. This is what makes this design unique compared to other FLW works: -Hexagons/honeycomb, back in 1936 imagine the precision that had to be done by hand to make the huge structure a honeycomb as well as small details like the stone tiles. One cut slightly wrong would have snowballed into huge misalignments. -First FLW work in non-rectangular structures -First FLW work in the Bay Area It's not as epic and grand as Fallingwater or as contemplative as Taliesin West and it is smaller than some of the US public FLW sites but it's only 1 of 3 in Cali you can see the interior of and you get a more complete picture if you can see inside/out and hear the docents anecdotes about the design and house.

Early march is a good time to visit, go to the back of the building for parking and to enjoy the…read moreflowers blooming. There's a small park behind it, nothing fancy, it's a small neighborhood center.

I highly enjoy all the activities hosted by the Cupertino quinlan community center. I have found it…read moreeasy to sign up via reg4rec and appreciate how responsive they are to my emails & phone calls. However, I am frequently bummed that they need to cancel activities due to low enrollment. When this occurs @ the last minute, it can leave you in a lunch especially for childcare. Our most recent experience was less than stellar. Shrug. Overall the benefits outweigh the cancellations & I have never struggled with payment or receiving reimbursements. I hope you can convince more people to due the activities to avoid these cancellations!

No, I did not go visit the methuselah tree. My hiking group talked about the tree. We actually…read morehiked to the Tafoni sandstone in the same area on Wednesday. The trail was very dusty with water trickling across the path in 5 or so places. What I noticed was an abundance if acorns on the trail mostly throughout the full path.

Another place checked off in my peninsula sightseeing spots. Been wanting to come here for a while…read moreand last week I was able to come out here on a Saturday morning around 8 AM and was able to enjoy this place all to myself. I've been in this area along Skegss point and have never seen it but after hearing about it and do some research it's literally just right off the road. I was actually disappointed I didn't have to walk or hike, but in the end it was a quick simple skip Across the highway and maybe 50 steps and you're there. You have to step down a few stairs but overall that's all it is. This tree is really huge and tall with a beautiful base and a few burls. Some healthy branches and greenery as you look up towards the sky underneath the canopy of other pines. I was able to adore and admire this tree for a good 15-20 minutes without any other people around took a few nice pictures proceeded on my way out to hike the local Corte Madera hike just a mile down the street. Now, many of you have may know there is another Methusalah tree in eastern Sierras at the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest in the White mountains of Inyo County. That one is still on my list to go find which I hope will be one day soon. Whether you're a local or tourist and in the area, this place is recommended to come or a pitstop along your way down towards Santa Cruz on Highway 35.