Does it Snow in Santa Cruz, Calfornia?

Celebrate this holiday in an extra special way where ever you might be!  

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays!

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Let's go on a trip now! ~ The Fun Tour Guru

My Venice, Italy Gondola Ride Experience on Vacation

I like to see new regions with other people.  Yes, I am independent – I enjoy going with other people.  One of my favorite memories is riding the Gondolas in Venice. This experience may not be the same by myself. 

Let me explain 

Gondolas + Venice = Fun Images Courtesy of DWest

Venice, Italy Gondola Experience


Our group was ready to stretch our legs on our nice, easy walk from our motor coach along the side the water canals to where we found our next fun floating transportation.  Yes, we followed our tour director past other long lines to our service area where we found our special reserved gondolas waiting to navigate us through the water canals. 

Service Areas - Gondolas

The gondolier is very skilled in steering these little gems as I watched them carefully helping everyone get on board and showing them exactly where to sit. 

As we departed the service area, of course we snapped several  pictures of each other in our small group made up of five or six gondolas as we glided along the narrow, secluded waterways and then our surprise!
 
(drum-rolls) WOW!  when we turned into the main presentation of the Grand Canal of Venice! Double WOW!

Sipping Champagne on Gondolas, Venice, Italy

It was great to be with others as we shared and pointed out unusual sightings of houses, churches, and palaces along our way while sipping our champagne.  Even rain didn’t spoil our spirits during our serenade.  
 

Umbrellas Up Venice, Italy

We were prepared with our “umbrellas up” as we listened to our Italian singer and musicians.  Our contagious smiles were infectious to strangers watching us as we got off and started on our next walking tour discovering Venice with our tour director.  How cool is this? 

Italian Serenade

Tell us how your Gondola experience was?  

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 Please don’t tell anyone how fun group trips really are … it is our secret, what happens on tour stays on tour ~ The Fun Tour Guru

All images above belong to the Fun Tour Guru and not to be used without consent.  

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Silicon Valley: A Day at the Computer History Museum

One of my fun childhood memories is getting unusual Christmas gifts from my parents.  Two moments brought huge smiles when I found my small wireless transistor radio and a portable tape recorder under our tree.  I spent hours listening to my AM transistor radio which I took everywhere.   What was the story behind these inventions?

Fast forward today, who knew I would find myself exploring gadgets like this at our Computer History Museum in Mountain View.  I love this unusual history and each time I visit I unveil new stories.  I recommend this place to our visitors all of the time - I got a chance to do some exploring on my own.
 
If you haven’t been to this museum in a couple of years, you will find amazing changes.  I watched the transformation in progress and it was in January 2011, our Museum re-opened.  

Babbage No 2 Engine in action!  Math calculations Ed Note:  Exhibit not here anymore (Image by DWest)

The main Revolution Exhibition floor is easy to walk through and has a large amount of information to read and absorb on a self guided tour.  The exhibition is larger than it appears with 19 galleries and I recommend allowing plenty of time to see it.  Don’t worry, you’ll find something that interests you.

Make sure you pick up a free visitor map when you purchase your ticket.  Tickets are $15 per person, (students, active Military, and older adults will receive a discount).  You don’t have to buy a ticket to eat at the Cloud Café and find unusual gifts in the Gift Shop.   The Museum is open Wednesday – Sunday, from 10 am – 5 pm.  Note: please call to check times are available.

The Computer History Museum floor with a special tech design! Image by DWest

Insiders Tip at the Computer History Museum ~

Be sure to ask about the times of the demonstration of the Babbage Difference Engine No. 2 and the guided  volunteer docent tours through Revolution area.  I recommend doing both of these.  And, don’t worry about repeating because each docent shares very different stories.  (Update: this exhibit is no longer at our Museum)

I found myself immersed in private conversations (with myself) and with several prominent women in technology and computer history starting with Ada Lovelave, and includes Grace Hopper, Lynn Conway, Fran Allen from IBM, and the eight women who programmed the ENIAC (Kathleen McNulty, Mauchly Antonelli, Jean Jennings Bartik, Frances Synder Holber, Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, Frances Bilas Spence and Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum)  and many others the day I went.  

How Google Street Map started Image by DWest

 And, after watching the Babbage demonstration, I sat in one of the Google Street View Cars that has transformed the way we do business today. Plus,  I wrote my name on the Jeopardy Stage Set of Watson the Computer.  Plus much more. 

Jeopardy Stage Set for Watson the Computer Image by D West

 

What is your favorite piece of computer history?  

You'll find it here ~ The Fun Tour Guru

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All pictures courtesy of D West

Pacific Highway One: Half Moon Bay, CA

I frequent the coastal Highway One between Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay and San Francisco.  I am always surprised to find so many unusual differences along this one hour drive.  

Today I spent time in and around Half Moon Bay.  This picture was taken on a drive north of Half Moon Bay about 5 or 10 minutes. There is a nice walking trail and beach access. 

Half Moon Bay, CA - Image by D West

If you get hungry and thirsty, please find 'Sam's Chowder House' restaurant which I recommend their fabulous Lobster Rolls, drinks, and an unusual array of ice cream desserts.  Nope, I do not have pictures of the Lobster Rolls nor dessert because they disappeared quickly. 

I was drawn to this artist mural in town too.  Which do you like better, the mural or the actual scenery picture above? Tell me in your comments.

Mural Art in downtown Half Moon Bay, CA - Image by D West

Out and about along our Pacific Highway California Coast, 
and loving it ~ The Fun Tour Guru 

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The Corn Palace, not South Dakota, the one in Silicon Valley

The buildings are getting closer to our favorite Valley of Heart’s Delight Produce Stand.  Sunnyvale’s Corn Palace may soon disappear.  I stopped by to take pictures.  

The Corn Palace, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara CA

 Of course, it is not like the famous Corn Palace in South Dakota, it is a symbol of yesteryear dating back to 1926 – and as they say, if the walls could talk, oh, what stories they would tell.

“The one good thing about the Silicon Valley parking lot commute mornings and evenings on Lawrence Expressway is this small open-air structure with fresh produce in front of a backdrop of acres of corn,”  Daniel Hindin writes in Sunnyvale’s Sun news article, Way We Were – Corn Palace in 2000.

Joe and Ben Francia co-owned this 20-acre farm along with farm land in Mountain View and in the Salinas Valley.  At 80 years in the year 2000, the Francia Brothers recall the history and growth of our area in this article. Even with many offers on this golden piece of real estate in Silicon Valley, neither one considered giving up life as they knew it. It was in 2005 – 2007 when one of the brothers passed away that a family decision overrode the other brother to keep their wishes and not let go.  And,  it appears there were ill feelings about this.  

The new residential buildings get closer. 

Progress ... in Silicon Valley

 I pulled this history together from three sources - talking with an older gentleman at the Corn Palace (he recently got out of the hospital after a long illness) and very happy to return to work at his beloved Palace, from the 2000 Sun article, and a Corn Palace blog post written in 2007. 

The gentleman told his story of this history word for word (before I read the article) as if it just happened. 

I also found this short video taken in the actual fields behind the building with excellent commentary of this area. 

Corn Palace Video is below.

What is your favorite story of yesteryear? 

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Let's salute The Corn Palace –Sunnyvale, CA.  One of  our last acres of agriculture in Silicon Valley ~ The Fun Tour Guru

 

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