I used to frequent Morgan hill many years ago. It's one of the nicest quant town city feel and…read morestill have the small country vibe . It is one of the most affluent cities in Santa Clara County due to the Silicon Valley tech boosts . Dining & NightlifeThe Granary District: A popular area known for upscale dining, craft cocktails, and local breweries.Live Entertainment: Grab a pint and enjoy live music or a show at neighborhood venues like Bubbles & Brew or the Granada Theater. ( copy from Google ) v Morgan hill museum opens Saturday from 10-1 pm free admission . a good tour with the family before lunch at Granary District . Admission to the Morgan Hill Museum and the historic Morgan Hill House (located at Villa Mira Monte, 17860 Monterey Rd) typically operates on a suggested donation or free-will basis, though some special guided tours or events may charge a small fee. ( copy from their website) I like the many free parking spaces available .

Morgan Hill has some great events for the whole family. They recently had their car show downtown…read moreand there were many cool cars to look at. Lots of muscle cars and some vintage ones too. Great paint jobs and interiors too. Local venders were offering their products for sale at this event and some were really original.

Something has changed around this place. I used to be more of a fan of this place, but now, not as…read moremuch. My husband still thinks they do a great job, especially with e-waste. . Changes occurred around 2012. They started putting prices on things, and, it looked like they wanted Ebay prices on certain items, like pots and pans. I got the impression that someone thought they were being savvy in figuring out a good return on the goods they received, but, somewhere along the way, they forgot that their customer base also expects a good bargain. I also noticed the Safeway bread donations stopped coming in. On my last trip, I saw a album art collectible framed poster that I knew my husband would love to have. It was his favorite female pop artist of the 1980's (yes, we still listen to her albums, and it's not Olivia Newton John, Janet Jackson or Madonna, and she still is alive). I so wanted to give him this artwork piece for his birthday. I knew he would have really liked it. It wasn't marked, but, I figured 9.95 would be a reasonable offer. The cashier took the poster and showed to another person (Yup, the Ebay person) in the office. She returned with an offer of 350.00, because this was a classic album art piece, as insisted by the person in that office. I said NO. I just spent 350.00 that day on a new radiator, so forget it. (At best, it might have been worth 25.00, as of today-the collectible market has been taking a nosedive.) She took the item and was going to list it on Ebay for that princely sum. I was surprised. One thing about items that people who think they want top dollar for because they think it's rare: Just because it's rare doesn't always make it valuable. Yes, do your research, but, think about the last time someone really paid that price for that item, or, whether it really happened, i.e. a price speculation (Sometimes sellers use a listing as a place holder for some item they might have at a future date, with a purposely exaggerated price.). To Charity Cars: You just lost me not only a customer, but a regular donator, too. I don't know if others have walked away for the same reason. Sorry.

So I was on my way to check out the new Habitat ReStore on Duane Ave. and decided to check in on…read morethis place since I was passing right by. Nothing has changed with the overpricing, be it junk or usable merchandise. I saw one item there priced at $20 that I had purchased at Goodwill for $6 and change. Hello Charity Cars For Kids management -- the reason your store is stacked so high with merchandise that hasn't moved for months or even years is because your prices are way out of line for the quality. If you think it's worth so much, why don't you at least make it presentable? I still maintain that this "charity" operation is not legitimate by even the slightest stretch of the imagination. Perhaps they need to have someone from the aggressive investigation unit at Channel 11 pay them a visit.

Folded Square Alphabet S is an outdoor art installation located on the grounds of the Stanford…read moreUniversity Medical Center. It is the work of Fletcher C. Benton. Benton, a long time resident of San Francisco, was well known for his large scale abstract geometric sculptures and kinetic art. In the late 70's he drifted away from kinetic art and more towards the abstract forms he is better known for From the artist" "I try to find the best relationship of the parts I am going to use...and they aren't arbitrary," Benton has said. "I spend a long time--in a short time--putting these things where they ring my bell. I don't know when it's going to happen. I go down [to my studio] and play...and I get something that's interesting." The sculpture is a new installation and its glossy red paint stands out as one approaches. The complex curves paired with right angles and the stark nature of some of the sculpture insures that every angle holds something different. This is one of his more medium sized installations. Folded Square Alphabet S as noted in on the Medical Center grounds and is close to the new Stanford Hospital. In and of itself it is not a destination, however, given its proximity to the Cantor, and numerous other art installations, it is best part of a multi stop trip and given the parking woes in the area its best done as a walking trip.

I was surprised I haven't seen NCKA in here already. If you like to go fishing or kayaking…read morefishing this website is for you. This is not a membership club and anyone can become a member. These folks fish all over Northern California, salt and fresh water. If you want to go some where search the hookup area and find out who is going out, or post something and try to link up with some one. They also have forums on kayak set ups, recipes, making things for fishing, techniques. All in all it is great place to learn about the Fishing in Northern California

I like walking. I like public art. I love walking and discovering public art more…read more San Jose has quite a collection of murals and sculptures setup allover the city. Finding these artistic installations just make my day. From cultural centers like Japantown to historic Willow Glen to the bustling Downtown. There's just so much to see. Thank you Annabelle for creating this page.

The SJ Public Art Collection consists of murals, statues, and diverse art pieces that can be found…read morethroughout the city at libraries, parks, theaters, museums, pathways, and even the airport. The one that stands out to me, which I checked out last week, is MY RABBITS, STORIES IN CLAY, a tile mural in the patio of Willow Glen Branch Library, created by artist Nina Koepcke and children of the library. You have to walk through the inside of the library to reach the courtyard. On the ground, colorful artworks portray bunny characters from beloved tales such as The Velveteen Rabbit. This one's pretty hidden, so I'm glad I discovered it. Other noteworthy pieces I've visited and love are A MONUMENT TO THE LAST BARN at Emma Prusch Park, which provides shade and a nice resting area for parkgoers, with benches inside the barn's metal framework, LUPE THE COLUMBIAN MAMMOTH on the Guadalupe Trail, a structure made entirely out of steel pipes, and PARADE OF ANIMALS at Discovery Meadow, randomly placed creatures in a field of grass. It's hard to tell if these are climbing structures for kids or monuments of significance. The rabbit is obviously my favorite part, especially cuz my actual bunnies like to curl up like the pose of this statue. Two others I pass by regularly during my runs are the ALVISO BENCH & MANDALAS at the Alviso Branch Library and DREAMS OF THE SALT MARSH at the Alviso Storm Pump Station. Both of these perfectly reflect and represent the history and beauty of the quaint neighborhood and former city of Alviso. The SJ Public Art Program focuses on community and partnership, and is constantly working on projects to evolve, all of the artwork with a unique story and meaning, many utilized or viewed everyday. There is much to be appreciated.

so chaos cosmos is a new art installation on the Stanford campus. It is located to the rear of the…read moreacademic medicine building. It looks like a warped, Jenga pile and it is shockingly compelling to just sit on the bench and stare at and let your mind wander. As with most of the art installations on campus, it's more of a stop than a destination however, this one is agreeably close to you the excellent café Arbor multiple other art installations the Arizona cactus garden, as well as the Canter and Anderson art museums

Wow this festival has shrunk! It used to be huge and now its so much smaller! We went on Sunday…read moreand folks were not too lively or even drunk. We got the typical chicken skewers, beer and glass of wine. The beer wasn't great since it was Michelob but my hubby got over it. My wine was some random brand from Morgan Hill and it was not good! Pass next time! Booths has tons of usual stuff: Art, jewelry, clothing, random kitchen stuff inside that had folks selling windows and homepathic remedies. RANDOM!! We were done in about and hour and half and saw some odd folks who looked like they were 12 with with two kids!! The one thing that was cool was the ice cream truck where I got this yummy coconut fruit bar and my hubby enjoyed his Dreyers ice cream bar. We paid double but it was so nice to eat as we left.

Since I have been old enough to hand over the charge card on my own...I have been coming almost…read moreannually to the Tapestry in Talent festival in SJ. It's every year on Labor Day weekend in DT SJ. Imagine all of the local art and wine festivals, but on crack. Anyone who was any booth vendor would come hawk their wares here at this festival. If you only went to one all year, it should have been this one. Well that's the way it used to be anyway. They would shut down most of downtown and the festival would span many of the big streets...a lot like the Jazz Festival earlier in the summer. Now the festival seems to be dwindling year after year, until this year it was only the long main street of Market with a few little tentacles reaching into the side streets near San Fernando and Park. There used to be oodles and oodles of food vendors with goodies as far as the eye can see, now there are only about 10-15. No House of Lumpia either, so sad! The booths are your typical arts and crafts festival fare, but this year I did manage to find an awesome new business that I bought a few organic bamboo tshirt goodies from. They have an etsy store so I can't wait to buy some more goodies from them. The weather was perfect for once, not too hot and with a nice breeze. A watermelon freeze and kebab on a stick made my day. Please beef yourself back up Tapestry in Talent...the fact that you are smaller each and every year makes me worry that one year not too far ahead you might go the way of the Santa Clara County Fair and cease to exist as we remember you entirely.

An oasis of calm, greenery and quaintness in the middle of the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area…read more Full of hiking trails, great restaurants and unique homes. Don't ever change Los Gatos.

Expansive and expensive. A little something for everyone…read more Downtown Los Gatos is popular play area for children and adults, especially if you have the money $$$. Yes, a bit pricey. However, it is also a very pleasant city. Old Victorian style houses abound walking distance from downtown. Expressive gardens in front of many of the houses. Restored buildings with cool architecture lends the downtown area with quite a bit charm, especially when outlined with large palm trees. For some, they come to Los Gatos for the exclusive shops and chic restaurants. I come here for the Los Gatos Creek Trail and the Cafes. The downtown pubs are quite good as well, which is exemplified by the difficulty getting a seat on a Friday and Saturday night. Quite fun to explore.