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Stanford University, 17 miles Drive, Skyline Boulevard, Parks and Spaces

I lived in Menlo Park, the city sandwiched by the fabulous Palo Alto and rich Atherton. It is considered as a "bed-town" to Stanford professors. But it is also known as a town where "trees grows from the side of streets". This page is about my neighborhood.

Menlo Park is populated with huge trees and beautiful gardens filled with flowers. So is my apartment. The managers made their best effort to have flowers all around the year.

In Halloween, the apartment is decorated with seasonal displays. In Christmas, the trees are illuminated.

There is a fire-station about 5 blocks from my apartment. Every Friday night, something accident happens; fire-engines drive in front of my room. However, the mighty good economy in the valley affected even on the emergencies. Since 98' there are definitely less emergencies.

Favorite Spots:

Favorites (and most frequently visited) small downtowns: Palo Alto (2 of them), Menlo Park, Mountain View, and San Mateo, SF and Japan town.

Favorite parks: open space preserve, The Dish (near Stanford University), Shoreline park, Castle Rock and Big Basin state parks.

Favorite places and drives: Stanford University, Skyline Boulevard (CA Hwy 35), Mount Hamilton and Rick observatory, and Great Ocean beach in the city of SF.

The Ramona Histric district in Palo Alto downtown.

Palo Alto Downtown is considered as the best small downtown in the Bay area. The town stretches along the University Avenue, and little bit expanded into Hamilton, Ramona, and Bryant Streets.

After 5 years living in the Menlo Park, I have finally made my dream come true; to start a company with my friends within the walking distance from the downtown. It wa the spring of 1999.

A Gentleman in Palo Alto

I visited the Palo Alto downtown for the first time to my job interview in December 1994. I stayed in a hotel that is within a walking distance from the downtown. After the 8 hours of interview, I went out for the dinner. Decent weather, many people, charming downtown.

Then suddenly a gentleman asked me for a change. I could not believe how he looked. He was in a suits with a tie, just as if he walked out from his office. I would have believed that he is a very successful manager for his very calm voice.

My favorite place to waste my lazy afternoon is the University Cafe on University Avenue between Ramona and Bryan streets. Probably almost everybody have the same opinion; the cafe is always packed with people. It was our meeting room as well. Often we bring our customers to the cafe for the meeting since we had little office space. Not only us, but we also see many venture capitalists trying to make a deal in the cafe as well.

I do not carry change; I just walked passed through him. And then, he continued saying "thank you for your attention."

I have no clue why, or how he became a homeless. Today, he is still standing at a corner in the University avenue, with the same calm voice and smile, and very gentleman like personality.

Borders bookstore has the most comfortable and gorgeous building. It used to be a movie theater. The old neon signs outside still decorate the bookstore's entrance. When it comes to a technical book, you cannot beat the Stacie's bookstore. During my start-up time, me and Greg often spend hours in the store, and buy tens of books back to the office. I call it our technical library.

Friday concert in the courtyard of Borders bookstore.

Bluechalk bar was our "official" drinking place. Every Thursday, we drunk, played pool, shuffleboard, chat, ... until mid-night. My favorite beer drinking place is Gordon Biersch. The best beer in the town and good grills as well. Although they change the menu a little recently, still the food is good. Nola is the most popular spot in the town. It is in the Ramona's old district, very old-looking but cozy building.

Story of Mall

When I visited my friend in San Diego, he drove me around the city. We passed by a mall that was completely deserted. No cars on the parking lot, half of the tenants were gone. He described "oh, this mall was very popular until last year, a new and bigger mall was constructed about a mile from here." Within a minute, we passed by the new mall. Indeed there are a lot of cars. "Oh, but this mall will not last long; there is even bigger mall under construction about mile from here." The story goes on and on...

Mall had mostly killed the good old downtown from the US (so I heard). On top of that, the Wall-mart, the merchant of death, destroyed downtowns in smaller towns. However, but there are 2 malls I really liked in the SF bay area. They are the "Stanford Shopping Mall" and a mall in Walnut Creek. Both mall has semi-open constructions; great for walking in the summer. They very rich malls as well. I think they are worth visiting (if you drive near by), and convenient for shopping.

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Stanford University, 17 miles Drive, Skyline Boulevard, Parks and Spaces