Today marks my last full day in the San Jose area and I must say this was a very different trip than my San Francisco trip two years ago. This trip was completely chill. It was a much-needed and much-enjoyed mental break. I really had no plan, which for me is crazy. So here are some random thoughts and things that occurred while on the west coast.

BOOKS
I took four books and finished three by today and am hoping to finish the fourth on the plane ride home. I enjoyed all three and they were all so different. I read everywhere, by the pool, in the hotel room, on the bus, on the train and on the plane (that is very Dr. Seuess sounding).

Montana 1948 (bookclub book) by Larry Watson | Author of the Lonesome Dove, this was very easy to read! It is an interesting tale of a boy and one occurrence that changes his family forever, that is pretty vague, but I would give it all away if I said too much. I enjoyed it, would I say it was my favorite book ever, no, but it is something different than what I normally read and it was entertaining.

My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler | I have to give her credit, she is honest. Some of the stories she tells I was embarrassed for her, geez. Her humor however helps in these awkward moments. The book had a splash of SATC to it, that sex is sometimes just amazingly amusing.

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell | Now a motion picture that I’ve wanted to see, I decided this would be my book club pick for my month and I’m glad I did. Though it drags a smidge, it is very engaging and gave me a lot of knowledge of French cooking and how much butter they use.

SAN JOSE
So, other than reading we did hit downtown San Jose…it was nice. Here is the thing, it was a clean, not crowded, cute city. It sort of reminded me of what Des Moines could turn into in say 20 years. It was nice, but I like the hustle and bustle of a big city, a more vertical city. I needed a little more Chicago mixed in. I did have the most amazing garlic fries at Gorden Biersh though, I was vampire-proof the rest of the day.

MOUNTAIN VIEW
We were staying right outside of San Jose in Mountain View, I became very friendly with the bus system which so conveniently was right outside my hotel. I took it twice to Palo Alto to do some shopping and four times to downtown Mountain View for sightseeing and dinners. I am sure to have gained back all the weight I’ve lost, I tried to exercise and use portion-control, but we ate out every night, so that kind of sucked, but we did have some great meals and kind of around the world: Japanese, Thai, Mexican, Italian and two breweries.

HOTEL AVANTE
Our hotel was great. At first I was a little turned off by the window air conditioner that made the room smell like cat litter (nick said musty), however I found out you can open the window and let fresh air in and why wouldn’t i do this?! The weather was frickin’ fantastic, high 70’s, low 50’s, sunny, light wind. It is the perfect weather. I digress, the hotel, yes, it offered free breakfast and I mean a real breakfast, not just the toast and cereal shit. At night they offered free local wines and beers for cocktail hour. And the staff was amazing.

HEALTHY CALIFORNIA
California, oh how fit and healthy everyone is. On our street, there was a Trader Joes and Whole Foods, on one street! We can’t even get one in the whole state of Iowa! Not to mention most restaurants offered a lot of healthier eating alternatives like, organic, vegetarian and gluten-free. No wonder they are healthier, I can’t even think of one restaurant in Des Moines that offer gluten-free items.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
I also managed between flights and some hotel down time to watch the mini-series Pride and Prejudice and forgot how much I love Colin Firth in it. At one point I was making googly eyes at my iPod, it was disgusting, but really he is fantastic in it.

FINAL THOUGHTS
I am so glad I got to go on this trip and I don’t regret a thing. Would I return to San Jose, nah, its not my kind of town; San Fran is more my place. I can’t say it enough however, the weather was absolutely perfect.

The very odd thing, at least for me, is I didn’t take many photos, like I said I was kind of on mental vacay and very focussed on not being focused. It worked. I feel amazing and not ready to face real world life again. ugh. Well, Iowa I’m coming home to your snowy crap.