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The Diridon Station of San Jose

My Alphabe Thursday theme—Places I've Been The Husband and I were waiting for Amtrak at the San Jose Diridon Station this afternoon. We weren't going anywhere, other than back home, jiggity-jigg. We were picking up my godmother who had been up in Sacramento. Sitting alongside the track gave me the wanderlust. Sigh. Once upon a time, the Diridon Station was called the Southern Pacific Depot and Cahill Depot. Built in the mid-1930s, it's a gorgeous brick structure designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style. The depot was restored in the 1990s and renamed after a Santa Clara county supervisor. I'm guessing Diridon was the guy who made the big push for getting the funds to bring back the station's beauty. According to Wikipedia, the station's platform was used to represent a Connecticut train station in the movie Marnie by Alfred Hitchcock. As the Husband and I sat by Track 4, I wondered if trains used to stop closer to the building. Toda

Day 11 with Tilda-Hilda

Brrrrrrrrrrrrrroooooooooowwwwwwwwwwllll...cough, cough. The dinosaur was rather rusty. He didn't scare Tilda-Hilda and me. He and his friends hang out by the road north of town until it's time to slink off into the Swank Farms ' intricate corn maze in October. Tilda-Hilda and I had a good ride this morning. It was mostly flat (for once), but the wind was against us half the way. We pedaled and sweated about 12 miles in 65 minutes. Hurrah! Until the next time.

The View of the Mama

A rare second: The Mama not fidgeting, not picking up leaves, not doing anything. The moment after I clicked the camera, she picked dried leaves off the rose bush in front of her. It's ABC Wednesday. My theme this round has been The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumb...and Fingers. Click here to check out what other participants are writing about the letter V.  

A Tuesday Ramble

In 1969  I saw a movie called If It's Tuesday, This Must be Belgium starring Suzanne Pleshette, who was a bus tour guide in Europe. I recall only two things about the movie. Pleshette's character fell in love with someone to whom she had an immediate disliking (of course) and one of the older American tourists took toilet fixtures from the hotels where they stayed as his souvenirs. I also remember wanting to become a tour guide after seeing the movie. So, what got me thinking about that movie? Well, it's Tuesday. I'm not in Belgium, but the Husband and I are about to drive over to Freedom (yes, there's such a town in California) to purchase cat food for Molly the Cat. What we will do for that cat. Big, BIG Waves Have you ever dreamed of ocean waves higher than the tallest buildings in your town coming towards you? I had one of those dreams a couple nights ago. The waves came in two or three times. Each time, I was able to find shelter and hang on.  One of t

Day 10 with Tilda-Hilda

Thinking about eating a peanut butter and chipotle spread sandwich for breakfast is what inspired me to keep pedaling up the steepest part of my ride this morning. Today was about a 9-mile ride in 53 minutes. We stopped in front of some plastic tunnels for Tilda-Hilda's photo. Every year, more farms in the area are using these tunnels for growing their crops. By the way, the sandwich was delicious.

Molly the Cat

"Hey," said Molly the Cat. "It's time for more of me on your blog. Show how cute I am when I stretch." Yes, you're pretty darn cute, Molly. " Prrrrrrr ," murmurs Molly. "I'm cute whatever I do." Verily.

Random Scenes: I Want Her

I Want Her by  Su- sieee! Mac   "Mom, you're not going to ride the back roads, are you?" "Hmmm," the grey-haired woman said. "Mom!" said her son on the phone. "It's dangerous riding alone out there. Remember last year when that runner died...." "Son, you're channeling your grandmother." She laughed. "I'll be fine. I'm not riding anywhere new. And, I've got the phone." "Mom, please just ride around your neighborhood." I can feel her coming. Leave it alone. Mike's already married. She's the one I want. The woman pedaled along the shoulder of the two-lane highway. She almost heeded her son's fears. Silly. Nothing happened at all to her on the back roads. But, the highway was getting her nervous. She was riding later than usual, which meant more cars on the highway as she headed homeward. Were the big rigs speeding by faster than usual? She scooted further to t