San Jose

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Judy Will

Do you know the way to San Jose…………

My husband had just completed his basic military training in San Antonio, Texas, and was assigned to San Jose State College for one year of meteorology training.  We were both excited about the prospect of living in California for that year.  I, personally, had only been to California a couple of times, and looked forward to the time.  We had visited my brother and his wife in Inglewood the Christmas before we married.  But that was a LONG time ago.

We drove with our belongings to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a visit with my parents, then on to Colorado Springs where my husband’s youngest sister was getting married.  From there we drove to northern California, and San Jose.

We were able to acquire a small one-bedroom apartment near the college.  That was a good thing – Fred wouldn’t have to drive to the campus, fight to find a non-existent parking spot, and then find his way to classes.  He could just walk to class.  The city public library was nearby as well – and I walked there at least once each week.

We had a little time before he was to begin his summer classes, so we began exploring.  We found Mount Hamilton – not too far away – and it had an observatory on top of the hill.  It was fascinating to us to look over the valley – and sometimes see a light plane soaring by – below where we stood!

We drove down to Monterey to see that beautiful Pebble Beach Golf Course on the ocean front.  Gorgeous!

One of the most wonderful aspects of San Jose was the climate.  After growing up in dry New Mexico, hot and humid Texas was barely tolerated.  San Jose had nearly the same humidity level as Albuquerque – nice and dry.  However, just a short drive over the mountains – and you found yourself at the Pacific Ocean!!  What a treat!  For someone who never grew up around water, the ocean was fascinating.

We often drove to Muir Woods for a day of exploration.

We took another couple from the meteorology class with us to Half Moon Bay for a picnic on the beach.  Someone had purchased a $1.50 paper kite and string – and we played it out at least a mile-and-a-half!  Such fun!  Except when it was time to retrieve it.  We should have just cut the string and let it float away.  But we took turns reeling it in – took us an hour and a half!  Whew!

We found that, after living in New Mexico, where the mountain peaks top out at 10,678′ the mountains in that part of northern California were just glorified hills.  But that was okay – it was better than flat-land Texas.