Something I actually like about Mountain View

We saw a lot of neat birds when we were in Italy, but it was so comforting to see the crows when I got back to Mountain View. I love to watch them as they play and chat. Crows are among my favorite birds, and we did not have them in my old neighborhood in San Francisco.

Yesterday morning I got out of bed around 6 after not sleeping much, earlier than the birds so I heard their voices start in the morning. Our birds.

This morning I got up around 5 after being awake since around 2:30. Paul can't sleep either, so we have the rare opportunity to spend our morning together before work, eating breakfast, drinking coffee, huddling under blankets, talking about plans, and poring over our new cookbooks. It is delightful. I've never been jetlagged before, but I am kind of enjoying it.

The Birds

Last week it was hot. It was so hot, I said I wouldn't come home Thursday after work. My office is air conditioned, and our house, it was not. It was like 95+ at night.

I have plenty of things I should be doing, but instead, I opted to go for a walk with Paul to the Shoreline waterfront area, to see the sunset. Paul met me at work and we walked out to the Bay.





On the way, we saw jackrabbits and squirrels, and I stopped to drink (I cannot drink while walking)









We had a snack and headed out to the shoreline, where we found a little inlet where the birds were gathering at twilight. We watched as the 15 or so pelicans were joined by more pelicans, which would fly in in small groups. They are master aerialists, flying wing to wing in wide circles as they come in for landing. When there were a good 40 or so pelicans, they all started to swim off together.

Also there were about 15 egrets, maybe 20 night herons, and some avocets, all gathered in the same bay for dinner. It was a scene of incredible beauty, and we are thrilled to have it so nearby.

Oh, dear, I meant to publish this a montha ago. Ugh, well, I will not edit it, but here it is...





Oh!
I forgot.

The move is complete. We live in Mountain View now. I know!

It is the suburbs. I am not a suburbanite. But, the commute will be much nicer, and of all the places in the south bay/peninsula hell, this is the most tolerable spot.

I can take the train to work, as the station is a mere block away.

Taking the train is very satisfying.


1.) The Train
We live a block from the Caltrain station, and I now take the train to work most every day.
I love riding the train. Trains make me happy; they remind me of my dad, they feel so urban, so efficient, so... travel-ish. I lovefeeling the ground shake as the express trains barge through the San Carlos station without even slowing down. and they go fast! Isuppose this is why all those idiots keep getting hit-- they underestimate the speed of the train in their poor last calculations. As a kid, it seems every family vacation in some way involoved trains- riding steam trains through Colorado, visiting model trains and train museums. My Girl Scout troop would ride the train to The City. In Italy, we got lost and found on the train, meeting many charming people along the way. Trains are moving in a way that cars and buses can never be.

2.) the town
We live two or three blocks from the heart of Mountain View.