Archive for the ‘Fremont’ Category

Turn-by-turn

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

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I’m still writing about the Shellmound Peace Walk. How did I end up there? I learned of the walk when my family and I went to the Gathering of Ohlone PeoplesIMG_2019 at Coyote Hills Regional Park in Fremont on October 3, 2010. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, watching traditional Ohlone dances, trying (and failing) to make fire, and learning all about Native life. One of the exhibit tables belonged to Indian People Organizing for Change (IPOC) and was staffed by Corrina Gould and Perry Matlock. They were promoting the Shellmound Peace Walk which immediately captured my imagination, especially when I found out they were going through Milpitas. I resolved to join the walk if logistics permitted.

Logistics permitted, so the morning of November 17 I left my car at the Great Mall and took public transit to Alviso Marina. I had a bit of a wait since all the other walkers were coming from the Oakland/Berkeley area and were stuck in rush hour traffic. I didn’t mind; it was a beautiful, sunny morning out on the Marina and I quietly contemplated the views of the water, tule marsh, and the Valley hills until everyone arrived.

Corrina explained to us the significance of Alviso: that her Ohlone ancestors lived there and collected salt for trade. (The Alviso salt ponds continued to be a major commercial operation up until pretty recently.) When the Spanish rounded up Indians they used Alviso as a collection point before marching them to Mission San Jose so our Peace Walk that day was approximating their trail.

We set off. Our route took us from the Marina down First Street, towards Tasman. Earlier that morning I had sent a tweet to Adelaide Chen of Milpitas Patch to let her know the Walk was coming through, and I was delighted she came out to meet us on First Street. I recognized her from her profile photo and introduced myself, and she was a great sport, walking along with us while we chatted. She commissioned me to write the article for Patch, which was an unexpected opportunity. I was a little hesitant because I envisioned myself later that evening furiously pounding out the article on my laptop while soaking my feet in an Epsom salt bath and I was worried about possible electrocution hazards, but I accepted. She gave me some quick journalism tips which were a big help because I would have been stuck after who/when/where/why/what’s-for-lunch. My new assignment colored the rest of my day though because now I had real responsibility, and I felt I had to inform everybody that the casual conversations we had been having were now “on the record.”

We turned up Tasman, passing through Cisco land. We took a break on a patch of grass in front of a Cisco building where we were questioned by some Cisco employees, probably plainclothes security. I suspect they wanted to make sure we weren’t protesting them, but they were happy when Corrina told them we were just passing through. It was strange being here because I work very nearby, so reflecting on ancient peoples in the midst of all the high-tech companies that comprise my world now was a jarring juxtaposition. Crossing Coyote Creek into Milpitas grounded me because the creek has special significance to me. I live and work close to it, and it’s a constant feature I’ve seen on many old maps so it helps me link the past and the present.

The next point of interest for the Walk was Elmwood Correctional Complex, former site of an Ohlone shellmound. As we passed we could hear the shouts of inmates; I don’t know if they were shouting at us, for us, or if they even knew we were there. Our group said prayers and dropped tobacco—traditional medicine—for the spirits of the dead. Turning up Abel we walked along the culvert that used to be Penitencia Creek and marveled at a number of majestic blue herons gathered there. I could see the Jain Center on Main Street and thought about how this spot is a spiritual nexus for Milpitas. The Ohlone buried their dead here, and the Franciscans gave penance here, giving Penitencia Creek its name. I remarked on the irony of passing Serra Center, a strip mall named for Father-President Junipero, considered by many to be a symbol of Indian oppression. His 297th birthday happened to be exactly one week later, November 24.

We rested again outside Carl’s Jr. and IPOC co-founder Johnella LaRose gave us some history of the Walk and its roots in 1978’s The Longest Walk and its connection to numerous international Peace Walks for varied causes such as nuclear non-proliferation. I interviewed Jun Yasuda, the Japanese Buddhist nun heading our procession, to understand her dedication to Native American causes. She explained to me that as a Buddhist she is drawn to confront human suffering such as the Indians endured through history. Also she sees traditional Native selflessness—putting the community ahead of one’s self—as compatible with Buddhist teaching and a way forward for mankind to Peace. Maybe Columbus was onto something when he confused the so-called “Indians” of the “New World” with residents of India, birthplace of Buddhism.

The rest of the trek was a long haul up Abel to Milpitas Boulevard and Warm Springs. We were supposed to turn onto Mission Boulevard and end at Mission San Jose but our late start caught up with us so we ended the day at Booster Park in Fremont. IPOC provided food fixin’s and I made myself a peanut butter, jelly, and corn chip sandwich. After a ten-mile walk I think officially it was The Best Sandwich I ever tasted. My feet were tender and my thighs ached (as much from the barbell lunges I did in the gym the day before as from the walk) and I was more than a little damp from the unseasonably warm weather, but it was all worth it. We sat in a circle and several in the group shared their thoughts and feelings on the day.

I had planned to take a bus back to the Great Mall but I ended up catching a ride with a driver who kindly shuttled those who had to retrieve vehicles left in Alviso. It was astounding how quickly we got back, retracing by car in minutes the route it took us hours to walk. Modern transportation is a gift, but being able to complete the walk, even for just one day, was a blessing.

El Camino Calendar

Thursday, December 2nd, 2010

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A chance to recharge after last week’s retail shock. Don’t forget to check out the El Camino Calendars page for a list of venues all up and down El Camino Real which always have a variety of activities going on.


South FIRST FRIDAYS Art Walk

December 3, 2010

JOIN US for the next South FIRST FRIDAYS art walk on DEC 3rd!
8pm ’til LATE — ART WALK venues are free and open to the public
SoFA District (So. First Street between San Carlos and E. Reed streets)
San Jose
http://www.southfirstfridays.com/


DIY Art: Festive Family Fun

December 4, 2010
12 — 3 pm

Free with Museum admission

Celebrate the season of lights by using LEDs to make a high-tech holiday decoration. Bring the whole family for festive art-making. Art materials will be provided.

San Jose Museum of Art
110 South Market Street
San Jose, CA 95113
http://www.sanjosemuseumofart.org/event/diy-art-festive-family-fun


29th Annual Holiday Parade

The San Jose Holiday Parade, the largest parade of its kind in Northern California, and one of the largest in the state, is ready to usher in the holidays with its giant helium balloons, over two dozen marching bands, creative floats, dozens of specialty units, clowns and Santa Claus.

This year’s parade is preparing to entertain millions of people on Sunday, December 5, 2010, beginning at 8:30 a.m., televised live on NBC Bay Area at 9:00 a.m. and streamed worldwide on nbcbayarea.com

The 29th Annual SAN JOSE HOLIDAY PARADE will showcase approximately 90 entries with 5,000 marchers, including giant soaring helium balloons, top marching bands, colorful floats, drill teams, equestrians, clowns and special guest celebrities!

The parade will step off on Santa Clara Street and Delmas Avenue, near HP Pavilion, at 8:30 a.m. proceeding east on Santa Clara Street. It will turn right on Market Street, marching south past Plaza De Cesar Chavez and ending at San Carlos Street. Join us to celebrate Toys, Treasures and Traditions at the San Jose Holiday Parade on December 5, 2010!
http://www.sanjoseholidayparade.com/


HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

DECEMBER 5 : 12-3PM

We’re celebrating a great year with a Holiday Open House on Sunday, 12/5. Join us in the Plant 51 Mezzanine Lounge for some festive food, refreshments & model tours. This is also a great opportunity to drop off new, unwrapped toy donations as part of our annual Toys for Tots drive for San Jose’s children in need.

Plant 51
734 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126
http://plant51.com/


Just the Way You Are

Friday, December 3 · 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center
938 The Alameda
San Jose, CA

A fashion show by The Usuals benefiting the LGBTQ Youth Space & Billy De Frank Center.

Music by:
Cutso (The Bangerz)

$5 donation at the door.

For more information:
http://www.defrankyouthspace.org/
http://www.defrankcenter.org/
Facebook event


14th Annual Guadalupe Celebration

Sunday, Dec. 5, 2010 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education
All are invited to be a part of this celebration in drama, dance, and song that tells the story of the apparitions of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The performance will be in Spanish with English commentary throughout.

A reception will follow in Benson Center. Admission is free and open to the public. Families are welcomed!

Location: Mission Church
Santa Clara University
500 El Camino Real
Santa Clara, CA 95053

http://www.scu.edu/events/?event=16428


Holiday Fun at Town & Country Village

Saturday, December 4 · 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Town & Country Village
855 El Camino Real
Palo Alto, CA

Santa’s Elf is at Town & Country Village to help children write letters to St. Nick. Plus, make ornaments and dreidels, face painting by the Snow Princess and performances by the Palo Alto High School Madrigal Singers.
http://www.tandcvillage.com/
Facebook event


Night of Holiday Lights, Downtown Laurel Street

Downtown Laurel Street, San Carlos
12/3/2010 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM

Mark your Calendars for a New Holiday Tradition!
6:30 Lighting Festivities
Kickoff the Holidays * Family Fun *
Shop *Eat * Toy Drive * Food Drive *
Music * Special Surprises *
Businesses Open Late
Event info


Christmas Tree Lighting

Join us the first Saturday in December for the annual Mission San Jose Christmas Tree Lighting at the Old School

Date: December 4, 2010

Location: Mission Blvd. & Cedar Street, across from Ohlone College

* 5:30 pm – Gathering
* 5:30 – 6:00 pm – Entertainment by StarStruck Theatre & The Canyon Band
* 6:00 – Tree Lighting and Arrival of Special Guest
* Refreshments will be served
* Balloons & Face Painting

We will be accepting donations of canned goods for the Tri-City Volunteers Food Bank, as well as Toys for Tots.
http://www.msjchamber.org/events_christmas.html


The People before El Camino

Saturday, November 27th, 2010

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I’ve already told you that I participated in Day One of the Shellmound Peace Walk on November 17, 2010, and pointed you to the article I wrote for Milpitas Patch. Here’s why I walked.

The Ohlone Indians lived around the Bay for thousands of years before Europeans arrived. The Spanish missionaries arrived in the 17th century and once they baptized Indians, the missionaries treated them as property of Spain. They were confined to the mission compounds and forcibly brought back if they tried to escape. Revolts were answered by lethal retaliation. Physically they were worn down by imposed labor and sickened and killed by unfamiliar diseases. The old and the very young were particularly susceptible. There are reports of abuse of every nature. Their culture was erased.

When the mission era ended and California became an American state, the Indians were set free but their homes and way of life were gone. They suffered horrible persecution at the hands of Americans, from denial of civil rights to murder. Some went underground, pretending to be Mexican just to get by.

The Native Americans did what mankind does. They adapted and they survived. They kept their spiritual roots intact, never forgetting their languages, their songs, their medicines, and their values. In the 1960s and ’70s they reclaimed their identity, shouldered their history, and politically activated. They’re making tremendous strides but many still carry the social scars from the trauma they suffered starting with Spanish contact.

Meanwhile after reaping the benefits of the Gold Rush, agriculture, and the Industrial Revolution, Americans in California started to rediscover the state’s Spanish past. In 1884 Helen Hunt Jackson published her novel Ramona which romanticized the mission era and sparked a new expression of California identity: a western paradise on the Pacific coast infused with Mexican charm. The crumbling missions were literally revived and rebuilt and became cornerstones of communities and tourist draws. El Camino Real was reinvented as a continuous highway from San Diego to San Francisco. Most recently I caught the bug and climbed on board the nostalgia train. I celebrate El Camino, what it is today and what I think it will be. But I have to face its past, and that includes the pain of the Ohlone.

That’s why I went on the Shellmound Peace Walk, to experience the history firsthand. “El Camino” means “the road,” and a road is one of the fundamental ways a people leave their mark on the Earth. Walking a road means following the footsteps of those who went before. Where a bit of nature remained—the Alviso slough, Coyote Creek, the Diablo Mountain Range—I could see what earlier people saw and immerse myself in the immutable sense of place. The physical exertion of walking reminded me of my universal humanity, and sharpened my motivations as I reflected on the multitude of emotions that preceded me there: hope, fear, elation, sorrow. Walking with Indians, some of them descendants of Ohlones, was a gift. Talking with them connected me directly to the people of this land not just through earth, but through flesh, blood, and spirit. Walking with non-Indians bolstered my faith in friendship and fraternity. Injustice shared is peace conceived.

I will continue to celebrate El Camino Real. It has a story to tell and I will continue to listen and share what I hear. El Camino remembers the Ohlone. So do we all.

Pounding Pavement for Peace on Patch

Friday, November 19th, 2010

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So let me tell you about my Wednesday. I participated in the Shellmound Peace Walk, a ten-day walking tour around the Bay Area of sites  sacred to the Ohlone Indians. I walked the first day, from Alviso Marina, through Milpitas, all the way to Fremont: ten miles. On the way I tweeted to Adelaide Chen of Milpitas Patch, a hyperlocal news site, that we were coming through town. She actually came out and met us in San Jose and talked me into writing an article and providing photos for the site! So here it is, my journalistic debut. I will follow up soon with a more personal account of my experience and the great people I met. I have tons to talk about.


Native Americans Visit Elmwood to Remember Burial Site (in Milpitas Patch)

A group promoting awareness of ancestral burial sites walked from Alviso to Fremont on the first day of the Peace Walk.

By Bill Moore

(that’s me!)
Read more >


El Camino Calendar

Friday, November 19th, 2010

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A little something for everyone this weekend. Don’t forget to check out the El Camino Calendars page for a list of venues which always have a variety of activities going on.


REBEKAH CHILDREN’S SERVICES Festival of Trees-Christmas Carnival

When: November 19, 2010
Where: Morgan Hill Community & Cultural Center, 17000 Monterey Road, Morgan Hill CA 95037
Time: 6:00pm to Midnight
Cost: (RSVP) $85 per person
Event Hotline: (408) 846-2470
For more information or reservations visit us online at: www.rcskids.org

Rebekah Children’s Services 8th Annual Festival of Trees Christmas Carnival is the perfect start to your holiday season. The night will feature a Champagne reception, fabulous dinner, live and silent auctions, and wonderful holiday cheer!
Rebekah Children’s Services has served children throughout Santa Clara County for over 100 years. We are known as a caring and nurturing safe-haven for high-risk children as they attempt to overcome difficulties in their lives.
http://www.rcskids.org/
Google calendar event


Homegrown

Friday, November 19 · 6:00pm – 9:00pm
The Usuals
1020 The Alameda
San Jose, CA

Local artist, dNA, presents recent works in the Front Room. We are also featuring his most recent volume of Illuskrate: twenty-six pages of Ira & Drac and selected journal comics.

Join us in the Back Room for more art, food, music, and an awesome, hidden SJ-made trunk show!
http://shoptheusuals.com/?p=261
http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=111303338937090


Tree Decorating Holiday Event

Join us as we kick off the holiday season!
Friday, Nov 19 @ 7PM

The Center has been selected to join the 2010 San Jose Christmas in the Park Community Tree Decorating Program! In preparation for the above, we will be hosting a free holiday event on November 19th at 7pm. In addition to making tree decorations, we will have freshly baked cookies on hand for those who enjoy decorating (as well as eating) Thanksgiving and/or Christmas cookies. To top off the evening, David Harvey will be playing the piano to get us all in the holiday spirit. LGBT families are especially encouraged to join us in what promises to be a very festive occasion.
Billy DeFrank LGBT Community Center
938 The Alameda
San Jose, CA 95126


Welcome Santa Claus

Saturday, November 20 · 12:00pm – 1:30pm
The Shops at Tanforan – Upper level by JCPenney

Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus, right down Santa Claus Lane…to The Shops at Tanforan!

Join the Radio Disney Road Crew, as they help us welcome Santa from the North Pole. Also, you won’t want to miss checking out Santa in his Workshop where you can get your picture taken with him!

The Shops at Tanforan | 1150 El Camino Real | San Bruno, California 94066
http://www.theshopsattanforan.com/


Holiday Boutique

November 20th and 21st 10:00-4:00
Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose Annual Holiday Boutique and Drawing.
43326 Mission Blvd., Fremont.

Featuring the Dominican Sisters’ Famous Fruitcakes, baked goods, Mission and assorted flavored olive oils, handmade gifts, and raffle prizes.
http://www.msjdominicans.org/home.aspx


Olive Fest

Monday, October 18th, 2010

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Earlier this month I dragged my family up to the Mission San Jose annual Olive Festival in Fremont. I say I dragged them because they don’t even like olives. Me, though, I love ’em. I was a wee bit disappointed then that I didn’t get to taste any.

CIMG0518The Olive Festival is put on by the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce. The mission was founded in 1797 by Fr. Fermin Francisco de Lasuen. It sits today right on Mission Road in Fremont. As the literal road to the mission, Mission Road is the nexus of El Camino de San Jose, my name for El Camino Real’s eastern branch. In the last century the area around the mission has developed into a charming little district. In 1909 the businesses, landowners, and residents of the area formed the Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce. The Chamber holds two big annual events at the mission: the Olive Festival and the Christmas Tree Lighting. This was the ninth year for the Olive Festival, which occurs the first Saturday of every October.

Why olives?  It turns out the Franciscan padres and native Ohlones planted olive trees at the Mission, taking advantage of California’s famous Mediterranean climate. Some of the trees are still there, having lasted over two hundred years.

We arrived that Saturday after lunchtime. We parked at Ohlone College and walked the long block to the grassy slope behind the mission. A shaded bandstand anchored the festival which was enclosed by a ring of vendor booths. About a third were selling arts, crafts, and jewelry. About a quarter offered food, raffle tickets, and kids’ activities. The rest (don’t ask me to do the math) were selling a variety of olive-based products. I saw olive soaps, literal olive branches, and some beautiful objets d’art carved from wood from the mission olive trees (dead wood only). I saw everything except olives, meaning fruit ready to eat. I found out later on Twitter from @aroundfremont that the mission itself did sponsor a booth with olives to taste but somehow I missed it. If you ask me, one booth isn’t enough. I arrived with my palate all set to sample a variety of olives in a rainbow of flavors: garlicky, spicy, au naturel, you name it. I was ready to spit some pits, but it wasn’t to be. All was not lost however because what the festival lacked in olives, it more than made up in its culinary essence: oil. Olive oil, that is. Greek gold. Tuscan tea.

CIMG0507Nearly every food vendor had a wide range of olive oils to taste. Some were plain extra virgin and some were flavored. The oils didn’t have to go it alone though. The vendors also offered matching samples of balsamic vinegars, olive oil’s favorite grape-based emulsion partner. I worked my way from one end of the festival to the other, dipping little bread chunks on toothpick skewers into oleic and acetic sample pots, savoring all. One booth, Lucero Olive Oil, was hardcore. They didn’t mess with bread chunks; you sip their wares neat, straight from their stainless steel dispensers. I made the mistake of chugging a sample of vinegar too fast, causing my throat to seize up and my nostrils to ignite, launching me into a fit of gasping and sputtering. Yeah, I’m a balsamic lightweight.

We purchased a basil/lemon/garlic olive oil gift sampler from Lucero and some hot Tuscan olive oil and dark cherry balsamic vinegar from Big Paw. We also purchased a dry salami from P. G. Molinari & Sons and some fresh pesto from Home Maid Ravioli Company. Yeah, life is good.

CIMG0509We finished out the afternoon bopping along with swing charts from Ohlone’s own Chops Big Band,  enjoying non-olive-inflected hot dogs and sodas from the only hot food seller, and stuffing raffle boxes for prize baskets donated by Chamber of Commerce member businesses. (I didn’t win anything. I rarely do.) We loitered in front of the mission while I took some pictures but we didn’t go inside this time, deciding to leave that visit for another day.

The Olive Festival was really  cute. It wasn’t like the monster street festivals we occupy ourselves with in the summertime; it was closer in spirit to a local church carnival. I loved all the tasting but I felt a little…lubricated…afterwards from the half pint of vinaigrette sloshing around my stomach. Next time I’ll bring my own baguette to sop my insides with. I would have liked to see more solid olives featured. The alcohol tent was selling beer with olives in it which was a nice touch, but martinis would have been fun. I’d like to see a signature dish, like maybe a simple olive sampler plate, or something gourmet like a lamb burger with olive tapenade. (I just made that up. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Ooh, I just found a recipe. Dang, sister, bring me my keys!) Still it was a great event and I have my calendar marked for next year. I hope to visit the area again sooner than that to patronize the businesses up there like the Olive Hyde Art Gallery or Mission Coffee. There’s a lot of heart and character in the East Bay’s kinder, gentler Mission District.

Get Your Kicks on State Route 82

Friday, October 1st, 2010

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This is going to be a big weekend for women’s soccer on El Camino Real. Friday, October 1 the Ohlone College Renegades are leaving their home field above Mission San Jose in Fremont and traveling around the Bay to play the Mission College Saints in Santa Clara. Yep, it’s Mission vs. Mission. One can only assume the Renegades will be following El Camino de San Jose to get to Santa Clara. They may consider stopping at Penitencia Creek in Milpitas the way the padres did back in the day to confess their sins.

Brandi ChastainSaturday, October 2 American soccer legend Brandi Chastain is celebrating her retirement from professional play by hosting a testimonial all-star game at Buck Shaw Stadium in Santa Clara on El Camino Real. The game starts at 6:00 PM but festivities start at 3:00 PM with family activities and a sold-out youth clinic. It’s unknown whether Brandi will be ripping her jersey off at the final whistle Saturday as she did when she famously scored the penalty kick that won the FIFA Women’s World Cup 1999 for the U.S., but knowing her, anything is possible.

Menlo College will be quite busy. They’re showcasing their stamina by hosting not one but two women’s soccer matches this weekend on El Camino Real in Atherton: Saturday at 1:00 PM against the Bethany University Bruins (Scotts Valley), and Sunday at 12:00 PM against the Chapman University Panthers (Orange, CA). The mighty Oaks are looking to build momentum from their decisive 7-0 trouncing of the Mills College Cyclone last week, Menlo’s first win of the season.

Sunday, October 3 at 1:00 PM, in a marquis matchup the Santa Clara University Broncos are heading up The Royal Road to face off against the Stanford University Cardinal. Both teams are hot this year. The Cardinal are undefeated with a 8-0-2 record, but Santa Clara nearly matches at an impressive 7-2-2. ([Update] Here’s a great article about the history of the Santa Clara-Stanford rivalry.) The Stanford women are undoubtedly buoyed by the fact that four of their alums are on the hometown FC Gold Pride squad that won the Women’s Professional Soccer championship last week, defeating the Philadelphia Independence in Hayward. Actually that’s an accomplishment that everyone in the Bay Area can be proud of.

Your Coffee Cups

Sunday, September 19th, 2010

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I don’t drink coffee. Never have. I don’t know why; it’s just on the long list of things I never bothered with. When upscale coffee consumption exploded in popularity in the nineties, I kind of missed the whole thing but I understand that competition is fierce and new companies have to come up with a hook to compete with the big boys. A new drive-through coffeehouse in Fremont called Your Coffee Cups believes it has a winning formula: premium product prepared by beautiful baristas in bikinis.

Bikini baristas aren’t a new concept. Not surprisingly it was pioneered in the Seattle area at the end of the 20th century and has spread to cities around the country. Your Coffee Cups is however the first to bring it to the Bay Area. They opened about eight weeks ago in a parking lot kiosk at a strip mall (ha!) at the intersection of Warm Springs Boulevard and Mission Boulevard. This is located on what I call El Camino de San Jose, the historic road to Mission San Jose.

So what is the Your Coffee Cups experience? The kiosk has two drive-up windows and a walk-up window. As you approach it’s an unassuming little pink and white building but when you pull up to the window you’re greeted by a friendly, shapely young lady in skimpy attire: your bikini barista. “Bikini” is an oversimplification. Y.C.C. features a different theme every day:

  • Military Mondays
  • Heroic Tuesdays
  • Steamin’ Hot Wednesdays
  • Tantalizing Thursdays
  • Fantasy Fridays
  • Surprise Saturdays
  • Sports Sundays

So while there’s certainly a place for classic two-piece swimwear, primarily you’ll see lingerie and costumes of the “sexy Halloween” variety. Your Coffee Cups gets its outfits from Yandy.com.

Continuing with the experience, the barista takes your order and prepares it herself, furiously working all the complicated knobs and buttons with all the requisite hissing and gurgling. The kiosk offers a full range of the typical mocha-chocolata-yaya coffee drinks that I don’t understand. A cute touch is that the available sizes are “B Cup,” “C Cup,” and “D Cup,” Your Coffee Cups. The menu includes tea, smoothies, cold drinks, and assorted baked goods. The quality of the beverages and food should be high since they use premium ingredients from top shelf vendors. Their coffee beans come from Oakland’s Mr. Espresso whose unique fire-roasted beans are featured in some of the Bay Area’s finest restaurants. Vienna Bakery in Fremont provides fresh pastries daily. Between you and me I think Your Coffee Cups goes to great lengths to serve excellent food to provide cover for customers who can legitimately claim to go there “just for the coffee.”

As you pay and your barista serves you your order, hopefully she has brightened your day with efficient service, some pleasant small talk, and a smile. You are encouraged to leave a gratuity. Your Coffee Cups wants you to understand that these are college students working for tips. They’ve put more effort into their appearance and frankly flashed you more skin than you’re likely to see in any other coffee shop. The value added is not reflected in the price of the java and there’s no cover charge, so drop something in the jar to make it worth their while.

CIMG0349_croppedYour Coffee Cups held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday, September 16 and I stopped by to check it out. This is a tough job…you know the rest. They had closed off the drive-through lanes and decorated the kiosk with balloons so the scene was festive for visitors mingling in the small seating area normally reserved for walk-up customers.  Radio personalities from MOViN 99.7 set up a booth and boomed some tunes while handing out free toothbrushes (?) and other promotional materials. One of the baristas wearing an awfully grown-up girl scout cookie costume circulated with a tray of pound cake and brownie tidbits. I tried the cake; it was tasty but a little dry which is understandable since it was late in the day. In addition to the scout there was a naughty nurse, a scantily-clad schoolgirl, and a couple of cup-a-licious cowgirls, one of whom wielded a can of whipped cream in her hip holster. The stand was open for business and it was quite a sight to see women dressed this way scurrying inside the kiosk, hard at work.

CIMG0357I chatted with the owners, Robert and Irene, an engaged couple who describe themselves as life partners and business partners. (They were modestly dressed, in case you were wondering.) They are Bay Area natives who researched the concept extensively in Seattle before opening the shop here. They chose the Fremont location simply because it was the first parking lot kiosk to come available and it’s working well for them though they wish it were more easily visible from busy Mission Boulevard. I asked if the job description was a tough sell and they said not at all; in this challenging economy they got plenty of applicants from their Craig’s List ad. Irene impressed upon me the quality of the food and Robert explained how they favor hiring responsible, sympathetic college students who will be motivated by tips. Your Coffee Cups has hosted local fundraisers and in fact the radio station was collecting donations for victims of the tragic San Bruno gas explosion.

So is this a good idea? That’s difficult to answer. It’s certainly a sound business proposition. There’s no shortage of demand for good coffee, drive-through convenience, and peeks at pretty women. Your Coffee Cups fills a niche among El Camino’s existing exotic entertainment venues, from Hooters to The Hiphugger. On the other hand many will not approve of its exploitative race-to-the-bottom nature. In Washington State there has been a backlash from people in the community who feel the “sexpresso” joints are too risque, especially in school zones. Traditional full-dress coffee vendors bristle at the loss of business. Coffee kiosks have been around for a long time but the addition of an elaborate theme reminds me of the ascent of the gourmet food trucks and strikes me as classic disruptive marketing in which there will be winners and losers.

My personal experience at the grand opening was mixed. The women were sure attractive so that was a plus and they were friendly enough, but as it turns out the less they wore, the more self-conscious I felt. It was ironic. They were half-dressed, but I was the one worrying about saying or doing the wrong thing. The women had elevated themselves to our society’s standards of stylized super-sexualized beauty and as a result a mere schlub like myself suddenly felt unworthy and unseemly to be there leering at them. If the nurse or schoolgirl had been wearing an over-sized tee shirt and pair of old jeans instead, I would have been much more at ease. To a large extent my complaint is unfair since I was there under atypical circumstances, an extended grand opening celebration. The standard model is to drive up, cop an eyeful and a cupful, and drive off. Gone in a couple minutes; no time for over-analysis.

You might wonder why I don’t have any pictures of the women here. There were signs posted prohibiting photography without their permission and even then, they were charging money for posed photos. More barriers. Happily the folks at MOViN 99.7 took a ton of pictures, baristas, belly buttons and all. There’s even one of me. Cheese!

Overall I think Your Coffee Cups is a fun and innovative addition to El Camino. Robert and Irene are delightful and sincere and I have no doubt they are working hard to create a win-win situation for their staff and their customers. Does sex sell coffee? Should it? Go by and judge for yourself. Check their web site first for discounts and promotions. The novelty alone of meeting the Bay Area’s barest baristas is worth the trip.

CIMG0358

Around the Bay in a Day

Tuesday, September 7th, 2010

CIMG0261

Last November I took a bus ride up El Camino Real from San Jose to San Francisco and blogged my impressions and observations. To avoid giving myself whiplash, that day I only looked out the right side of the bus at the eastern side of the street and doggedly ignored the left side so the job was only half done. Last Friday, September 3, 2010, I completed the task, taking the reverse bus trip from San Francisco down to San Jose, observing the west side. Back in November I scribbled all my notes on the bus by hand in a notebook and ended up taking four months to type them all up. It’s not that I’m a slow typist, it’s just that the scope of the project was much larger than I anticipated. For the second trip I found a more efficient way: I live-tweeted my journey.

If you’re unfamiliar with tweeting, it means I used my cell phone on the road to type and send text messages to the Twitter service. Twitter messages, or “tweets,” are limited to 140 characters each so it enforces brevity. A great advantage is that every message was timestamped and geocoded by GPS so I have a complete record of what I saw, when I saw it, and where I was. I tried to live in the moment and just write what was on my mind which means whatever happened to catch my eye out the bus window. I know it’s a pretty pedestrian read (irony intended) but I hope I conveyed a sense of El Camino’s diverse profile.

Follow allcamino on Twitter

Below are my 167 tweets from that day from my brand new @allcamino twitter account. It took some effort to extract them all from Twitter’s web site. There are web apps that do this but they didn’t work for me because they rely on Twitter’s search engine which failed me, returning only six tweets (?!). I wrote a Perl script to convert their HTML to the format I wanted for the blog. To improve the readability I put each time stamp and location stamp against the right margin above each tweet. You can click the location links to open a Google map. My live-tweeting strategy worked great. Last year it took me four months to finish the writeup. Here I’ve done it in less than four days.

I cleaned the text up, fixing obvious two-left-thumb typos and grammar issues, but the content is largely raw and uncut. I’ve put a few editor notes in [square] brackets and added hyperlinks for your reference. I’ve written broader post-trip comments in between tweets in italics. You’ll see a bunch of the photos I took, many from the windows of the buses. Please excuse their quality. (more…)

El Camino de San Jose

Saturday, April 10th, 2010

One of life’s more mysterious delights is synchronicity, those moments when you experience a startling coincidence that impresses your instinct as having special meaning that may defy logic. I’ve been enjoying several of these “whoa” moments with respect to El Camino Real since I started this project.

Here’s an example. The afternoon of September 25, 2006 I read the landmark article “What Is Web 2.0” by Tim O’Reilly. It had been written a year earlier, but I’ve always been behind in all things web. I read it, I “got” it, and was inspired to create a web site as a way finally to express this ticklish notion I’ve had for a while of celebrating El Camino Real. The name came to me like a thunderbolt: AllCamino.com. Later that evening I was browsing the San Jose Mercury News online and was astonished to read an article published that same day called “Bringing face-lift to historic road” which was all about the Grand Boulevard Initiative of Joint Venture: Silicon Valley Network, a multi-city drive to revamp El Camino into a unique, thriving street for the 21st century. It was fate; it reinforced that El Camino has a story to be told. I registered the domain name immediately.

CIMG0150Here’s another. I registered the domain in 2006 but didn’t get around to creating this blog at the site until August 11, 2009. (I told you I’m always behind.) I accomplished this milestone with my laptop at the San Jose Library Rose Garden branch using their free wi-fi. After creating the blog, to celebrate I drove up Naglee Avenue and down The Alameda to Tee Nee Thai for lunch. On the way I happened to see the Hester Park gates at Singletary Avenue. I had never noticed them before and I wondered what “Hester Park” meant. Was there really a park? Aha, an El Camino mystery to investigate! So after lunch I walked back up to Singletary and took some photos of the gates. I walked down Singletary several blocks to look for a park. I didn’t find one so I turned right on Park Avenue, passed Hoover Middle School and the Egyptian Museum, turned right again at Naglee and walked all the way back up to The Alameda, a big loop. Then inspiration struck again. Since it was a beautiful day I decided to walk the entire length of The Alameda from that point all the way down to the Caltrain underpass and back. That day I “did” The Alameda; what better way to celebrate the launch of AllCamino? An ice cream cone from Schurra’s consecrated the occasion. My walk all started with that happenstantial glimpse of the Hester Park gates; none of it was planned, I just followed a series of whims. A few months later in January 2010, I was studying an old map of San Jose and realized that Singletary Avenue wasn’t always called that; it used to be called Moore Street after Judge John Hendley Moore who owned that land. My last name is Moore, no relation to the judge. So yeah, without knowing it I marked the beginning of my El Camino career at the intersection of Moore and The Alameda. Mind-blowing. Did I mention there’s a bell right there? As a humorous postscript, I discovered there is no Hester Park on Singletary/Moore after all; that was the name of an old housing subdivision there. However I did find an actual Hester Park very nearby…a teeny tiny playground adjacent to the San Jose Library Rose Garden branch, the very same branch where I launched this blog. Ba doom, crash!

Moore St

That’s all kid stuff. Here’s synchronicity’s grandma with respect to El Camino Real and me.

Shortly after I launched the blog I went looking for books about El Camino, or at least with “El Camino” in the title. I bought two for their distinctiveness: Deep California: Images and Ironies of Cross and Sword on El Camino Real by Craig Chalquist, PhD, and California’s El Camino Real and Its Historic Bells by Max Kurillo and Erline Tuttle. The latter contains a reproduction of a 1912 AAA road map showing the length of El Camino from San Diego to San Francisco. It answered a mystery for me. El Camino nominally links the missions, but Mission San José in Fremont is nowhere near today’s El Camino Real. So what route did early Californians take from Mission Santa Clara to Mission San José? I had assumed the route ran down The Alameda to Santa Clara Street in San Jose to Alum Rock Avenue, perhaps running north along the foothills on Piedmont Road. The 1912 map suggested something different. It shows El Camino entering San Jose from the south as Monterey Road/First Street then splitting. One branch goes west to The Alameda as expected, but the other branch continues along First Street then turns east somewhere around Gish Road, then turns north on Old Oakland Road. There it continues along Main Street and Milpitas Boulevard in Milpitas, to Warm Springs Boulevard in Fremont, to Mission Boulevard which runs right to Mission San José. So there’s the route, which I like to call El Camino de San Jose.

Here’s the thing. I live on Old Oakland Road. I live on El Camino de San Jose.

I’ve lived there for over ten years. I had no idea about its mission connection. This knowledge did not inform my decision to buy the house, nor did it impact my interest in El Camino Real or motivations to start the blog. I had always assumed Old Oakland Road was simply the old road to Oakland, later replaced by Interstate 880, and never thought more about it than that. To tell the truth I had been feeling naggingly incomplete blogging about El Camino when I didn’t actually live or work on it. I didn’t have standing. But guess what, I do after all and I learned all this after the fact. Astounding.

A 1912 map is pretty old, but it’s a lot more recent than 1797 when Mission San José was founded. I embarked on a quest to find older maps that show this road. I bought a bunch of well-known San Jose maps from eBay, Lord help me. The David Rumsey Historical Map Collection has also been helpful, however the Online Archive of California, in particular the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library collection, has been absolutely indispensable in this research. They have high-resolution scans of the California land case maps, evidence the Mexican rancho owners presented in their petitions to the U.S. government for the rights to the land. “Transfer” of land ownership is of course the fundamental moral, ethical, and legal quandary in California’s past, but the records generated shed light on state history. The following two maps are the keys for me to El Camino de San Jose.

The first is a free-hand map or diseño of North San Jose dating from the 1840s. I first found it in the Historical Atlas of California by Derek Hayes. It clearly shows “El Camino Nacional” (in some maps the name changed from “Real” (“Royal”) to “Nacional” (“National”) to reflect Mexican independence from the Spanish crown) running to the San Jose pueblo from the south, then branching off as “El Camino de San Jose” to the north in the direction of the mission which unfortunately is not shown. This camino crosses Coyote and Penitencia Creeks (“Arroyo de Collotes” and “Arroyo de la Penitencia“), and I contend that this road is Oakland Road today. Oakland Road still crosses Coyote Creek in front of the San Jose Municipal Golf Course, and it used to cross Lower Penitencia Creek in front of Orchard School before the creek was radically altered into submission.

ECdSJ_diseno

The next map shows only Milpitas, but this time it’s an official survey from 1857. It’s so dead-on accurate I can overlay it on a modern map and details like roads and historic buildings line up perfectly. It’s irrefutable that the road labeled “San Jose Road” on the survey is Oakland Road today. It hasn’t moved in over 150 years.

ECdSJ_survey

To recap, my thesis is that at least as far back as 1797 the Spanish must have had a road that connected Mission Santa Clara and the San Jose pueblo with Mission San José, and that Oakland Road today is part of it. The 1840s rough diseño shows such a road labeled “Camino de S. Jose” that approximately corresponds to physical features of Oakland Road. It unfortunately doesn’t show Mission San José but there’s a suggestive ambiguity in the name “Camino de S. Jose;” it’s the perfect name for a road connecting Pueblo de San José to Mission San José. It’s reasonable to conclude that “Camino de S. Jose” on the diseño is “San Jose Road” on the 1857 survey; it’s a direct Spanish-to-English translation. The survey proves topographically that San Jose Road then is Oakland Road now, and that’s where I live.

I’m no historian so I can’t say how much proof is proof enough, and I recognize there are holes in my maps. For example on the diseño the road crosses Penitencia Creek at the wrong spot, but I’m willing to attribute that to either map error or shifts in the creek over time. On the other hand, I’ve read at MilpitasHistory.org and other sites that Penitencia Creek was so named because the padres from Mission Santa Clara and Mission San José would periodically meet in an oak grove along its bank and give penance to each other and to the native Ohlone. I’m writing a song about it:

How’d the padres get to San Jose?
They drove on Oakland Road, and stopped to pray along the way…

So I’m convinced. And if that weren’t enough, this little detail from the southwest corner of the property in the 1857 survey grabbed my attention and drove the point home to me.

ECdSJ_survey_detail

Synchronicity. It’s a trip.

I have a much deeper personal connection to El Camino Real than I ever realized or may ever understand. So far it’s been fun and exciting, the experience of a lifetime as I try to hear what it’s saying to me. I will henceforth widen the scope of this blog to include the historic East Bay as well as the Peninsula. I look forward to following this road. Who knows where it goes?