Back in the Bay Area

We are, once again, back in our old stomping grounds, the place we called "home" for 20 years. We left Gridley first thing Saturday morning, and made a beeline for San Jose and the wedding celebration of our good friends and fellow motorcyclists, Charles and Sara. It was a most excellent party, and, in addition to the happy couple, we also got a chance to catch up with many of our bay area motorcycle buddies.

We spent Saturday and Sunday nights at the now-familiar San Jose Elks lodge (map). It was comfortable enough, though I will note that RV parking there has now gone up to $18 per night, which includes the non-optional electric and water hookups. Even though prices have gone up, the place is more run-down than ever, consistent with our observations of the state of Elks lodges in general. It appears that, presumably to generate further revenue, they have granted many exemptions to the campground rules (regarding length of stay, storage of items in the spaces, etc.) and have accepted a large number of RV's and cargo and boat trailers for storage in the adjacent parking lot, many of which are in less-than-attractive condition. To top it all off, since our last visit, a dillapidated railroad caboose has appeared in a corner of the parking lot, making me wonder where the lodge's priorities lie.

Today we are in Palo Alto, having spent last night at the Elks lodge here (map). Right next door is now an empty lot, where once the quirky-but-elegant Hyatt Rickey's stood. The bulldozers are still in the process of dipatching the last bits of the stately property. One of the many things we try to accomplish whenever we are in the area is to see our long-time doctors, and I have an appoitment just up the street this afternoon. We also persuaded our internet-based motorcycle group to have their weekly Tuesday dinner across the street from the lodge.

When we are done here today, we will move Odyssey to Fremont, across the bay, for, what else, more doctor appointments.