Weekend Getaway: San Jose, California
This isn’t a usual review. My son, Derek, and I went to San Jose for one purpose and one purpose only, to run the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose 10K race. I thought while I was there, I would see some cool tech buildings but instead, all I saw was Adobe’s headquarters. I was told that Lenovo had their headquarters here too. We saw the Tesla factory, but, to be honest, all it was were buildings and logos, that was all.
So, we didn’t see the entire city, but we did see the city jail, the city courthouses, the city police department and fire department. Even the airport was relatively close to the downtown. “You know, most of the new cities are built that way because air transport has become vital in today’s society,” my son said.
We stayed at the Fairmont San Jose. I chose it because it was conveniently located at the start and finish of the race. The hotel was beautiful, but have you ever seen a Fairmont not beautiful?
I flew into San Francisco on Thursday and met up with my son at UC Berkeley. He had class on Friday, so I went to the local YMCA to swim. (It’s one of my favorite pools!) After that, I went to the Road Runner Berkeley and met up with my friend, Tyler, who is extremely knowledgeable about sneakers.
I hurt my knee that first day. Between being extremely tired from the time change and walking up the hills of Berkeley to get to a seminar on social media and free speech, I got hurt along the way. My knee was killing me. I felt as if I tore my meniscus again. Actually, my whole body hurt. I was throbbing in pain.
After the seminar, which by the way, was extremely interesting and thought-provoking, we went back to the Hotel Shattuck, where I stayed overnight.
After seeing Tyler, my son called me and told me he was ready to go. I got into my Enterprise Rent-A-Car vehicle, a Ford Fusion, which was so high tech, I was having trouble driving it, and drove in circles around my son’s “dorm.”
When I finally got a spot, he jumped in the car and we were off to San Jose, just about an hour north of Berkeley.
On Saturday, since I was feeling so much pain, I booked a massage for my son and me. We went to the expo first, got our numbers and went back to the hotel for a 50 minute massage.
I was greeted by Olga and told to go upstairs. I complied. As I entered the room, I told Olga that I would like her to focus on my legs, specifically my left leg. That didn’t happen. She beat up my entire body! “You’re really screwed up,” she told me… Thanks, I thought.
She continued to “kill me,” and I continued to bite my tongue and she dug deep.
Derek and I decided to go to the expo and walk around. We were there specifically for the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Jose 10K Race. The expo, sponsored by Toyota and Brooks Running, was a ton of fun. They typically have contests and activities at these things.
I left and asked the front desk after paying if Derek and I could use the hot tub later in the day. They said yes and we went to dinner at Ill Fornaio. We have to carb load, I told my son.
We both had pasta, which was very good, and then went back to the hotel to get an early shut eye before the race.
The morning of the race was uneventful. We ran, got a great tour of the city, and then went to a VIP breakfast. After that, we walked around the park and headed back to Berkeley.
My impression of San Jose versus Berkeley. San Jose is a typical “rich” city. They have everything there and it is set with gorgeous hills in the background. Berkeley is all about “weird.” The food is different, the hotels are different and the whole atmosphere is different than any other place I’ve ever been. Some may say it compares to Greenwich Village, but I would say it’s a stand alone place and a place you should definitely take the trip to if you’re in the Bay area.
