February 15, 2007
While the East Coast is buried in snow, we have had a week with more than a little rain – but we needed it so no one dared to complain! Today, however, the sun was out and I wanted to capture a little of Los Gatos on film … er, make that on my digital camera. So here are a few shots from around town.
To the left is a sign that recently made its way to the Main Street Bridge (which, by the way,
was once known as The Hanging Bridge – you guessed it, that’s where lynchings and “justice” were carried out). This sign for The King’s Highway surprised me because The El Camino Real (The King’s Highway) is known in this valley as either El Camino Real, The Alameda, or Market Street. It winds through San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, and on up the Peninsula.
So how or why is the sign
here? Well, the Main Street Bridge crosses over Highway 17, which makes its way over to Santa Cruz – and the Mission in Santa Cruz. So I am presuming that because 17 links the missions (Santa Clara and Santa Cruz) that it constitutes part of the historic route and thus won the right to display this cool Mission Trail bell and sign. Below, please find a more telling view of the bell – with the Penthouse Apartments and the famous Cats on the wall to prove the location (no, it’s not photoshopped- honest!) And next to them are some other shots of Los Gatos today. Not bad for winter, is it??
So you can see, there’s no snow, no rain, no frost (OK you can’t see it, but take my word for it). The weather has been in the mid-60s the last few days and when I take our pooch, Bella, out for a walk it seems I find half the neighborhood doing the same thing. This is winter in Los Gatos – where we have 300 sunny days a year and we
seldom get a hard frost. We are just 30 minutes from the beach, but protected from the fog by “The Hill” (seen in the middle photo above, behind the famous Beckwith Building). We’re an hour from San Francisco, 90 minutes from Monterey and Carmel, and 20 or so minutes to San Jose – the safest large city in the US. This area has a very highly educated population, low crime, great schools, wonderful shops and restuarants – and, possibly the supreme highlight – fabulous weather.
Come visit Los Gatos! Enjoy wine tasting, museums, shops, fine dining, and all the outdoors activities. Or just enjoy the Town Plaza Park and watch the world go by, like the people in the photo below. Los Gatos: always a great place to be, but perhaps especially remarkable in winter!
