Cupertino

Shine Bright Cupertino 2020

See the Lights – The Shine Bright Cupertino Light Tour

Silvia

2020 is almost over, all we have to do is sit and wait. For another sit-in-your-car-adventure, I recommend going on the Shine Bright Cupertino light tour. Cupertino’s neighbors signed on to have their house decorations viewed as you drive by (or walk with your mask on). You can download the map of participating houses as a PDF on the City of Cupertino website.

Shine Bright Cupertino lights tour 2020.

If you liked last week’s post about Robertsville and their lightshow with music you might be delighted at number 21 on the map, 7733 Oak Meadow Court. Tune your radio to 92.9 FM while in the court and be entertained by the music accompanying the lights. You can watch a short version of this on my YouTube channel. 

I was serenaded by the Muppets!

The best time to view the lights is early nighttime. Most lights get turned off at 10 pm.

Please be careful while driving and if you pull over, respect the homeowners and neighbors. Watch out for pedestrians.

Thank you Cupertino and all participating neighbors!

How do you brighten the season?

Do you have neighborhood lights you like?

Trees at McClellan Creek Trail

Climb Around Trees at McClellan Creek Trail

Silvia

McClellan Ranch in Cupertino is an educational ranch with a science center and also hosts the 4H of Cupertino.

Entrance to the McClellan Creek Trail in Cupertino, CA.

If you score a parking spot at the ranch, the Creek Trail starts away from the buildings near the bee station. A narrow dirt path goes right next to the Stevens Creek. I was surprised to find that here it carries water; it must come from the Stevens Creek Reservoir. In Mountain View, Stevens Creek usually only has water from the Bay when it rains, as an overflow protection.

Anyway, it is quite pretty to walk by the trees, some of them even have signs to identify them. Deeper and deeper into the trail the trees grow more freely and make for interesting roadblocks and climbing opportunities, a nice way to say you can’t use a wheelchair or stroller on this path. 

Trees at McClellan Creek Trail, Cupertino, CA.

After a gathering point with tree benches, the trees are more and more unmanaged.

I end with a few more cautions:

  • Be careful of ticks, snakes and mountain lions
  • Don’t go into the water
  • Watch for Poison Oak

Where do you climb on trees?

One-way signs at Rancho San Antonio, Cupertino.

Journey a One-Way Road

Silvia
Entrance to Rancho San Antonio Open Space Perserve, Cupertino.

Hiking is always a great pastime in the Bay Area. These days, with the continuing of shelter in place, hiking is a well deserved alternative from your walk around the neighborhood. We went Tuesday to Rancho San Antonio, a hilly terrain in the Los Altos Hills mountains. My health app recorded a 24 floor climb and almost 11,000 steps!

Map of Rancho San Antonio, Cupertino, showing the one-way hikes.

There are multiple hikes and different levels of difficulty. As a COVID-19 safe measure, the most narrow paths are one-way. Please check out the map before you start. They no longer offer printed maps, so you might want to take a picture. When we were there on Tuesday the bathrooms were open again. Of course this might change without much notice. Bring plenty of water since the water fountains are all taped up. 

Wild turkeys at Rancho San Antonio, Cupertino.

Deer Hollow Farm is currently closed, but on our way we saw wild turkeys, a few deer, and some lizards, so a short hike with your young ones is still a lot of fun. Plus they put up signs of encouragement from the farm, e.g.: “You goat this!” or “Sheep your distance!”

View of the Bay and the Diablo Range mountains.

If you are up for a longer hike you will be rewarded with gorgeous views of the Bay. 

Where is your go-to hiking spot?

Other short hikes in the Bay Area can be found from my 50 things to do in San Mateo County, 50 things to do in Los Altos/Los Altos Hills and 50 things to do in Cupertino.

If you have other ideas for short hikes in the Bay Area I would love it if you could share them with me in the comment section.

Keep Safe. Use Social Distancing. 6 ft apart. Groups of 10 person or less.

Share your COVID-19 Experiences

Silvia

Everybody agrees that these are strange and unprecedented times. The new normal will be walking around with a mask and getting used to not touching our faces. To survive a pandemic is an accomplishment and we are bound to record this as best as we can.

A lot of local history museums in the Bay Area are accepting your quarantine stories, photos, and other media.

San Francisco

Sign in front of a bar in Mountain View offering white flour, yeast and toilet paper. Plus a delivery robot.

California Historical Society, the official historical society for the State of California, has a website with a form to invite you to answer a few questions about your experience with COVID-19.

https://californiahistoricalsociety.org/initiatives/tell-your-story-california-during-the-time-of-covid-19/

Some local history museums are also collecting your descriptions of the pandemic. 

Cupertino

Cupertino residents may share their experiences and media with Cupertino’s Historical Society. They have an online submission form: 

bit.ly/CupertinoCOVID19

Sunnyvale

One Way sign at the Safeway in Sunnyvale.

If you documented COVID-19 related events in Sunnyvale, please submit them to the Sunnyvale Historical Society and Museum Association: 

https://heritageparkmuseum.org/blog/documenting-the-sunnyvale-experience-of-covid-19

Los Altos

Sign at a busstop in Mountain View. Is this an Essential Trip? Yes -> Okay to Ride. No -> Why are you even here reading this?-> Go Home. Stay Home. Stop the Spread.

The Los Altos History Museum is asking residents of Santa Clara County to submit and share your stories, photographs, or other items documenting your experience with COVID-19. https://www.losaltoshistory.org/documenting-covid-19-in-santa-clara-county/

Campbell

The Campbell Historical Museum is also asking for artifacts and journals that represent this crisis.

https://www.campbellmuseums.com/how-to-document-the-covid-19-pandem

Disposable glove trashed in a parking lot.

Santa Cruz

is planning on an exhibit with your submissions. In These Uncertain Times is scheduled from October 16th, 2020 to April 4th, 2021 the MAH will exhibit how daily lives have changed in the pandemic through community-sourced artwork.

https://santacruzmah.org/exhibitions/uncertain-times

Artist are also asked to share their work at the Tenderloin Museum’s virtual gallery

http://www.tenderloinmuseum.org/shelterinplace to show life under lockdown: Shelter In Place

Writing about this time might help you to work through it. How are you coping?

If I missed a history museum in the area that also collects submissions, please add your information in the comment section. 

50 things to do in Cupertino

Explore 50 Things to do in Cupertino

Silvia

Since Tuesday we are officially ordered to ‘shelter in place’. So I like to take this time to introduce you to my series: ‘50 things to do’. I try to find 50 things to do in a city nearby. It is an interesting challenge and I enjoy discovering every aspect of a city.

Bowling balls at Homestead Bowl, Cupertino.

In my latest ‘50 things to do’ I discovered Cupertino. Most of you might know Cupertino as Apple’s headquarters, but this is not all this city has to offer. I was really surprised to see how many interesting options for sports they have. From disc golf to archery, hiking in the hills, and yoga in the park. This city also has two bowling alleys and an ice rink!

aquarium at the Cupertino library

There are some cool outings for kids, too, like the 16 feet wide aquarium in the library or the Deer Hollow Farm at Rancho San Antonio. If you like to explore local history you’ll be able to enjoy a few fascinating finds.

If you have any suggestions of places that I might have missed I’d love to hear from you!

Are you ready to explore Cupertino (virtually)?

Women Pathmakers at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino

Celebrate Women Pathmakers

Silvia

The current winter exhibit of the Euphrat Museum of Art at the DeAnza College in Cupertino is about Women Pathmakers.

Ada Lovelace and the letter about her at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.
Irene Curie and other women scientist at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

I started with the portraits on my left, notable women in science, each of them included a letter that was in an envelope underneath the painting. I read, for example, about the first programmer Ada Lovelace, or Irene Curie, who discovered artificial radiation. Some of these women were cheated out of their Nobel Prize, but they were happy to do what they did best, science!

Movie poster about Qiu Jin, Autumn Gem, at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

I also learned about Qiu Jin, in a shortened version of the movie: Autumn Gem. The radical women’s activist who attempted an armed uprising against the Qing Dynastie is now a celebrated national heroine. The complete movie about her life: Autumn Gem will be shown March 4th at 3 pm, with director Rae Chang.

View of part of the exhibit pieces at the Euphrat Museum of Art, Cupertino.

Women Pathmakers not only memorializes the women of the past, this exhibit shines in its diversity of art forms, like sculptures, quilts, posters, wood, and also the diversity of the artists themself.

The exhibit is part of the Silicon Valley Reads 2020 “Woman making it happen”. It runs till March 12th, 2020. The Euphrat is open on Monday – Thursday 10 am – 3 pm during exhibits. Admission is free. 

How do you celebrate women pathmakers? 

I visited the Euphrat in 2017 and saw Justice for All?


Disc golf basket at Stevens Creek County Park, Cupertino.

Throw some Discs Around

Silvia

I’ve been to the San Jose disc golf course at Hellyer. (https://untilsuburbia.com/frisbee-being-in-the-woods-disc-golf/) My technical skills for this sport are nothing to write about. But I was pleasantly surprised to find another course at Stevens Creek County Park in Cupertino.

A disc golf basket surrounded by trees at the Stevens Creek County Park in Cupertino.

This 12 hole course is well maintained by the Silicon Valley Disc Golf Club which established the Villa Maria course in 2018.

View from tee number 5 at the Stevens Creek County Park disc golf course, Cupertino.

Therefore this course is a fairly recent addition to the area. You have to pay the $6 parking fee at the bottom and then head up to the Villa Maria Orchard. There are restrooms nearby and picnic tables. The course itself has a decent elevation and is technically challenging because of the trees. I found reviews at DG Course Review  that warn people about poison oak, but overall it got a 3.5 out of a 5. The phone holders at the tee off were a big hit. Film yourself teeing off – how Silicon Valley!

Tee off at the disc golf course, Stevens Creek County Park, Cupertino.

If you are a regular you might consider joining the club to support the sport. But if you are just trying it out, it’s free, and there are no green fees, just parking fees. You just have to get yourself a disc golf set at your local sports store (around $20).

Have you tried disc golf?


Dan Burnett Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge

Bike a bridge

Silvia

If you have never biked the Golden Gate Bridge I highly recommend you do so. It is a great trip to take visitors to – go downhill to Sausalito, have lunch, and ferry back to the city.

Dan Burnett Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, Cupertino

If you need a substitute scenic bridge, go for the Dan Burnett Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge in Silicon Valley. The bridge was  opened as the Mary Avenue Bicycle Footbridge in 2009. In 2010 it was renamed to honor the Cupertino City Councilman, Dan Burnett, an ‘avid cyclist and environmental activist’, who helped make this bridge a reality. He envisioned a bridge spanning over the 280 highway as a safe route across the interstate for bikers and pedestrians. 

The north entrance is right next to Homestead High and the south entrance is on Mary Ave. This cable-stayed bridge has an iconic look and makes for great pictures. In a cable-stayed bridge the weight of the deck is supported by a number of cables running directly to one or more towers.

According to Wikipedia, this is the only cable-stayed bridge across a highway in California. 

Two roads leading to the Dan Burnett Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge. One straight, one serpentine.

If you come from the north side you may notice the serpentine lane on your right. For people who prefer straight access, just stay on the path.

If you are interested in how this bridge was built, the builder, Golden State builder, has a cool video on their site: http://gsbridge.com/mary-avenue-video/

Do you have a bridge you like to bike across?

Entrance to the Picchetti Winery, Cupertino

Taste some Wine

Silvia

It’s almost Thanksgiving and if you are looking for the perfect bottle to rise to the occasion you might want to consider going to a local winery and taste test some bottles/glasses.

Old barn at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

One of the oldest wineries in California, the Picchetti Winery, sits above Cupertino and its tasting room is open from 10 am to 4 pm every day. The Picchetti brothers, Secondo and Vincenzo, established the ranch in 1882 and first sold their grapes to local wineries. In 1896 they decided to produce their own wine. During Prohibition the wine production sunk dramatically and prune and apricot orchards replaced most of the grape vines. 

Entrance to the tasting room at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

In 1976 the Picchetti family sold 308 acres to the Open Space District, the Picchetti Open Space Preserve was established. Hiking on the Zinfandel Trail might expose you to the surrounding orchards and vineyards. Overall there are about 4 miles of hiking trails.

Since 1982 the District leases the winery back to winemakers, currently about 9,000 cases per year get produced, many of them award-winning.

Inside the tasting room at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

The tasting is $15 dollars for a flight of five wines. Wine bottle prices range from about $25 to $55, but a wine club is available. 

Picnic tables at Picchetti Winery, Cupertino.

The tasting room is nicely decorated, but you might want to enjoy your flight outside at the picnic tables. Maybe the peacocks will greet you.

Where do you go to taste test your wine?

Of course Napa and Sonoma are prime wine country. Have you ever been to Calistoga?

Resources:

https://thepress.sfchronicle.com/review/picchetti-winery/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picchetti_Brothers_Winery


Aquarium at the Cupertino library.

Find Nemo at the Cupertino Library

Silvia
Butterfly fish at the Cupertino library aquarium.

Sure, you can find a good book on Nemo or clownfish at any local library. If you go to the Cupertino library you can try to find the clownfish in the aquarium next to the children’s books. This 16 feet long tank holds 3,240 gallons of water. To support such large tank the glass is 2.5 inches thick and there is a 5 foot concrete base underneath. 

Cupertino library aquarium.

Besides clownfish, there are also yellow tanks, foxface bubblefish, yellowtail damsels, butterfly fish, and hermit crabs.The corals are man-made and therefore more environmentally friendly.  Real corals are threatened by many factors like over-fishing, increased sea temperatures and tourism. 

Plant petting zoo at the Cupertino library.

If your kid prefers land over water maybe come by on Tuesdays from 11 am – noon (summer hours) and let them explore the Children’s Garden in the courtyard. This garden has a plant petting zoo and a scratch and sniff area. For the teenagers that are into planting the Green Teen Garden might be attractive. Designed to provide local teenagers with hands-on garden experience. 

Kids splashing around the water fountain in front of the Cupertino library.

And to cool off your child they can splash around in the water fountain outside.

What a fun place for kids! 

Have you seen the aquarium at the Cupertino library?

While you explore Cupertino check out my list on 50 things to do there.