The way to San Jose…

Posted: July 7, 2007 at 9:39 pm by John

As I mentioned in my post this morning, San Francisco was blanketed by a heavy summer fog today. By noon, the temperature was still in the mid 50’s. This weather is PERFECT for sleeping, but a bit frustrating when you want to work in the garden.

So, we headed south to San Jose where the temp were in the mid 80’s…yes, exciting San Jose. But wait…there is a method to this madness. We wanted to take Matthew to the historic Winchester Mystery House…a bizarre 160-room home built over the course of 38 years. The widow Winchester was clearly driven…or insane…and the result is a beautiful Victorian home, but with a maze of hallways, winding stairwells, doorways and stairs to nowhere, and hidden passageways. Definitely worth a visit.

After the Winchester House, we grabbed what we thought was a quick lunch at nearby Santana Row…a popular outdoor shopping/restaurant area. We were lured into the Consuelo Mexican Bistro, and the fun stopped there. Whatever positive stories I might have shared about the food, have been forever replaced by memories of horrendous service. I’m not talking about incompetence…I’m quite patient with people who TRY. I’m talking about the total lack of attention. At the end of the meal, we sat…literally…for over 20 minutes trying to get our bill. I waved at our waitress…nothing. Jeff asked the hostess to send someone to us…nothing. I rang my fork against my glass…funny…but nothing. I even emptied a glass of water and thrust it out in view of the water-guy…hoping that might bring a human to our table…nothing.

We left a zero tip.

We NEVER leave a zero tip.

NEVER.

After the lunch that became dinner, we decided to stay put for a while and catch a movie. We watched Evan Almighty…because it was starting when we walked up. It was an amusing diversion…not amazing comedy, but then we weren’t looking for that. I could watch Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman and Wanda Sykes in just about anything.

On the way home, we could see fingers of fog creeping over the coastal range along I-280. Its a beautiful sight, and a fitting bookend to our day.