28 Tuesday
Today was a work day for Russell & Novey and also the big day to pick up our rental vehicle. So the deal was for Novey to take all of us in her car to the San Jose airport where the Alamo rental was to be picked up. The cost was US$1012 including insurance for the period up to 20th June. The vehicle was a Chevrolet Cavalier 2002 almost new (3200 miles only) and air conditioning which we came to love.  After dropping us at Alamos at the airport, Novey went off in her car to her work at Reuters while I drove under Russell's guidance back to Mountain View on freeway 101 where he picked up some clothing for the wedding, then I dropped him off at his work at Ubicom.  From there it was just a short drive back to his apartment which Sally and I managed with no real problem, but we each had a good strong cup of coffee when we arrived back!  My first impression of american driving was that drivers seem to be much more tolerant and careful on suburban streets than they would be in Auckland. Or are they just keeping a wide berth from kiwi drivers? We were starting to feel quite brave under the stimulation of the coffee and decided to drive to San Antonio Shopping Center. We carefully planned the route from Russell's detailed map of Mountain View and set off.  Surprisingly perhaps, the driving went almost without a hitch, the only blemish being that, for the turn left into the shopping mall car parks, we were supposed to be in a center lane bordered with yellow lane markers, but I had not quite made it into that lane before I turned left across the road and into the car park. But I don't think any body else noticed except us. We had a good stroll around the Shopping Mall looking at the shops, ate a sandwich for lunch at an outside table on the sidewalk, bought a cutlery set for Russell & Novey and then back to Rock St for a well deserved rest. It was very warm today, perhaps 26 or 28 degrees, but there was also a slight breeze which made it feel quite pleasant. Russell had mentioned Mountain View Park, an area adjoining a golf course and a small lake quite close to where they live as a place to visit so we set off to check it out. The park was about 5 minutes away by car so we got brave again and drove over the freeway along Shore Line Blvd and parked near a rather nice lake adjacent to the Bay (ie San Francisco Bay). The lake is obviously a venue for all sorts of aquatic recreational activities such as sail boarding, rowing, small yacht sailing etc. Further around from the lake, Russell explained to us later, are protected wetlands with numerous walking tracks. Russell and Novey returned home from work about 7pm.

The aquatic recreational club and restauraunt