Making the Rounds in the Bay Area

Late Wednesday morning of last week we left Discovery Bay and headed to Fairfield, where we last lived in the Golden State, for a meeting with our financial advisor. Of course we had to drive by the house we then lived in. It appeared to be fine.

We then drove south in our rented mini-van (an UN-impressive Mazda MPV) toward San Jose, some 80 miles away, where my wife Kay Lynne had a dinner get-together planned with two of her friends from high school with whom she has stayed close.

She met Lorene Olszewski and Paula Brodick at a restaurant in Valley Fair, the extremely popular Westfield’s mega-mall. Valley Fair is one of Santa Clara Valley’s (and perhaps California’s) very first shopping centers. Macy’s was its first department store, opening in 1956, which became the center’s anchor retailer. The pic is of Valley Fair Macy's today.

Said to be the “best” mall in northern California, with the possible exception of the Stanford Shopping Center, Valley Fair is now all enclosed and is home to more than 200 stores, many quite “upscale”.

Kay Lynne was a Macy’s teen fashion model/consultant there “way back” in high school. All three of the gals were “pom-pom” girls (cheer leaders) together at San Jose’s historic Lincoln High School. I have photos, but I value my life.

The ladies had a great time at dinner, catching up on news and events in their lives. Lorene has two grown sons in the engineering and computer professions while Paula has a son who is in law enforcement.

I find it quite interesting that much like the six of us “Baggar” guys (see last post), my wife has remained close with several friends who also go back a very long way. She has known Lorene, for instance, since kindergarten.

All these “old” friends, however, make our periodic visits to California most enjoyable. More posts to follow on our Bay Area visit of last week.