by Carolyn Bickford
A few days ago, I saw the headline that all Fry’s Electronics stores abruptly closed. Sadly, there was nothing abrupt about the closing. But for anyone who experienced shopping at Fry’s (for better and worse), it was a sad end for something that was a Silicon Valley tech geek analogue. When I met Peter, he…
We had seen the concert we’d come for, but we had another day to spend in Minneapolis, and I wanted to see and experience what Minneapolis had that I would not find anywhere else. It was already clear that it’s a cultural nexus for the upper Midwest. So for breakfast, we went out to Caribou…
Nashville audiences have made me soft. No matter the artist, no matter the venue, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of people there are in the audience, they don’t crush or shove one another, except by accident. As the crowd gets bigger and the show more exciting, there is simply a folding forward, and…
I have just spent my second summer in Tennessee, this one travelling up and down and through the East Coast. Last year, I resolved to stay put in order to become acquainted with my new place. This year, almost as soon as our daughter graduated middle school, we took to the road. Our first stop…
We’ve been living in Tennessee for almost a year now. Just this summer, I’ve gone ziplining through the woods at Fontanel, saw Foster the People at the legendary Ryman Auditorium, ate a chocolate covered cricket at the county fair, done stand up paddleboarding, and, oh, experienced a total eclipse. There’s more to tell than I…
There comes a time when one tires of being on the road. Austin and Dallas were great, but as we pulled out, I also understood the satiric commentary in the Austin Lounge Lizard’s “Stupid Texas Song.” (You must look it up online — it is hilarious, particularly if you have been in Texas.) We met…
If you haven’t heard already, Peter and I sold our house of 21 years on Thistle Drive, and we’re heading off right around Neil’s 19th birthday to find a new home and new adventures. We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area for almost 30 years, and this place gave us some of our dearest…
Last June, one of my fellow hikers introduced me (and other fellow hikers) to Gilroy Yamoto Hot Springs, a former Japanese-American resort that’s now being repaired and renovated by a small non-profit group. Like most locals, I had no idea we had hot springs so close to home, nor that they were part of local…
We had a memorable night last Wednesday, which started with a concert in downtown San Jose, and ended with meeting a serial cat killer in front of our house. Peter and I went out to see My Life with the Thrill Kill Kult, a band we’ve been seeing live since their Sexplosion tour. At that…
Last night, Peter took me out to Paolo’s Restaurant to celebrate our 22nd anniversary. We honestly hadn’t been there in a dog’s age, but it has held a place in our heart thanks to previous romantic dinners there. It’s one of San Jose’s oldest restaurants, known for its elegant Italian cuisine, and Peter had a…