Favorite Things in my Town: Link Party

I'm joining this super fun linky party and I'm going to tell you a few things I love about my town, which happens to be San Jose, California. I am right in Silicon Valley and close enough to Gilroy (garlic capital of the world) to smell all that lovely garlic when I go outside in the mornings.

1 - Location, location, location!

We are close to many wonderful places - San Francisco is about an hour north of us, my beloved old hometown of Mountain View is 30 minutes away, everything we need is either a short walk or a short drive away. We enjoy world-famous entertainment at the HP Pavilion, scout for treasures at the San Jose Flea Market, and shop for designer stuff at Valley Fair. Well, not me, but there is an Old Navy there! :D


2 - The weather!
Although I grumble plenty about it being too hot in the summer, I know I have it easy compared to places with more humidity. The main reason I love our weather is because my fruits and veggies (well, most of them) grow so well here.


We have gorgeous hibiscus out front that bring so much color to our entrance:

I would love to grow more flowers next year, although I am not giving up my veggies at all!


3 - Fun for the kids!
We have a wonderful Children's Museum where my children have romped with Curious George and Bob the Builder, most recently my oldest and his Gran enjoyed a day at the Mammoth Exhibit and had a blast!

Nearby, Gilroy Gardens is our yearly holiday destination, they put on a Christmas display and the boys love to explore all the rides and stroll around with Gran and Grandpa:


We have many parks around here, including Vasona Park where we recently joined Grandpa and Gran and rode the train and played until this boys were exhausted, which, as any mom will tell ya, it's a good thing.

These are just a few of the reasons I love my current hometown of San Jose - we have been so lucky in having wonderful neighbors. For example, when we had an earthquake a couple of years ago, both next-door neighbors rushed over to see if we were all ok. We also live very close to my in-laws and get to have them over for dinner often, like tonight! Even with the high cost of living in this area and what that means for our budget, I have come to love living here. My children have had wonderful (public school) teachers every year, and we have made so many wonderful friends.

I hope you enjoyed this glimpse into what it's like in San Jose, I'm off to visit some of the other hometowns in the party!