Howdy folks. We woke up at the crack of 6:45 in the morning, packed our bags, and drove Aaron and Rucker to their offices at Google, located in Mountainview, California. What was in it for us? Well, we got to have free breakfast at the "Googleplex" cafeteria. Mountainview was a 45 minute ride South, already on our way to LA, and we arrived at 8:15 to feast on everything from fried egg and avocado breakfast burritos to organic peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. We went up to see Aaron and Michael's desks, grabbed a couple of Red Bulls from the everything-in-here-is-free-all-the-time pantry on Aaron's floor, and then took off for the adjacent town of Palo Alto, where the college of Stanford is located.
(Who's ready for breakfast?)
(I wasn't supposed to take pictures inside, so this was actually taken from just outside the lobby with the door open. I follow rules. Sorta.)
(Google's best and brightest sit here.)
(A more-than-balanced breakfast.)
(Very serious identification badges.)
As expected, Stanford was breathtakingly beautiful. We only had 45 minutes there, but we walked around campus, seeing the chapel, the library, and a few other buildings. We were tempted to throw a baseball around on the front green, but we had to be at Alex's by 11:30 for the long-awaited Haitian food.
(I wish my street looked like this.)
(Pretty Buildings and Ugly Dudes.)
(The beginning stages of a piledriver.)
(Ben piledrives Jeff on the Stanford Chapel lawn. Sacrilegious? You decide.)
(Not sure what building this was, but it was worth a picture.)
(The Stanford Chapel.)
(The Stanford Library making Jeff look very, very small.)
(The dedication to the son of Stanford's founder, Leland Stanford Jr.)
After stopping in at the local Hertz to register Ben and Jeff as official drivers for the rental car, we took a nice 45 minute ride down to San Jose, picked up a bottle of wine as a gift (in retrospect, we should have brought a magnum, but i suppose hindsight is 20/20 even if alcohol is involved...), and headed to the Malebranche household, which was a well-situated home located just off a golf course, overlooking some rolling hills.
We were greeted by Alex and her boyfriend Chris Mizell, both of whom are in town from New York (Chris is a teacher, Alex is a dental student, and as you've probably surmised, school's out for Summer). They brought us to their sweet backyard, complete with grill and hot tub, for an appetizer while her family finished making lunch. Her sister is getting married this weekend, and so there was plenty of food being prepared, let me assure you.
(Our hosts Alex and Chris. A good looking couple if I may say so myself.)
(Our appetizers - Chicken in a flaky pastry-like dough.)
(Baked chicken with a blend of mystery spices, which are arguably the best kind of spices.)
(The view from the backyard.)
After meeting her father and aunt, presenting the family with a bound copy of the cookbook, and downing a few bottles of water, we sat down to a mouth-watering meal of rice, beans, salad and traditionally baked Haitian Chicken. While I'm not getting this recipe (family secret), Alex's mother has promised me some sort of Lime-Glazed Seabass recipe, so I can't say I'm too upset.
(A couple of Malebranches working their magic.)
(Nicest grill I've seen on the trip thus far. Well done, Mr. Malebranche.)
Additional good news: Mizell's friend Mike Carly lives in Vegas and apparently, Mike likes to have a good time, so we may have finally found that Vegas guru we've been looking for.
After thanking the Malebranches profusely, we took off for the pretty little town of Capitola, California, the home of Pizza My Heart, a spot that has been recommended by several folks. We arrived to a line that was about 15 minutes long, but the wait was nothing compared to what the line would have been for a place of its caliber in NYC. In addition to providing us with great pizza, Capitola also provided us with our first real California beach. While we didn't have time to take a true swim in the Pacific, I did take a few deep breaths of the fresh sea air and dip my toes in the ocean, which felt very, very good.
(The Capitola Beach. Deceptively foggy for a 92 degree afternoon)
But I digress. Back to the pizza. Slices were between $3 and $4, but the deal of the century was the combination of a Pizza My Heart T-Shirt and any slice for $5. Ben, Jeff and I all obliged. Ben got the Pepperoni, Jeff got the Pesto, and I got a slice called the "Big Sur", which I'm pretty sure was the pizza version of my soulmate: Pepperoni, Sausage, Portobello Mushroom, and Roasted Garlic Cloves, all on one slice.
(If you're ever in Capitola, don't miss this place.)
(Action shot, mid-slicing.)
(Clockwise from top: Pepperoni, Big Sur, Pesto)
(The cleverest tip jar motto I've ever seen.)
After filling the tank and putting some air in the tires, we are getting onto the Pacific Coast Highway a.k.a. US-1, heading South to Los Angeles, where our buddies Dustin Rosen and Sam Kolbert-Hyle await our arrival. We are already stuck in PCH traffic, but I just saw my first Ferrari, along with a cherry red old school Maserati Ghibli, an Aston Martin DB5, and another Shelby Cobra replica. Wow, I didn't even finish writing this sentence (I am currently sitting shotgun while Ben drives), and I just saw two more Ferraris drive by (for those who care, the troika was a red 355, a black 430, and what I believe was a red Maranello V-12). I have a feeling we are entering exotic car country. Things could be worse.
(He knows he looks good.)
Late night update: We stopped off for dinner at Pea Soup Andersen's, off route 101. Ben and Jeff ordered food, while I was still full from the Haitian feast and Pizza My Heart experience, so I just ate a couple of Google Pantry Bananas.
(A couple of salad-ordering pansies.)
(My first time in the back seat, which I discovered is a glorious place to catch up on sleep.)
We've just arrived in Beverly Hills at the house of Dustin Rosen, and we were greeted by Dustin himself, along with his girlfriend Emily Ozen, Dustin's roommate Jeff, and their playful boxer Jacob.
(The dog and the girl. What more could Dustin ask for?)
(The hosts. Dustin is on the left, Jeff on the right.)
(Dustin's roomate Diego's Maserati. Nice.)
With Warmest California Regards,
Yours Truly,
The Great American Summer Roadtrippers
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