San Jose Hideaway

When our kids were young, we lived in San Jose. We used to take our munchkins to a city park that butted up against an old estate. We could peer through an ancient hedge and see a huge, decrepit old mansion - abandoned, spooky, mysterious.

In the 90s, the property was purchased -- The Historic Hayes Mansion -- it was renovated and transformed into a hotel, restaurant and convention center.







It sits smack in the middle of a thriving suburban San Jose neighborhood, and it's magnificent. Craig and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary with a romantic dinner there in 1995. Two years ago, my sister was married there in an intimate family ceremony. When my sisters and I get together, Cosmos at The Hayes, in front of the fireplace, are a mandatory part of the weekend.




If you find yourself in the South Bay, put The Hayes Mansion on your list of Off-The-Beaten-Path places to visit. Read more here.

Pine Dogz at The Post Office Tonight

Husband and wife duo Steve and Diana Wallis -- PINE DOGZ -- will be at The Post Office in the Downtown Mall tonight. They play a fun variety of folksy-rockin'-blues, with some nice originals tossed into the mix. Music and fun start at 6:30.

From their website: "Pine Dogz do more than howl at the moon. Transplanted to the North State from the S.F. Bay Area, Pine Dogz perform cover tunes and original music that’s a little bit folk, a little bit country, a little bit rock and roll and a lot of heart and soul. "

Listen to the Pine Dogz here.

Creative Inspiration

Love this quote from Charles Jones:

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the books you read and the people you meet.”

Read the entire article by Dustin Reichmann at:

My Super-Charged Life - 7 awesome ways to find your creative inspiration,