It was 1968 when the popular song: “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” was written and composedfor Dionne Warwick by Burt Bacharach. I graduated from Hoboken High School in New Jersey that year. Never did I think I would wind up in San Jose with Cecile opening up a Podiatric Medical Practice specializing in minimally invasive foot surgery in 1975. I also never thought I would become an avid bicyclist in my mid 60s, a half a dozen years ago.
Bill and I began our 23-mile roundtrip bicycling adventure to downtown San Jose by hopping on the Los Gatos Creek Trail that ends at Willow Street. We turned left at Three Creeks Trail that is marked by a 30-foot water tower tank that is marked with the number 3, that serves as an iconic reminder of the city of San Jose cannery days. The four year old trail celebrates the valley’s former railway and canneries it once served back in the day when Silicon Valley was known as “Valley of Heart’s Delight.”
Some of the points of interest were the Giant Mammoth with husks exhibit outside the Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose; the San Jose McEnery Convention Center of Innovation; San Jose Museum of Art; The magnificent Cathedral Basilica of Saint Joseph which was constructed in 1877 and is listed as a California Historical Landmark. The Cathedral was also made a minor basilica by the affable Pope John Paul in 1997. It has majestic domes and thirty-nine exquisite stained glass windows. There is a beautiful gold Holy Water Fountain in the back of the pews. It is open to the public and photos of the interior are allowed. One of the docents who was outside watched our bikes while we explored the interior where another docent who was sitting at a desk shared some facts about the history of the museum. We also visited San Jose City Hall and rode through the silver rings in front. We had the most fun riding through the shooting vertical water fountains on Market Street.
Bill and I had lunch at the colorful San Pedro Square Market. There are a number of exciting food vendors. I had pizza and salad from Pizza Bocca Lupo and Bill enjoyed a pork Bonh Mi sandwich.
