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| Amy Meier,Sandra Walker,John Walker, Debbie Siedband,Peter Nicholls,Dan Kato, Frances Wilson,Wate Bakker,Faye Swanson,Gigi Clarke,Jackie Jones Photographer:Jim Beyer |
Wate Bakker led the long hikers and Johanna Bakker led the ramblers hike to the Saratoga Gap and into Long Ridge Open Space on Saturday, November 8th. The long hikers traveled approximately 9 miles with some going a couple miles longer. There was moderate elevation gains. Ramblers started at a different location. We saw views of the coastal range and Pacific ocean as it was another beautiful day on the trails.
Johanna Bakker led a rambler hike along the Devil’s slide trail near Pacifica. It was a fully paved hiking and biking trail along the old highway one, now superseded by a tunnel. The trail is completely new with many look out points and rest stops but has some gradual ups and downs and was a hiking distance of about 3 miles . Wate Bakker led the long hikers to near the top of Montara Mountain, starting at the San Pedro Country park parking lot. The hike turned out to be approximately 6.25 miles long with an altitude difference of 1700 ft. Afterwards we late a late lunch at the Moonraker restaurant on Rockaway Beach in Pacifica. It was another beautiful day for hiking with cool temperatures and light breezes.
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| Rich Bainbridge,Bonnie Preston,Robyn Siebenthall, Marie Buck,Johanna Bakker,Katy Peretti,Laura Gelman |
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| Wedding at Moonracker restaurant |
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| Bonnie Preston,Katy Peretti,Faye Swanson, Stan Pegram,Suzanne Pham,Nancy Mosher-Williams,Brad Hinckley,Marie Buck, Debbie Siedband,Amy Meier,Susan Brown |
On 5/7/14 Eleven Ramblers joined the journey to the Far East tour of the Overfelt Gardens on Mckee Rd in San Jose with a guided tour by Ranger Valeri Heyberger. The 33 acres of land was donated by Mildred Overfelt in memory of her parents, William and Mary to create a peaceful and tranquil park surrounded by natural plants, wildlife and ponds. The park is also known as the Chinese Cultural Garden due to Frank and Pauline Lowe who worked to acquire several historical objects from Taiwan including: a 30 ft bronze and marble statue of Confucious, an ornamental front gate, Sun Yat Sun Memorial Hall, Chung Kai Shek Plum Pavillion, a sundial and the Black Stone which was mined from the Mt. ranges of Taiwan.We also toured the Overfelt family house located in the park. Afterwards, we visited Pao Hua Buddhist Temple on our own which is located also on McKee Rd. Everyone enjoyed a Dim Sum lunch at Creekside Chinese Restaurant on Piedmont Rd before going home.
What a holiday party it was. Barbara Orlando, a new Hiking Club member and the new Co-Vice-President of Socials for 2013 out did herself in every way. She made ALL the food for around 85 people and it was absolutely delicious and beautifully presented on most festive tables. The details of the garnishes alone brought rave reviews. She is an incredibly creative person and loves entertaining in this way. We can’t thank her enough for all she did to make this a most special party. Hats off to your Barbara with many thanks for a job superbly done!
Gilda Wunderman, who lived in the Villages for a while, owns a historical home that she bought with her late husband in 1962. The house was designed by gangsters in the 1920s with vice in mind. The 7,200 square-foot interior included a bordello upstairs, secret passages, and a lookout for the law.
From the outside, this house looks very modest, while inside, there was a rip-roaring vice operation complete with dancing, drinking during prohibition, and prostitution. Now-a-days its like walking into a museum.
On September 28, the Hiking Club went to Mountain View to see this historical home that is a private residence. This was an easy walk on flat land along Steven’s Creek. We met in front of Cribari Clubhouse at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning. We all took a sack lunch to eat on the patio of Gilda Wundrman’s home. Pole walkers and everyone were welcome who knew Gilda or were curious in seeing an unusual place.
