First Post!!!!

Well, now that Google has determined that my blog isn't spam (following my requested review of their decision).... Here is the news: I made it to Stanford/Palo Alto just fine. The flights were good via Delta. I had a short layover in Atlanta after leaving BWI at 6:00 a.m and I arrived in San Jose around 11:00 a.m. PST. It was exciting to see the plains, desert canyons, the Rockies and the Sierras for the first time. Oh, and I was extremely entertained by the on-flight trivia game that was playing on my screen, which tested my wits against the other trivia buffs on the plane. Good fun!

When I arrived in San Jose, I had a vague idea that I could take a train to Palo Alto, but I really had not put much effort into researching the fact before hand. Thank goodness for the very nice woman at the information booth in the airport. She took me behind the desk with her, pulled up a website on her computer, and found the best method for getting to the exact street address that I would be staying. Even while other travelers began to line up at the counter, she kept right on telling me my options.

So I lugged my bags on a short bus ride, a longer light rail ride, another bus ride, and finally by foot for about two blocks. I met my landlord at close to 1:00 in the afternoon. Here is the house:

I have a very comfortable room with my own bathroom. The owners are great and more than hospitable. There are a couple other people renting rooms as well. One is studying at the Hospital who happens to be in Nuclear Medicine. So we've got some things in common and she has helped me get acquainted with the bus line. They are all REALLY nice.

Everything is pretty close by: bus stop to campus and the Medical Center, Whole Foods is 4 or 5 blocks, and downtown Palo Alto is 5 or 6 bocks. There is also a CalTrain stop nearby that serves the Bay area from San Jose to San Fransisco. Actually the campus is not that far either, but as I learned yesterday it is a pretty good hike!

So, the Stanford campus is pretty big. I thought to myself... it can't be much bigger that Penn State, they have less than half the number of students enrolled... but after walking it a bit I came to realize different. On a walking tour that I chose to take after my own wandering adventure yesterday (yes I like to torture my legs and feet), I learned that the campus is the second largest in the world. Some 8,000 acres is encompassed/owned by "the farm" but luckily they are not using it all.