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Published on 07/27/1998 All articles from this issue

Hot August days

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By the Town Crier Staff

An unscientific, but highly enjoyable list of options for enjoying summer locally

his totally unscientific, anecdotal collection of activities was compiled by the Town Crier staff. We came up with a longer list. To make the final cut, each item had to evoke at least two, "Ooo, that sounds cool," reactions among the staff. We hope something will tickle your fancy. Let us know your ideas of neat stuff to do on a summer day or night, and we can share them with our readers, too.

Ice cream tasting

Yum. Los Altos, from stem to stern, boasts some wonderful ice cream parlors. The most popular flavor in town is mint chocolate chip, according to staff in the ice cream shops.

There's an ice cream store for every part of town. You could make a day of it and try them all.

At Lappert's Ice Cream and Coffee in Rancho Shopping Center, at Foothill Expressway and Springer Road, the mint chip is creamy, with a delicate flavor, gentle green color and chunks to chew.

"This is the place we head out for ice cream," said Jim Forster, an eight-year Los Altos resident. "It's great ice cream, great atmosphere."

But he wasn't buying mint chip. He got one scoop of tin roof - vanilla ice cream with chocolate fudge swirls and chocolate-covered peanuts - for his wife. His kids like cookies and cream and blue bubble gum, he said.

Downtown, the Cookie Cafe, 133 Main St., features Double Rainbow ice cream. Its mint chip is creamy white, with a fresh mint taste and dark chocolate slivers.

Los Altos resident Lynn Hum was in buying a decaf coffee. No ice cream. She said Double Rainbow ice cream is so rich, "when you want to be bad." Cookie Cafe is also known for its nonfat chocolate sorbet.

At Baskin-Robbins 31 Flavors, located at 264 State St., owner Norman Chu said his mint chocolate chip is the most popular flavor. But he said chocolate chip cookie dough "is also very popular."

On the north end of town, there's Double Rainbow Cafe in the Village Court shopping center on the corner of El Camino Real and San Antonio Road.

And to the south, there is Tom's Depot Ice Cream & Grill in Loyola Corners shopping center at the corner of Foothill Expressway and Miramonte Avenue.

Garage sales

Brand-name appliances, jewelry and antiques don't have to be expensive or from exclusive shops. Los Altos is brimming with garage-sale bargains, according to local shopper Vicki Cooper, marketing manager at Health Care Marketing Services in Los Altos.

Cooper said she has redecorated her home more than six times with garage-sale items. She bought a Gucci watch for $2, a Degas-bronze ballerina replica for $75; she has found new, unopened appliances, as well as crystal and silver for less than $5 each. The most Cooper ever spent on one item was $100 for a vintage-1930s cabinet, she said.

"About 95 percent of the stuff I see is pure garbage," she said. "But all you need to do is find that one special thing to make it worthwhile."

She said there's at least a dozen garage sales in the Los Altos area on any given weekend, with more during the summer. Cooper said local sales can draw as many as 50 shoppers an hour before sale time.

Cooper said she just drives and looks for signs, but local newspapers also carry listings.

For shoppers looking for crafts made by local artists or fine jewelry, collectibles and restored antiques, Foothill College in Los Altos Hills sponsors a flea market from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. every third Saturday of the month in Parking Lot F. The market features 200 vendors.

"Don't go looking for something, just be surprised," said Cooper, who also recommended bringing along about $40 in cash, even though most garage-sale vendors accept checks.

For a listing of local weekend garage sales, see the classified section of this paper.

Bus Barn Theater

One way to spend long summer nights is watching a production from the Bus Barn Stage Company.

Appropriately, the company stages its plays at the Bus Barn Theater at 97 Hillview Ave. in Los Altos.

Bus Barn's latest production is the Terrence McNally drama "Lips Together, Teeth Apart," which plays through Aug. 15. The theater then goes dark until October when a new six-show season begins.

Now in its third year, Bus Barn attracts many of the Bay Area's top actors and directors. The company prides itself on putting on a wide variety of productions: comedies, dramas and musicals. Tickets typically range from $13-15 per show.

One of Bus Barn's most appealing features is the fact that every seat is a good one. The theater only holds 100 people.

"It's intimate and people like that," said Susan Wolf, who runs the box office. "If there's more than 150 people (in a theater), you might as well stay home and watch TV."

People don't seem to be staying away from Bus Barn, though. "Lips Together" is averaging 70 to 80 people per performance, Wolf said.

Since most shows are held in the evening, groups of theater-goers have been known to gather for pre-play picnics under the old oaks in the adjoining park.

Bus Barn is also a great place to beat the heat. As Wolf proudly points out, the theater is air-conditioned.

For show times and more information, call Bus Barn at 941-0551.

Outdoor get-aways

Two local parks offer a special retreat-like feeling but aren't far from downtown: the peaceful two-acre Bamboo Garden in Los Altos Hills on the Foothill College campus; and Shoup Park, complete with meandering Adobe Creek, off University Avenue in Los Altos.

The Bamboo Garden, a popular retreat for art students working on their watercolors as well as those stopping for a picnic lunch, features more than 500 varieties of bamboo native to places such as Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, Africa, Mexico and South America. The garden sits on a hillside overlooking a creek that runs below the Japanese Cultural Center.

A path, lined with a decorative bamboo border, zig-zags down the hillside through towering, green bamboo plants, alongside low-growing yellow varieties and near thin shoots that sway in the breeze. Together, the varieties provide plenty of shade and create a barrier that screens out the area's daily bustle. Each bamboo variety is identified with botanical markers.

The Azumaya, a meditation pavilion crafted by Japanese artisans using classical Asian architecture and presented to the college earlier this year, sits amid the garden providing a niche to sit and enjoy the solitude.

Shoup Park is a great place to bring the kids, for swinging, climbing and playing as well as wading in the creek.

The city's new Veteran's Memorial, Cradle of Liberty, rests in a quiet glade of redwood trees near the creek.

No matter how hot the day, Shoup Park always feels cool, with the shade and sounds of water. Heavy winter rainfall has kept the creek bubbling into the summer months this year.

The Bamboo Garden is open from 7 a.m. to sunset. It is easily accessible from parking Lot E. Parking is $2.

The entrance to Shoup Park, owned by the city of Los Altos, is at 400 University Ave. Parking is free.

Thomas Fogarty Winery

On a clear day you can see forever atop the grounds of the Thomas Fogarty Winery. From the manicured lawns and colorful gardens, the view across the Bay is stunning. "It's beautiful up there," said Los Altos wine expert Steve Hicks. "It just looks forever."

The winery, at 19501 Skyline Blvd., in Woodside, but just a few minutes above Los Altos Hills, offers tasting from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday to Sunday.

The winery does not allow picnicking.

"You may roam the grounds and check out the views," said manager Heidi Jonson. And if you want to picnic, she suggests heading down the road toward Windy Hill, an open space preserve with picnic tables and trails.

Four times a year the winery does allow picnicking for members of the Fogarty Futures Club. For those events, the winery hosts an afternoon of wine tasting, entertainment and hors d'oeuvres.

Members are encouraged to bring a picnic, up to three guests, and to enjoy the view.

Cost of the club is the $35-$45, four times a year, which is the price of the shipping and the two bottles of wine sent to members.

The next Futures Day for members is from 1-4 p.m. on Aug. 30.

"We do barrel sampling and may open up a magum of champagne," Johnson said.

The shipment that just went out to club members included a '96 merlot from the Santa Cruz Mountains and a '96 estate reserve chardonnay.

For more information, call 851-6777.

Deer Hollow Farm

Deer Hollow Farm, a 10-acre treat for families and kids, is located within the Rancho Open Space Preserve, located southwest of Los Altos and Highway 280.

The one-mile walk to the farm from the preserve's parking lot is level and accessible to all, even babies in strollers.

"We have a large stroller brigade that comes through," said Donna Poulos, president of the Friends of Deer Hollow Farm, a nonprofit organization that supports the farm.

Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day except Mondays, Deer Hollow offers picnicking under an old barn, a variety of farm animals to view, not touch, and even an organic garden.

At 11 a.m. on Aug. 8 the public is invited to the dedication of a sculpture, "Old MacDonald," crated by Los Altos resident Dr. Hardy Jones. His milk-can creation will serve as the receptacle of donations for Friends of Deer Hollow Farm.

The last guided farm tours for the summer will take place every half an hour from 10 a.m. to noon on Aug. 15. Piglets, goats and sheep will highlight the event.

For more information, call 965-3276.

Stevens Creek Trail

Joggers can now share a path with bikers, skaters and strollers on a 2.5-mile stretch of a paved pathway that the city of Mountain View recently opened along Stevens Creek.

The Stevens Creek Trail features bridges, benches, a wide-divided path for two-way foot and bike traffic, views of the creek and botanical labels identifying trees along the path.

"It's not only gorgeous, but it's a fabulous asset. The trail can be used as an alternative way to go to work," said Rhonda Scherber, past president of Friends of the Stevens Creek Trail.

In the planning stages for 30 years, the Steven's Creek Trail will eventually stretch from the San Francisco Bay to the ocean, connecting with Rancho San Antonio Park in Los Altos and the Montebello Open Space Preserve.

The path will run through the cities of Los Altos, Mountain View, Cupertino and Sunnyvale and Santa Clara County. Scherber said a 1-mile portion of the trail will run alongside the Los Altos border on city-owned streets.

Scherber said construction crews are currently working on the third leg of the trail in Mountain View, which will run from the Bay to downtown. She said the city could begin the final portion of the path in the fall.

The trail currently runs from Whisman School to Shoreline, where it connects to the bay in Palo Alto. When the Mountain View portion of the trail is finished, it will extend five miles through the city.

Scherber said the trail will also be the site for hands-on science programs for local school children and will feature docent-led nature tours.

For more information, call 903-6067. As on any trail, remember to follow personal safety precautions and travel with a buddy.

Staff writers Pete Borello, Joanne Griffith Domingue and Linda Taaffe, and editorial intern Scott Fernqvist contributed to this story.