This is really my last California post, I promise! But this one has the best part: GOOGLE.
I didn't plan to wear a shirt with the Google colors all up in it, but I definitely wasn't mad that it worked out like that. Their campus is in a super secret location, so I had to obscure the address when I posed with this sign. Okay, that's a dirty lie. I'm just curious if they'll see this and track me down or not...lolz.
So basically we followed cousin Caleb through a bunch of buildings that all required an employee card to get into, and we saw neat stuff therein. Here you can see Caleb pointing to a tree (jk I dunno what he's pointing to) and a passel of Google bikes. These are all over campus for people to use as transportation from one building to another. I hate biking, but I could get over that I guess.
"Free mode: make your choice" is, like, the motto there. We sampled free food because Google treats their employees really really well in an effort to get everyone to stick around and work more than they absolutely have to. And you know what? I'm pretty sure it would work on me, so it's not a bad idea. That egg salad was yum.
The Android building has a gang of little larger-than-life dessert Androids out front. Each new operating system update is named after a dessert, which you must admit is more clever than "iOS 8." And if you don't think so, then just know that they also alphabetize them, so the last few have been "Ice cream sandwich," "Jellybean," and "KitKat," which is clever of them. Plus, look how cute the little aliens are! Hello, ice cream sandwich guy.
We sat to chat for a bit in one of the building lobbies. While we were there, some men walked in on their way to probably some very important business but they stopped to say hi and comment on how Emerson was learning foosball at an early age. It was all very pleasant and happy, and then after they passed Caleb asked, "Do you know who that was?" And we be all, "Nope..." And then he's all, "That was Vint Cerf! He's the father of the internet!" And I was like, wow my Google tour couldn't get any better. So that was neat.
Also, they put slides everywhere. Tradition or something. This particular slide came with burlap bags for efficient sliding. But we didn't try it out.
We ended our tour at the Google store. I bought me another Google shirt (Caleb and Joliene gifted me one last year and it's been my favorite ever since) and I am blissfully happy that I could make that purchase. Apparently you can't get Google apparel just anywhere! You gotta get it from them. And you gotta have an employee card to get into the store. So I'm not actually sure if they want to sell their stuff or not, but either way, I felt privileged to get me another shirt. It's as comf as last year's.
Oh, we also put Ensley in a Google bike basket and it was possibly the cutest thing that has ever happened:
On this same day, we also accepted motorcycle rides with uncle Cole (sadly, no pictures for me) and took a nice evening walk at a close park.
We spent the next day driving and driving and driving, during which time I was mostly just dying to get home and be with Joseph. It was bittersweet to vacation without him: bitter because I wanted him to experience what I experienced and because I missed him oodles, but sweet because I was reminded every day in no uncertain terms how much I want to be with him always. It was good for me to remember that we are lucky to spend as much time together as we do! And I'm glad to be back to that norm. Next time I vacation, I'm bringing him with me!
Also, I just haven't stuck this anywhere and I want to say it: I learned on this vacation that it is cheaper and often more fun to do what the locals do instead of what the tourists do. I mean, we had lots of fun last year when we walked the Golden Gate Bridge and hiked around Muir Woods and so on. But the brand of fun that we had this time made me feel both more at-home and more educated by the end, and all we changed was that we spent more time slowing down our tourism. Neat-o! Please remind me of this if I ever try to plan a grand trip across the US or something...
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