I've Been Moved part 1: bye bye Alviso!

If you stay at IBM for a while, you are certain to experience another meaning of the International Business Machine acronym: I've Been Moved, as we say when changing either location or organization... ;-)

In this case, my office is moving from the North San Jose site we had in Alviso, to our Silicon Valley Lab on Bailey Avenue, South of Santa Teresa. And, with that, I'm saying good bye to the Alviso County Park where I ran 806 training miles these past 7 years!

Since I came to the US, this is my 5th work location in the Bay Area: three with ILOG (two in Mountain View and one in Sunnyvale), two with IBM, respectively at the North and South outskirt of San Jose. Twice as many miles of commute but now against the traffic.

Of course the Alviso Marina Park remains open but it won't be as convenient so I ran the full 9-mile loop once more last week.

Here are few pictures for you to see what I will be missing: the views, the birds, running along the water, ... As a matter of fact, I only had my iPhone with me which isn't the best way to capture the abundant wildlife enjoying this very quiet place in the middle of the Bay Area. It actually feel amazing to be so close to such a busy and crazy place, yet experiencing the outdoor and quietness of this preserve.

By the way, on your way to the Marina, please make sure to drive around the few blocks of the Alviso neighborhood. The City of Alviso was incorporated in 1852 and is name after Corporal Alviso, a member of the de Anza expedition which reached San Francisco in 1777. Alviso remained independent until it joined San Jose as a neighborhood in 1968. It even has a Yacht Club which can host a handful of boats and has access to the Bay via the Guadalupe River (read more about Alviso on Wikipedia).

Next to Alviso Marina County Park is the Don Edwards National Wildlife Refuge which I highlighted in a post in 2014. Yes, we are so blessed to live in such an area full of amazing outdoors opportunities!

More pictures...

 First time I see paddle boards on the Guadalupe River!

And it was a busy morning on that usually quiet and desert river, with this boat hauling construction material.

 Super soft ground on the levee (the dirt gets very sticky after heavy rain).

A sort of jackdaw (Steve Patt will surely correct me in the comment section below) and a vulture.

 Grey heron?

 Yes, this is the home of WWW (the Wide Wild West), you have to fight for your food to survive! ;-)

 Toward Fremont/Mission Peak

 On the Bay Trail

 A trail of Hope and Change... Quite a symbol and good reminder: life is all about keeping moving...! ;-)