[Travel] A Quick (Re)Visit To My Future Second Home…

Saturday, June 20, 2020. Nine o’clock in the morning. The perfect sunny day for a family outing out.

But where could we go?

Living in a city still under strict shelter-in-place guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID19, my family and I have very few options for some fun. Yes, we could bike to Ocean Beach, or visit Golden Gate Park and paddle on the lake, or run five miles around Lake Merced… but we've done ALL that already!

As I shuffled different scenarios of what we could possibly do for the day, a thought popped into my head and didn’t go away: what if we visited the campus of my college that I will be attending next year? After all, the last time that I actually visited Stanford University and toured the entire campus grounds was back in eighth grade on a school field trip. Back in 2016, it was the highlight of my year — my first ever college visit… and it happened to be one of the most famous schools in the world (nerve-wracking, isn’t it)!

I remember that trip like it was yesterday. We boarded our very own shuttle bus on the corner of Sloat Blvd and 19th Ave and I raced to snag a window seat for the one hour ride over to Stanford. On the way, I caught my first glimpse of the infamous Flintstone House in Hillsborough that overlooked the I-280 Highway that connects San Francisco to San Jose.

Yabba-Dabba-Do!

With its outrageous purple and red domes and bigger-than-life sculptures of elephants, rhinos, giraffes, and a Tyrannosaurus rex, the Flintstone House clashed with the entirely green scenery of the San Mateo highlands. We had entered a portal into Jurassic Park!

By eleven o’clock, we eighth graders finally arrived on the campus and admired the looming Hoover Tower and Memorial Church ahead of us as we slowly traversed the path that bordered The Oval. I don’t want to bore you with details that I can go on and on with, but by the time we boarded the bus to head back to our middle school, we had explored the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, sat in the upper deck of the Memorial Church (which housed the organs), sauntered through the Stanford Bookstore, and touched the Burghers of Calais that preside in thee Main Quad. Oh, and of course I cannot forget about the Noosa stand that was set up in front of the bookstore — free yogurt on a sunny 90-degree day? Sign me up!

8th Grade Tom

I shared my spontaneous idea with my parents and expected a flat out no, or even excuses such as “Nope, we have stuff to do in the afternoon” or “You should have planned this ahead of time.” However, to my surprise, they replied with a Yes! After gathering my younger brother and sister into the car, we hopped on our Lexus SUV and set course for Stanford! We did a quick stop at a nearby Starbucks to stock up on drinks and snacks (be sure to try the strawberry refresher the next time you have the chance — it’s pretty good), and before I knew it, we were halfway there and passing the Flintstone house — this time as a graduating high school senior.

Upon arrival, we donned our masks (gotta take COVID19 precautions seriously!) and entered the campus grounds, unsure of what would lay ahead of us.

Would there be security prohibiting us from visiting? Were we entering a ghost town?

In fact, we discovered that it was far from it! Approaching the famous arches on our way to the Memorial Church, we passed by numerous Stanford students hanging out on the green lawn, having picnics and reading books under the sun. Some even came on campus with their all-white attire and red sashes to take some graduation photos with their close friends! The bookstore was unfortunately — but understandably — closed to the public and so were the fountains, which were shut down (no fountain dipping today).

The Main Quad presented an entirely different scene. In front of the Memorial Church, a bike club with about 70 teenagers practiced their pop-wheelies in the open space. Toward the

Skrt...Skrt! Some bikers attempted to jump the stairs with their bikes.

Memorial Court, families took touristy photos and additional Stanford graduates poured in to get their grads photo taken. My family couldn’t resist, so of course we took some too!

After half an hour, the bike club dispersed and suddenly, there were almost no more people hanging around the Main Quad area. Seizing this fine opportunity, my family broke out into our photogenic forms and begin snapping photos of our selves like no tomorrow.

Say Cheese!

Once we finished (after an hour later — you can only guess how many photos we took), we strolled over to the Hoover Tower, admired the sight, and before we went back to our car, we enjoyed some fruit smoothies and salad at the Coupa Cafe. Yum!

After four hours of “touring” Stanford, we began our drive back to foggy San Francisco. Reading the final sign that printed Stanford as the Hoover Tower disappeared below the horizon behind us, I couldn’t wait for the upcoming fall to enter my second home!

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© 2020 Tom Quach

Edited 6/22/2020 by Jack