I never thought on New Year’s Eve (Y2K) 1999-2000 that I’d be back at Costanoa 24 years later, but that’s exactly what happened.   The last time we were here, we rented a cabin for the big Y2K event.   The campground, perhaps in an effort to draw a diverse (and therefore larger) crowd, featured a combined yoga retreat with a band called “Big Guy and the Guys.” The two alternated hour-long sets.  It was an interesting mix, especially as the night wore on, since the band spent “yoga time” celebrating the new year a little early.  By the time midnight rolled around, they were quite off key but very merry.  🙂 

So, here we are 24 years later, and Costanoa is now operating as a KOA franchise, though any changes we saw that have been made have been upgrades and enhancements.   Our campsite had an ocean view (when the marine layer wasn’t obstructing it), and we spent one beautiful day at the beach, which was approximately a 3/4-mile trek down a path comprised of gravel/sand/terrain and/or a boardwalk plank. 

Soon, others began to arrive, and we ended up falling asleep for a short while.  Such a relaxing day!

On Wednesday, we drove north on Hwy. 1 to Half Moon Bay, turned right, and drove over to Palo Alto.  It felt like returning home as we drove past our former apartment complex, the Stanford Medical Center and Campus, and over to Stanford Shopping Center for a latte and scone from La Baguette.  We then took the long way to our friends’ house via downtown Palo Alto.  Once again, we were so engaged in conversation while at their house that I neglected to get pix of the four of us.  Our friends treated us to dinner that evening on campus as well as an outstanding concert that was part of the 2024 Stanford Jazz Festival.  If any of the musicians below come to your town, you’ll be guaranteed a fabulous performance.  

On Thursday morning the marine layer returned, so rather than linger a little while longer by the ocean, we packed up to leave for our next stop in Petaluma.  This was our fourth visit to Costanoa  – once again, it was memorable.

We are keeping a close eye on the fires in CA, OR, and WA – we hope this won’t be our last stop before our return trip home, but we will see.