Back from the Alviso Adobe!

the front and side of the Alviso Adobe, built as a
one-storey home in the 1830s, expanded with a second floor
in the 1850s, a private residence until the 1980s.

Well, unfortunately some of the people who were going to meet at the Alviso Adobe in Milpitas couldn't make it at the last minute, but my friend and I had a nice afternoon and we almost had the park to ourselves. Here are some photos from the day:

me standing on the porch.

the back of the house from the garden.

The first picnic of the season!

our Victorian picnic at the Fallon House, 2012.
Photo: Elizabeth Urbach

My tea guild will be visiting a newly-opened historic park this weekend for a picnic!  The Alviso Adobe in Milpitas was built during the 1830s, expanded in the 1850s with a wooden second story, and was a residence until the 1980s.  Almost all of its surrounding land was sold away within the last few years and historians were worried that the house, now hidden within a housing tract, would remain unaccessible, or worse, be torn down by the landowner to make room for more condos.  Thankfully, the oldest building in the city of Milpitas was not only allowed to stand, but the acre or so of its remaining land was recently transformed into a small park, and the outside of the building was restored!  We are going to have a Victorian picnic there and see what the park is like; hopefully the inside of the building will be restored and opened to the public as Milpitas' first history museum.

The menu I'm planning will include some or all of the following:
Boiled eggs
Smoked salmon
Cucumber sandwiches
Jam sandwiches or bread-and-butter
Cheese and crackers
Fresh berries
Pound cake
Fruit turnovers
Iced tea