We slept in quite a bit today. I worked on a blog or two in the morning and we looked up the directions to the Winchester Mansion (Mystery House). From where we were it was a little over 10 miles away. Joey unloaded our bikes so they were all ready to go, since we planned on riding there. I took another shower since it was readily available- love hot showers! As we were getting ready to go, Lenson offered to give us a ride if we wanted it. The more we thought about it, the better that idea sounded. That way we wouldn't have to worry about our bikes at all. So, once we were ready to go, we hopped in the big van and off we went. Down the highway- those crazy California highways with 4-5 lanes of traffic in each direction. As we got close to the Mansion, we were even more glad that we didn't ride because there was still just so much traffic. The mansion was amazing, just from the outside. We went in and got our tickets. We didn't have too long to wait before our tour number was called and we got to go see the inside. They had headset and audio devices so that we could find out more information about each room and each section of the house that we were in. It was pretty interesting to hear about some of the reasoning for the way things were and how the continuous building evolved. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any photos indoors, but it was something we probably won't forget. There were windows that faced walls, doors to nowhere, cabinets that you couldn't store anything in because they were so narrow, "easy riser" stairs (one set of which had 7 switchbacks and only gained about 9 feet), and so many other crazy things. Not to mention, the inside of the house that was finished was just beautiful (there were a lot of sections that were in the middle of being built when the owner, Sara, died). It's hard to explain what the inside was like, but it was just amazing. The mansion itself is massive, and I feel like I would easily be able to get lost in there if I was walking around by myself. After seeing the inside of the mansion, we got to tour the basement. They had hard hats for each of us to wear since the ceilings were so low and there were pipes everywhere. They showed us the coal chute and how the furnace would work. A big thing on the property was to not waste anything, so there was a special sifter to sort through the ash from the furnace to find left over chunks. In fact, a lot of the things inside the house were quite innovative. Behind the house, a labyrinth made of hay bales was made for the fall /halloween time. We had fun walking around in there too. One of my favorite parts was walking around the garden at the front of the house. It was so pretty, not to mention the views of the mansion were stunning- right down the the front door. We had a lot of fun today, and are definitely glad we took an inland route from San Francisco to San Jose so that we could see this. After the tour, we went on a pretty long walk (probably 3-4miles) in a quest to find the REI store since Joe's new pillow (that we got in Seattle) was not holding air anymore. The best part about REI is that you can exchange or return anything for any reason at any time. On the way, we were getting really hungry. We kept walking and walking, hoping to find a Safeway. Eventually, one popped up and we decided to get a sub from the grab and go section. We enjoyed our sub at the tables inside and then continued on our walk to REI. We got his pillow all exchanged with no problems and then gave Lenson a call to come pick us up. Joe and I made a quick stop at the Target that was across the street to pick up some cereal for breakfast the next two mornings. Lenson found us ok and then we were off back to his house. After enjoying some brussel sprouts and some more of our pasta and sauce for dinner, we had a little time to relax. Monica (our original contact, Lenson's friend) came over to visit and we had a little campfire in Lenson's fire pit. Monica even had a bag of marshmallows! We had a great time chit chatting about bike touring and about life in general. We are so glad that we got to meet here too. The best part is that we will get to see her tomorrow too because she is planning on going to the Stanford Triathlon Club group ride (even though she is an alumni). Lenson invited us to go too if we were interested. It will be nice to get to ride with some people tomorrow, I just hope they aren't too, too fast! A very enjoyable rest day!