Stop and enjoy the neighborhood at Bide a Wee

Bay Laurel Drive is a quiet, shady street that parallels San Francisquito Creek on the Menlo Park side. The short block between San Mateo and  Arbor Drive is especially popular with joggers and exercise walkers as well as casual strollers, any of whom may be heading to or from the nearby bike/pedestrian bridge over the Creek. The surrounding neighborhood, known as Arbor Place, was mostly developed in the 1950s after the Concannon family decided to subdivide their property.

Dorothy Bolton and her husband were one of the first to buy a lot. They built their elegant ranch-style house in 1953. Dorothy is an artist, and while she gave up painting some dozen years ago, she still loves and continues to work in her garden. The garden is itself a work of art. The centerpiece in front of the house is a bench labeled “Bide a Wee” placed next to the street inviting those passing by to stop for awhile to rest and contemplate the peacefulness and beauty of the neighborhood. Adjacent is a drinking fountain and water dish for “Lassie.”

It’s this kind of juxtaposition of private property put to good public use that makes Menlo Park such an enchanting place to live.