Bright lights shining upwards obscures the stars...

We actually lived in Park Place around the turn of the century before we bought our house (in downtown Mountain View). Although you said in an earlier entry that the best part of Mountain View is that you can leave, I think you'll find that downtown is actually a pretty great place to live, especially if you have young kids. Park Place is next door to eagle park and the public library, both great places to take a kid, and you can walk to pretty much everything (including the Sunday farmer's market -- definitely check it out). And if you absolutely have to get out of town, you're very close to the 22/522 bus stop, which can get you anywhere on El Camino probably faster than driving.