Exploring Coyote Hills Regional Park

Today, Inna and I explored the beautiful Coyote Hills Regional Park. While Inna has visited the park several times, I have never been there.

The drive to the park was easy - I took 880 N to Fremont and exited at Dumbarton Bridge, following Patterson Ranch Road to the park. No one manned the park entrance, so we did not have to pay the $5 entrance fee.

We parked at the Quarry Staging area and waited for Iltcho and Maya to arrive. From there, we walked, following Bayview Trail North to the Salt Evaporation Ponds.

We hoped to catch a few birds with Inna's new Nikon P700 ultra-zoom camera, but we saw only a few.

Inna took a great photo of an Egret hiding in the trees. Few birds were around, and most egrets congregated in the saltwater ponds.

We also saw a glider flying around. It looks like a great place to launch gliders and motorized r/c planes.

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Spring Bloom in Filoli Gardens

Today, Inna and I decided to see the freshly blooming flowers at Filoli Gardens in Woodside. When we arrived in the afternoon, there was a line to buy tickets. Although we have often been to Filoli Gardens, we have never seen a line.

Many roses, tulips, and many other varieties were on display. Inna and I enjoyed viewing and smelling the flowers.

We enjoyed our visit and stayed until closing time - around 4:00pm.

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Bouquets to Art 2017

Although I have been to San Francisco's de Young Museum multiple times, I was never overly impressed by its collection of paintings and sculptures.

Thus, reluctantly, I decided to come to the famous Bouquets to Art 2017 show. We arrived at the museum around 1:00pm, where we met with our friends (fortunate enough to have spare tickets to the show).

Both Inna and I were ready with our cameras. I had the Canon 5Ds with a 24-70 f/2.8mm lens. Inna had her newly acquired Nikon P700. We were happy to have the cameras - the flower arrangements were well done.

We enjoyed many flower arrangements and marveled at how well they complemented the nearby artwork.

We took hundreds of photos in two hours but were still not entirely done.

In the process, I discovered that I liked the New Guinea exhibit at de Young (which I previously ignored) but was more acquainted with it after a visit to New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We hope to return to de Young to look at their current exhibits.

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Snowboarding Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe

After getting up at 4:00 a.m., we packed our snowboarding gear and headed to Kirkwood Ski Resort near South Lake Tahoe, California. The drive was surprisingly smooth, and I arrived in Kirkwood around 8:00 a.m. (a 3.5-hour drive). The roads were clear; there were no snow or highway restrictions (e.g., 88, 89, 50).

Since we arrived early (around 8:00 a.m.), we decided to have breakfast at Kirkwood's Monte Wolfe Mountain Kitchen. We selected two muffins, two hot chocolates, and one yogurt with granola - for $30! Crazy expensive!

We picked up our lift tickets and returned to our Sienna minivan to change into snowboarding riding clothes. Alex was excited to try his new Morrow Fury 155 snowboard with Sapient Stash bindings.

Alex and I took the Cornice Express (#6) quad chairlift to the top of Kirkwood for our first run of the day. We skied down Zachary and Lower Zachary trails (black diamond trails). Alex hesitated to board down Zachary and complained about the speed and responsiveness of his snowboard. Alex took a few runs to become comfortable with his brand-new snowboard.

We continued skiing down Zachary and Lower Zachary for a few runs and then tried some blue trails. For that, we took the Solitude (#5) chair and skied down Mokelumne - a gently sloping run. By this time, Alex was getting hungry, so we decided to get lunch.

Since we did not like Monte Wolfe, we decided to try dining outdoors at The Wall restaurant (with a beautiful view of Kirkwood). Alex ordered the Clam Chowder soup and Caesar salad, while I enjoyed the Tuscan Chicken Sandwich. The lunch entrees were ok (a bit overpriced) and were slow to come (it took me 40 minutes to get my sandwich). However, the waitress was friendly and kept our coffee and lemonade going. It was a very sunny day, and I got sunburned from sitting there for the whole hour.

After lunch, we decided to try skiing down the famous backside of Kirkwood. I have never been there, and it took some planning. We first took Snowkirk's (#1) chairlift, then skied down Hay Flat to Caples Crest's (#2) chairlift. 

We skied down Herringbone Straight to the Sunrise (#4) chairlift. Snowboarding on the backside was a lot of fun, as the snow was generally better and there was more exciting terrain, including trees, cliffs, and flats. We stayed here for a while until we got bored.

Returning to Mountain Village took some work as we followed Larry's Lip to Thunder Saddle - a steep black diamond run. 

Alex was very proud of himself for going down such a steep slope. From there, we returned to the Mountain Village. Since Alex's toes hurt a lot, he needed a rest and a snack. I left him there while I took Cornice Express for a few more runs down Lookout Janek. I liked the half-pipe and crevices, and this run was one of my favorites (once the snow melted a bit).

We had a great time in Kirkwood and decided to return to South Lake Tahoe at around 3:30 p.m. When we got to the minivan and changed, it was already 4:00 p.m. We drove to South Lake Tahoe's Paradise Motel (where I had reserved one night) in about 55 minutes. Going there, I was amazed by the beautiful snow-covered landscape. It was so beautiful.

We checked into our Paradise Motel around 5:00 p.m. and decided to look for dinner. South Lake Tahoe was quite busy, and we made reservations at two eateries: California Burger and Basecamp Pizza (both highly rated on Yelp). The wait was expected to be one hour for each. About 30 minutes later, California Burger called to let us know our table was ready. Alex and I walked a few blocks and got to our table next to the solo musician playing a set of tunes.

I ordered the Californian Burger (avocado, tomato, spinach, onion, jack cheese). Alex decided on the Caprese Burger (tomatoes, basil, mozzarella). Our burgers were not bad at all. I also ordered a Bear Republic Racer IPA beer (a very light beer). Alex finished his dinner with a chocolate milkshake.

Alex liked that Heavenly was so close and wished we could try it someday. Next time. Exhausted, we headed back to our Paradise Motel and fell asleep.

Sunday, March 12, 2017

I set the alarm for 7:00 a.m. to have enough time for breakfast before our drive to Sierra at Tahoe. We quickly got up, dressed, and drove to the nearby IHOP for a few morning pancakes. I ordered my tried-and-true Swedish Pancakes with Lingonberries, but these were not as good as last time. Alex ordered banana pancakes and enjoyed them a bit.

It took us about 35 minutes from IHOP to reach Sierra at Tahoe's parking lot, which was already filling up with all the incoming cars. We were able to find parking in Lot B, which was reasonably close to the slopes.

I picked up the tickets (I pre-ordered them online), and then we took the Grandview Express Quad chairlift to the top. The snow was still hard and crusty, so we first rode the Sugar 'N Spice green run. Sierra-at-Tahoe was much more crowded than Kirkwood. Ski trails were much busier, and the line to get on the Grandview Express Quad chairlift was much longer.

Here is a high-definition video of our snowboarding session at Sierra-at-Tahoe.

I enjoyed jumping multiple small ramps on many trails. The weather was fantastic and even too warm - almost 50 F. The snow started as icy in the morning and became slushy in the afternoon.

For lunch, we decided to try the new Solstice Eatery. I don't recall seeing it before, so it must have been a relatively recent addition. I selected baked Salmon with mac' n' cheese, while Alex chose a slice of pizza. The food was expensive and tolerable, not of the quality at Whistler's Roundhouse Lodge.

After lunch and a bit of rest, we resumed our snowboarding. The resort was getting quite crowded, and the lines on the Grandview Express Quad chair lift were long, with a long wait time.

We snowboarded more, did jumps, and tried a few blue runs. It was fun, but a bit boring,g since the snow was so crusty in the trees and other black diamond areas that we would have enjoyed so much.

By about 2:00 p.m., we decided to get a snack (Alex selected some chocolates), then head back home, as we were both tired and not really enjoying the snow conditions anymore.

Overall, we had a great time at both Kirkwood and Sierra at Tahoe and hope to be back again.

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Pops Concert at Dartmouth Middle School

Today, we listened to the 2017 Dartmouth Pops Concert at Dartmouth Middle School.

It was the first Band concert of 2017, with Alex playing trumpet in the Symphonic Band.

Once the Pops concert started, Mr. Neipp presented and directed all major bands, including the Jazz Band, Beginning Band, Choir (led by Gina Jenkins), Concert Band, and Symphonic Band.

The music program began with the entire band's rendition of Coldplay's "Clocks." The typical Pops concert began after the mandatory Star-Spangled Banner performance (with Aiden Martin on the electric guitar).

The Jazz Band started out with the following jazz standards:

1. "Do Nothin' Til You Hear from Me" by Duke Ellington
2. "Old Devil Moon" by Burton Lane, with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg for the 1947 musical Finian's Rainbow.

The Beginning Band kicked off the following three popular songs:

1. "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas
2. "Yesterday" by Paul McCartney of the Beatles
3. "Funkytown" by LIPPs, Inc.

The Choir with Gina Jenkins took over, singing the following three songs:

1. "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Bieber
2. "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars
3. "I Want You Back/ABC" by The Jackson 5

The Concert Band continued with the following compositions:

1. "Stronger" by Kelly Clarkson
2. "Moon River" by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer
3. "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi

The Symphonic band continued with the last three pieces:

1. "Welcome to the Jungle" by Axl Rose of Guns N' Roses
2. "Jump in the Line" by Trinidadian calypsonian Lord Kitchener
3. "Abba on Broadway" by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus

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