A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
For Mother's Day, Inna made dinner reservations at the modern French Deuxave restaurant in Back Bay, Boston. . . After returning from our weekend trip to Portland, Maine, we rested in our apartment at 334 Harvard Street and ordered an Uber to Deuxave. It was only 2 miles away and took 10 minutes to get there. . . . . When we arrived for our…
Read More: Mother’s Day at Deuxave
After visiting the deCordova Sculpture Park, we decided to pay our respects to Walden Pond and see the remains of Henry David Thoreau's home there. In about 10 minutes, we drove to the Walden Pond parking lot, where I parked my Infiniti QX50 and purchased parking tickets. . . We walked over to Walden Pond, across the street from the parking lot (too bad there…
Read More: Walking around Walden Pond
On Sunday, May 8, 2022, on the way from Portland, Maine, we decided to stop by briefly at the deCordova Sculpture Park on the outskirts of Boston. . . When we arrived at the park around 14:50, we waited for about 15 minutes behind a line of cars, also purchasing tickets. We bought tickets (without reservations), though they were expensive ($18/adult, $1/student). . . .…
Read More: Visiting deCordova Sculpture Park near Boston
On Sunday, May 8, 2022, on the way back to Boston from Portland, Maine, we decided to stop by briefly at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to explore the town and see its best attractions. . . . . . Our first destination was Prescott Park. Once we crossed from Maine to New Hampshire over the Memorial Bridge, we immediately looped around to Prescott Park. Since there…
Read More: A Brief stop at Portsmouth, New Hampshire
While in Boston, Inna and I decided to visit a few famous, nearby destinations in New England. In many tourist guides, Newport, Rhode Island, showed up in the top 10. With that in mind, Inna made hotel reservations in Newport, Rhode Island, and I reserved an Infiniti QX50 car on Turo. . . . . . However, on Friday, May 6 - the day we…
Read More: Visiting Portland, Maine
With Alex attending Northeastern University in Boston and unsure about his return home, Inna and I planned to visit Alex while working from Boston. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, many companies, including our current employers, made working from home (or anywhere in the USA) easy. Instead of taking a vacation to Boston, we decided to live there and experience life as locals.. Inna found a furnished…
Read More: Boston Workation Week 1
In the past few weeks, I started to feel pain in my right tennis elbow, probably due to playing daily on the AVAC ball machine, using a very stiff racket - a 2015 Babolat Puredrive Play with RPM Blast 16G poly tennis strings. It's a very stiff racket-and-string combination that led to my tennis elbow. . . . . . As I researched ways to…
Read More: Demoing Wilson Clash 100 Tennis Racket
On March 30, 2022, I finally received the Tesla Model Y, which I had ordered on September 21, 2021, with the following options: . . White paint. Black interior . . Tow Hitch (for attaching mountain bike racks). . . . The Tesla Model Y was dropped off at around 4:00pm on March 30, 2022. I was contacted a few days before my delivery and…
Read More: Taking Delivery of a Tesla Model Y
With Alex's week of Spring Break ending, Inna made dinner reservations at Naschmarkt - our favorite local Austrian restaurant in Campbell. . . . . . After parking our Sienna minivan in the garage, we walked to Naschmarkt. Campbell was quite lively, and all the restaurants were busy. There was plenty of live music, and the mood was cheerful. . . . . . We…
Read More: Dinner at Naschmarkt
On Sunday, March 13, Inna, Alex (who was in San Jose for his spring break from Northeastern), and I decided to try playing pickleball and table tennis at AVAC. Initially, Alex considered surfing to The Hook in Santa Cruz, but the wave forecast was unfavorable, and the Surfline cam did not show any respectable waves.. . Around noon, Alex and Inna started playing while I…
Read More: Playing Pickeball with AlexAs I struggled with my consistency and power on my volleys, Ryan Reidy from 2minutetennis evaluated my serve (using Zoom) and offered excellent pointers for improvement. . . . . . . Volley Technique Improvements. . On a forehand volley, turn away from the ball and swing the racquet at the ball, catching the racquet with your left hand. . On a backhand volley, use…
Read More: Lesson 07: Tennis Volley Lesson with Ryan ReidyToday, I played a USTA Men's 40+ 3.5 doubles tennis match against Los Gatos Swim & Racquet Club's D2 team (Allen Lescure and Matt Railo)at Los Gatos. My partner was Roy Jose, with whom I played only a few times at practice.. . The Los Gatos team did not have any key weapons, but they were able to make fewer unforced errors than we did.…
Read More: USTA Men’s 40+ 3.5 Match at LGSRC
For Inna's birthday, I decided to treat her to a weekend of relaxation at the delightful Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga, California.. . . Due to the limited availability of dining options, Inna and I made the following restaurant reservations: . Friday, February 25, 19:45: Dinner at Evangeline, Calistoga . Saturday, February 25, 09:00: Breakfast at Solbar, Calistoga . . Saturday, February 26,…
Read More: Relaxing in Calistoga
I made dinner reservations for Inna's birthday at Dio Deka in Los Gatos for 19:45. We arrived on time and parked on the street on Los Gatos Blvd. . . . . After ordering a Japanese Kiss cocktail (as Strawberry Margaritas were not available), Inna and I ordered Tzatziki with pita bread and Octopus to start our dinner.. . . . After sitting down and…
Read More: Inna’s Birthday Dinner at Dio DekaAs I struggled with consistency and power in my overhead, Ryan Reidy from 2minutetennis evaluated my serve (via Zoom) and offered excellent pointers for improvement. . . Overhead Technique Improvements. . . . . . Questions. Technique Improvements. . Even after weeks of practice, I still make the same mistakes in all my groundstrokes. . How long does it take to re-learn a new technique…
Read More: Lesson 06: Tennis Overhead Lesson with Ryan Reidy
I decided to try the highly-rated Asa Los Gatos restaurant for Valentine's Day. When researching restaurants, I was surprised that Asa was nearby in Los Gatos and unaware of its existence. . . . I made reservations for Monday, February 14th, at 19:45, and we arrived on time. After being seated, we looked over the menu and ordered the following dinner items:. . . Appetizer:…
Read More: Valentine’s Dinner at Asa Los GatosToday, I played a USTA Men's 40+ 3.5 doubles tennis match against Gilroy's D3 team (Bill Warren and Harold Fite) at AVAC. My partner was Muneer Waheed, with whom I played only a few games at practice. I brought mini croissants for dinner. Muneer played well and had reliable serves. He was especially great at the net.. . The Gilroy team did not have any…
Read More: USTA Men’s 40+ 3.5 Match at AVACAs I struggled with my consistency and power on my Two-Handed Backhand, Ryan Reidy from 2minutetennis evaluated my technique (using Zoom) and offered excellent pointers for improvement. . . . . . Technique. Use Correct Backhand Grip:. The right hand is on Bevel 2. The left hand is in Bevel 7. The racket head height during take-back should be no higher than your head .…
Read More: Lesson 05: Tennis Two-Handed Backhand Lesson with Ryan ReidyAs I struggled with consistency and power in my slice backhand, Ryan Reidy from 2minutetennis evaluated my technique (via Zoom) and offered excellent pointers for improvement. . . . . . Technique. Use Continental grip (panel 2 on index knuckle). . The right arm travels high-to-low-to-high (finishing like a one-handed backhand drive) . The idea is not to give too much backspin (it will make…
Read More: Lesson 04: Tennis Slice Backhand Lesson with Ryan ReidyToday, I played a USTA Men's 40+ 3.5 doubles tennis match against Courtside Club's D2 team (Peter Rule and Srinivasan Seshadri). My partner was Warlin Pantoj (Lance), with whom I played a few sets at practice. Lane has an excellent serve, but it's also a bit inconsistent.. . We didn't play very well in the first set, losing to Courtside Club 2-6. The main issue…
Read More: USTA Men’s 40+ 3.5 Match at Courtside