A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Inna and I purchased tickets to the New Site Work show, scheduled for 17:00, at Fort Mason, as part of the Aerial Arts festival. . The show was initially recommended to me by ChatGPT but turned out to be highly disappointing. I found the stunts a bit amateurish. . . . . What “New Site Work” actually was . The 5 PM program consisted of…
Read More: Aerial Arts / New Site Work at Fort Mason
With an unusual Southerly wind forecast (15-20 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I anticipated unpredictable conditions at Crissy Field. Normally, I only sail in Northwesterly winds. . . . I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started our drive to San Francisco around 10:00, arriving at Crissy Field at 11:30. There was some fog around the Golden Gate Bridge, but nothing to…
Read More: Wing Foiling at Crissy
With an unusual Southerly wind forecast (15-20 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I anticipated unpredictable conditions at Crissy Field. Normally, I only sail in Northwesterly winds. . . . . I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started our drive to San Francisco around 11:00, arriving at Crissy Field at 12:50. There was some fog around the Golden Gate Bridge, but nothing…
Read More: Crazy Day at Crissy
With Alex relocating to San Francisco's Noe Valley neighborhood, we decided to celebrate his birthday at Memento SF, a local, well-regarded restaurant. . After dropping off a few items at his new digs (and his birthday presents), we walked a few blocks to Memento SF (on Castro Street). . . Since one of Alex's roommates was running late, we ordered appetizers and drinks, and then…
Read More: Birthday Dinner at Memento SF
After helping Alex move his belongings to his new digs in San Francisco, Inna and I decided to see the Monet in Venice exhibit at the de Young Museum. Today was the last day of the exhibition, and we managed to get tickets for the 10:30 showing. . . We really enjoyed the exhibition, though it was crowded.. . . . Here is a nice…
Read More: Monet and Venice at de Young Museum
After checking the iwindsurf.com pro forecast, which had a very favorable outlook for Saturday's wind, I decided to wingfoil at Coyote Point in San Mateo. . . . . . On arrival at Coyote Point (a 45-minute drive from San Jose) via US-101, the wind was showing as 15 knots. The forecast called for 20 knots by 15:00, but I didn't believe it. . I…
Read More: Wing Foiling at Coyote Point
I had heard of The Sound of Music for many years, but I had never felt a strong desire to see it. Given its enduring reputation as one of the world's most beloved musicals, I became curious and decided to see if it was playing anywhere nearby. Fortunately, I discovered that The Sound of Music was coming to the San Jose Center for the Performing…
Read More: The Sound of MusicUsing a Brazil VPN, I was able to watch the entire match on our LG big-screen TV (via my laptop's USB-C port and a USB-C-to-HDMI cable). . All of the World Cup matches were free to stream on YouTube in Brazil. This was a somewhat disappointing match to watch, as the Argentine team was on the defensive throughout. . . . . Here is a…
Read More: 2026 World Cup Final: Argentina vs SpainSaturday, July 18: France vs England (3rd Place Playoff), 2:00 pm PST . Using a Brazil VPN, I was able to watch the entire match on our LG big-screen TV (via my laptop's USB-C port and a USB-C-to-HDMI cable). . All of the World Cup matches were free to stream on YouTube in Brazil. I really enjoyed watching this match and was hoping for a…
Read More: 2026 World Cup 3rd Place Playoff: England vs. France
Inna selected the GE Profile PGE29BYTFS, a 28.7 cu ft 4-door French door refrigerator, to replace our failing 2013 LG LFX31945ST (the freezer stopped working). I thought about repairing the LG, but ChatGPT said that the lifespan of a refrigerator is between 10 and 13 years (and ours, being 13 years old, was at the end of its useful life). Repairing the LG might cost…
Read More: GE Profile Refrigerator
Tuesday, July 7, 2026 . From the Takakkaw Falls, it took us about two hours to reach the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge, where we had planned to stay one night. Inna had found an amazing Nordic Spa, and she wanted everyone to rest after so many days of hiking. . . . . . . We reached the Kananaskis Mountain Lodge at around 16:30, and it…
Read More: Kananaskis Village Hotel & Nordic Spa
Tuesday, July 6, 2026 . We checked out of the Storm Mountain Lodge (Lake Louise area), where we had been staying for the past 3 nights, and started our drive to Yoho National Park, where we had planned multiple hikes. . . Our first stop was at Emerald Lake. As we started our drive at 09:00, we were worried about the limited parking there. .…
Read More: Yoho National Park
Sunday, July 5, 2026 . We awoke at 06:00, brushed our teeth, and quickly dressed. At 06:30, we started our drive toward the Summer Gondola at Lake Louise, where we planned to park before catching the shuttle to Lake Moraine. Our shuttle was scheduled to depart at 07:25, so we had a 15-minute wait to drink coffee (from our Thermos) and eat pastries (Pastel de…
Read More: Stunning Lake Moraine
Saturday, July 4, 2026 . After the 50-minute drive from Peyto Lake, we arrived at Storm Mountain Lodge, near Lake Louise. Inna had chosen the Storm Mountain Lodge for its convenient location for the many hikes around Lake Louise (since shuttles were required to access the hiking trails). (I wish that UberX were available for drop-off at Lake Louise, as the price for shuttle transfers…
Read More: Gorgeous Lake Louise
Saturday, July 4, 2026 . At 10:00, after we finished breakfast at Hotel Canoe's Sudden Sally restaurant, we loaded our Hyundai Kona. We made several stops on our preplanned road trip along the Icefields Parkway. . . . . Our first stop was Crowfoot Glacier Viewpoint, about an hour away from Banff. We pulled into a fairly full parking lot at 11:00, but managed to…
Read More: Icefields Parkway
Thursday, July 2, 2026 . On the way to Hotel Canoe in Banff, where we planned to spend two nights, I intended to stop at Wild Flower Bakery to purchase the next day's packable lunch. Once we reached Banff, traffic was extremely heavy, so I dropped off Alex and Inna nearby so they could order pastries and sandwiches while I looked for parking. . .…
Read More: Beautiful Banff
Thursday, July 2, 2026 . We had always wanted to see the Canadian Rockies, Banff, and Lake Louise, but had never had the time. For the July 4th weekend, I checked to see whether flights from San Francisco to Calgary were available at a reasonable price (and luckily, they were). With Inna's and ChatGPT's help, we came up with a detailed plan to see as…
Read More: Calgary
When my Nikon P900 started malfunctioning in Iceland, I decided to get rid of it and replace it (eventually) with the latest version of the super zoom. Over the past many years, we have used the P900 to photograph birds and wild animals that were far away. . The P1100 is the latest installment in Nikon's super-zoom line. Although using the same old 16 Megapixel…
Read More: Nikon Coolpix P1100 Ultrazoom
When my DJI Action 5 camera died on Bora-Bora (after the first swim in the lagoon), I needed a reliable replacement (that can work well underwater). . As I had good luck with GoPro cameras previously, I looked at the following possible replacements: . . GoPro Hero 13 Black - $339 (Costco.com bundle with 2 batteries and 128GB SDXC) . GoPro Mission 1 Pro -…
Read More: Review: GoPro Hero 13 Black
Saturday, June 13, 2026 . Having visited Bora-Bora ten years ago (see my previous blog post), we finally returned to The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort. We had considered other hotels on Bora-Bora, especially the Four Seasons. Still, the cost differences were substantial, and Costco's package to The St. Regis Bora Bora Resort was very compelling. I purchased the transfer flight from San Jose to…
Read More: Return to Bora-Bora, French Polynesia