A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After watching a few tennis instructional videos on Youtube (2 minutes tennis), I have listed tips to improve my tennis skills. . . . . . Here is a GoPro Hero4 video of my recent service practice. . . Open video Tennis Serve Issues to work on:. Being still before starting the serve motion . . Tossing the ball in front. More coiling, separating arms…
Read More: Tennis Tips
For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Inna reserved the Avila La Fonda Hotel, located on the beautiful Avila Beach, California, for the two-day weekend, from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17. although we have stayed at Pismo Beach multiple times, we have never stayed at Avila Beach. . . . Friday, October 15, 2021 . We started our drive to Avila Beach on Friday, October…
Read More: Relaxing at Avila Beach
For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, I made dinner reservations for 6:45pm at Flowers, Saratoga. We noticed Flowers nearby when we last dined at The Plumed Horse (for Alex's Bellarmine Graduation). It was an exquisite restaurant, and we wanted to try it.. . We arrived on time and parked in the parking lot near Plumed Horse. . . . . . After checking in, the hostess…
Read More: Anniversary Dinner at Flowers, Saratoga
On October 5, 2021, I joined the Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC) to resume tennis training. The monthly membership cost is $200/month for one adult. In addition, I had to pay a $175 membership joining fee.. . . In 2020, I was well on my way to improving my tennis skills, moving from a USTA 3.0 rating to 3.5. This training involved daily training on…
Read More: Tennis at AVAC
After surfing for many weeks at famous surfing spots in Laguna Beach: Thalia Street, Rockpile Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente, and Trestles, I realized that my surf paddling could use improvement. . I discovered Rob, a local surf trainer, teaches proper surf paddling techniques. He runs a website called surfingpaddling.com. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and offers online and private lessons..…
Read More: Surf Paddling at Linda Mar
Since my Synology DS1815+ Network Attached Storage (NAS) was getting quite old (6 years+) and 90% complete using old, 6 TB Hitachi hard disks, I thought that it would be prudent to replace it with the latest Synology NAS (with larger, faster, and newer hard disks). . . . . . . After research, I settled on the DS1621+ with a RAID-5 configuration using 5…
Read More: Upgrading to Synology DS1621+ NAS
For my 53rd birthday, Inna made reservations at Dio Deka, a fine Greek Restaurant in the heart of Los Gatos. After arriving at 19:15, we were treated to a lovely outdoor table. . . . . . After carefully looking at the menu, we ordered the Japanese Fairy Tale cocktail along with Octopus and Pita. . . . . Later on, we ordered the main…
Read More: Boris’ Birthday Dinner at Dio Deka
Inna purchased the 2021 Apple iPad Pro 11 for my upcoming birthday with a 128GB SSD and M1 processor.. . . . . . My current iPad Air 2 (from 2014) was getting a bit old, and I could use a newer iPad. . . . . To complement the iPad Pro, I also purchased the Logitech Folio Touch iPad Keyboard Case (with a built-in…
Read More: Review: Apple iPad Pro 11′
On September 21, 2021, after a lot of discussions with Inna, I placed an official order for a Tesla Model Y. I selected the following Tesla Model Y options: . White paint. Tow Hitch (for attaching mountain bike racks). . The estimated delivery time is March 2022 (7 months away)!. . . . I also initiated the effort to install an EV Charger at our…
Read More: Ordering Tesla Model Y
Since I could not find time to ride my 2015 Yamaha WR250F off-road dirt bike, I sold it to make space for other toys. . . . After placing an ad on Craigslist for $5.00, I found a buyer for $5,000 (including my riding gear) in two days. I was sad about selling this excellent motorcycle that has given me so many exciting memories of…
Read More: Selling Yamaha WR250F Dirt Bike
On September 15, I placed an ad on Craigslist.com to sell Alex's 2008 Lexus RX350 AWD. Since Alex would be away at Northeastern University in Boston for the next 4 years, he would not need the Lexus. . . . . . After placing an ad, I received multiple inquiries. I was able to sell it in one day. The demand for vehicles must be…
Read More: Sellling Lexus RX350 AWD
Since our fabulous trip to Puerto Vallarta and Sayulita in April 2008, we have planned to return to Puerto Vallarta. In 2019, we jumped on a deal to stay at the top-rated Four Seasons in Punta Mita (a famous surfing spot). However, due to COVID-19, we had to reschedule our stay multiple times. . Eventually, we settled on the week of September 5-12, 2021. We…
Read More: Relaxing in Punta Mita
On Friday, September 03, 2021, we woke up at 4:00 am to prepare for our 45-minute drive to San Francisco Airport (SFO) for Alex's one-stop flight to London's Heathrow Airport via New York (JFK). . . . . . Alex was excited to begin his college education, starting his first semester at Northeastern University in London through the N.U. London program. . When we arrived…
Read More: London Calling
With Alex departing for London (to study abroad with the N.U.in London program at Northeastern University), Inna and I took out for his last dinner in Los Gatos. . . . . We chose one of his favorite local restaurants, The Pastaria & Market, in Los Gatos. . . . . . . When we arrived at about 7:30pm on Thursday, September 2nd, the restaurant…
Read More: The Last Supper at Pastaria
While working from home in San Francisco, I was fortunate to rent an Airbnb (3038 Baker Street) 5 minutes from Crissy Field.. . . . . During the summer, San Francisco experiences consistent daily winds from 15-25 knots from 15:00 - 20:00. I was fortunate to have windsurfed daily after work. . My usual routine was as follows:. Check the Crissy Field video cam for…
Read More: Windsurfing at Crissy Field
. When I arrived at Crissy at around 7:30 a.m., the athletes were already swimming toward Crissy from Alcatraz (they jumped off the Hornblower Cruises boat into the cold, murky waters off Alcatraz for the 1.5-mile ocean swim to shore). . . . . Many people eagerly awaited the first swimmers, and I climbed over the rocks at St. Francis Yacht Club to get a…
Read More: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon
Saturday, August 14, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up at 8:30 and took a short stroll to Le Marais Bakery, where we purchased pastries and coffee. We were surprised by a longer-than-expected order line and the number of people on the street. The bakery was much busier than on weekdays. . . . . We ordered the following items:. Boris: Mocha,…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 5
Saturday, August 7, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up around 09:00 and took a short stroll to Crissy Field. After we returned, I made a couple of sandwiches with pastrami from Lucca Deli on Acme sourdough bread for Alex and me. . . . . . Alex and I spent most of the day boat surfing on the Petaluma River in…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 4
At about 10:30, I drove with Alex to Novato, California (about 30 minutes away from our Airbnb home in San Francisco) for a boat surfing session with Rob Case (surfingpaddling.com), scheduled for 11:15. This was part of Alex's 19th birthday present, and I was hoping that it would turn out well. . . . . . The plan was for 3 surfers to take turns…
Read More: Boat Surfing on Petaluma River
Saturday, July 31, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up around 08:00. I installed the Via Velo Bike U Lock on Inna's Specialized hybrid bike, cleaned up my windsurfing gear, started the washing machine, and loaded the dishwasher. . . . . Alex had severe allergies to ragweed pollen, so we walked to Arsicault Bakery (on Arguello) to bring him some of…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 3