A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Inna and I tried hiking the Alma Trail in Bear Creek Redwoods, nearby, to burn some calories and explore nearby trails. . This was a moderate hike with significant elevation gain (1469 ft). We enjoyed the hike, but Inna was a bit tired. . . . . . . . . .
Read More: Hiking Alma Trail in Bear Creek Redwoods
After a long time, we decided to hike in Castle Rock State Park in Los Gatos. . . When we arrived, we were surprised by the large parking lot, which had been converted from gravel to a fully paved one with many paid parking spaces. . . . . . . The hike started from the parking lot, heading south toward the waterfall and westward.…
Read More: Hiking Castle Rock
I was offered a chance to ride from Palo Alto to Filoli Gardens, and I decided to give it a shot. Initially, I was looking for a gravel bike for the long ride, but I did not want to pay $150/day to rent a bike at Summit Bicycles. . My Specialized FSRS-Works is not the ideal bicycle, but I made it work. When I arrived…
Read More: Ride from Palo Alto to Filoli Gardens
For Alex's 22nd Birthday, we decided to treat him to dinner at nearby ASA Los Gatos. After arriving at 19:15, we sat down indoors and ordered the following items: . . Drinks: 2 Raspberry Cream Sodas, Lemonade. Appetizer: Burrata, Truffle Fries, Croquetas de Jamón. Alex: Carbonara Pasta. Boris: Paella Entree. Inna: Mushroom Pasta. Dessert: Chocolate Chip Cookies, Vu Ice Cream. Our dinner was excellent, and…
Read More: Celebrating Alex’s 22 Birthday
The musical closely follows Mrs. Doubtfire's plot, but no one can replace Robin Williams. It was a well-acted performance at the Orpheum Theater. . . . . . . 2023 North American Tour and London Production . Act I "That's Daniel" – Lydia, Miranda, Daniel, Ensemble . "I Want to Be There" – Daniel . "I Want to Be There" (Reprise) – Daniel . "Try…
Read More: Mrs. Doubtfire at Orpheum
For the July 4th weekend, Inna made reservations at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Incline Village, Nevada (North Lake Tahoe). . . . . Thursday, July 4, 2024. At 10:00, we loaded our Tesla Model Y with our bags and set out on the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. Traffic was not too heavy, but I felt extremely sleepy. On the way there, we…
Read More: Relaxing at Incline Village, North Lake Tahoe
I have been looking to replace my 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited with a newer vehicle for a long time. My vehicle requirements were as follows: . hybrid engine (to lower fuel costs). space to carry a mountain bike, windsurfing gear, and surfboards. . AWD/4WD for ski trips to Lake Tahoe and Mammoth. . low maintenance costs. excellent long-term reliability. price of $50,000 or less new…
Read More: 2022 Mazda Miata Grand Touring
Inna found and purchased inexpensive, last-minute tickets to the hit Broadway show Company, playing at San Francisco's Orpheum Theater. I had vaguely heard of the show but had never listened to any of the songs or watched any YouTube videos. . . . . . I disliked the San Francisco production, the songs, and everything about it. It all seemed dull and unappealing. We left…
Read More: Company at Orpheum
Today, I played the first USTA Mixed 40+ 6.0 match against Bayclub Courtside as a D2 with Cathy Waheed. . . . . . . We struggled in our first set, overcoming being down 0-2, and winning 6-4. . On the second set, the Bayclub team came on strong, winning 4-6. . However, we fought our way through the tiebreak, winning 11-9. . . .…
Read More: First USTA Mixed 40+ 6.0 Doubles Win
We were asked to take care of Teddy, a cute medium-sized Bernerdoodle, and we were delighted to have the opportunity to host him. . . . We enjoyed taking him on morning and evening walks and along Vasona Lake. He is a very affectionate and playful dog. . . .
Read More: Teddy’s return
In my first USTA 18+ 3.0 match of the season, Raja Jacob and I (the AVAC D3 team) defeated Tom Franich and David Tarkington (Rio Del Mar Team) by a score of: . Set 1: 4-6. Set 2: 7-6. Tiebreak: 1-0 . . Raja and Boris had a "no pressure" match, as we already won as a team. . They lost the first set, but…
Read More: First USTA Men’s 18+ 3.0 Doubles Win in 2024
Before the show, I made early dinner reservations at Orchard City Kitchen in downtown Campbell. We had been meaning to visit this restaurant, as it was mentioned by the Michelin Guide, but it was difficult to reserve. I managed to snag a table at 5:15 p.m. . . . . . When we arrived at the plaza, we had difficulty finding parking, so we circled…
Read More: Cirque du Soleil Kooza in San Jose
With Alex graduating from Northeastern University with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science, we made plans to attend the two graduation ceremonies: . Khoury College of Computing Ceremony at Matthew's Arena, May 2, 14:00 EST . Fenway Park, May 5, 16:00 EST . . . . . . Wednesday, May 1, 2024. After waking up, dressing, and packing, we ordered an UberX car to…
Read More: Northeastern Graduation
Before stopping to see Tiger Style in Mountain View, Inna decided to have an early dinner at the nearby Doppio Zero pizzeria.. . Inna made a dinner reservation at 17:45, and I drove directly there, meeting with Inna on the way to the pizzeria. After being seated outdoors, we looked at the online menu and ordered the following: . Appetizer: Pera Salad, 2 Mushroom Soups,…
Read More: Tiger Style in Mountain View
Saturday, April 13, 2024. We woke up around 07:00, and I took a quick shower to get ready for our flight to Hawaii. After quickly getting dressed, we ordered UberX and were dropped off at San Jose Airport's Terminal A. Our Hawaiian Airlines HA43 flight boarded on time (despite the light rain), and I had already checked in the day before. I had boarding passes…
Read More: Visiting OahuToday, we saw a small production of Master & Margarita in Palo Alto. On the way there, we stopped by for dinner at Ettan (a very fancy, and hard to get into Indian Restaurant). . Master & Margarita is a one my wife's favorite novels and she enjoyed seeing on stage.. . According to Wikipedia:. . . The story concerns a visit by the devil…
Read More: Master & Margarita in Palo Alto
For Inna's birthday, I made reservations at the famous Michelin 1-star Chez TJ restaurant in Mountain View for Friday, February 23, at 19:30. . . . . After arriving and taking our seats, we were given several wine menus. After some discussions with the waiter, we selected a half-bottle of Vouvray. After spending some time in the Loire region of France, we had always loved…
Read More: Dinner at Chez TJ
Last year, Inna purchased two tickets to see Andrey Makarevich for the Saturday, February 17th, 7:00 p.m. concert at Fort Mason in San Francisco. . . . . We left early to eat dinner in San Francisco before the concert. After parking in Fort Mason, we learned that our favorite local German eatery, Radhaus San Francisco, was packed. After paying $16 for all-day parking, we…
Read More: Andrey Makarevich at Fort MasonIn today's Zoom Serve Lesson with Reidy Reidy, I learned some tips for improving my serve and other strokes.. . Serve Tips. . Pick a target. . Decide between a kick-serve, a flat serve, or a slice serve. . Use Continental Grip. Do not use the racket to bounce the ball (it forces you to change your serve grip) . . Toss the ball higher..…
Read More: Zoom Serve Lesson with Ryan ReidyDuring today's lesson with Gary Jordao, I focused on improving my forehand and backhand spacing. . I have developed a bad habit of getting too close to the ball. I need more space between me and the incoming tennis ball to execute a full forehand or backhand stroke. . After a 30-minute class, we played a singles match. I was still slow to prepare, and…
Read More: Lesson 06: Tennis with Gary Jordao – Early Prep