A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Inna and I were fortunate to dog-sit a Bernie-doodle named Teddy for one week. . . We enjoyed playing with Teddy and going out for daily walks. He never barks and is very affectionate and playful.. . . . . .
Read More: A Week with Teddy
Today, Inna and I went to listen to a concert by Mashina Vremeni (Машина времени) at The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco. . The concert was scheduled for 20:00. We left San Jose early so that we would be able to find parking at the Palace of Fine Arts. . . . . This is an iconic rock group (like Beatles for Americans)…
Read More: Review: Mashina Vremeni
Friday, February 24, 2023 . . For Inna's big birthday in February, we returned to Costa Rica to explore the beautiful national parks and see some of our favorite birds and animals, including sloths, toucans, hummingbirds, frogs, agoutis, coatis, monkeys, etc. . . . Because of the long flight, Inna decided to purchase first-class tickets. She selected Delta Airlines to fly from San Francisco (SFO)…
Read More: Return to Costa Rica
For Inna's big birthday, I made reservations for Thursday, February 23rd, at our favorite Michelin Star-rated local restaurant nearby - The Plumed Horse. . . . . . The San Francisco Bay area was experiencing a powerful winter storm, with temperatures plunging into the low 40s and periods of heavy rain. We drove to Saratoga without issues, and I parked my minivan nearby. . After…
Read More: Birthday Dinner at The Plumed Horse
On Sunday, February 12th, Inna and I decided to listen to Bria Skonberg (trumpeter) at the Joe Henderson Lab in the San Francisco Jazz Center (on 201 Franklin Street).. . . . While I enjoyed some of her standard tunes, I am not a big fan of her music choices in this concert. . Bria and her band played for one hour, mixing standards (she…
Read More: Bria Skonberg at SF Jazz
With Valentine's Day approaching, I made early (30 days in advance) reservations at the Tasting House - one of our favorite local restaurants in Los Gatos. . . . . . When we arrived at 19:15 (right on time), we were quickly seated at our table in the main dining room. It was busy, and all the tables were occupied. It was deafening inside (and…
Read More: Valentine’s Day at the Tasting House
I contemplated upgrading my GoPro Hero 10 Black to Hero 11, primarily because of the improved Hypersmooth and Horizon leveling features in the new model. . I didn't use the screen very much and thought the smaller, compact size of the Hero 11 Black Mini would be perfect for me. I was concerned about the non-removable battery. . . . . . . . .…
Read More: Review: GoPro Hero11 Black Mini
On Saturday, January 28th, Inna and I saw the play In Every Generation at TheatreWorks Mountain View. . . One family. One holiday. Four millennia. The Levi-Katz family celebrates Passover again and again (and again and again) and while times, location, and languages change, traditions stay the same. Over matzah ball soup and (vegan) brisket, the close-knit clan contends with questions of race, religion, and…
Read More: Review: In Every Generation
After reading multiple positive reviews (on Amazon), I decided to purchase the Sennheiser Momentum 4 Bluetooth Headphones to replace my current Monoprice BT-600ANC headphones. I would like improved sound quality and ease of use. . . . . Overall, I could have been more impressed. Although I noticed some improvement over the Monoprice BT-600, it did not justify paying 5 times more. . When I…
Read More: Review: Sennheiser Momentum4 Bluetooth Headphones
After viewing some positive reviews of the new Valve Steam Deck, I decided to take the plunge and try it myself. . I have always wanted to play old-school Arcade games (using MAME emulation) on a portable device. In addition, I was intrigued that the Steam Deck could also run games from Wii, Wii U, PSP, and the latest Nintendo Switch (in addition to most…
Read More: Review: Steam Deck 64GB
With Covid-19 mostly gone, we are happy to move into 2023! Let's hope for better tidings. . . . 2022 in Review. Highlights . Jobs (Inna accepted an excellent position at Drata). A month-long workation in Boston . . Day trips to Portland, Maine, New Hampshire, Newport, and Cape Cod. Mini-trip to the Berkshires. A month-long workation in San Francisco. Learning to wing foil in…
Read More: Welcoming 2023!
. . . How was 2022 in Sports? Except for tennis, I was less active than in previous years.. . 146 days of playing tennis at Almaden Valley Athletic Club. . 18 days of surfing (Capitola, Lihue's Kalapaki Beach). . 19 days of windsurfing and wing foiling (Crissy Field). 0 days of snowboarding. . 5 days of swimming at Almaden Valley Athletic Club. . 0…
Read More: The Year in Sports 2022
Which are the best restaurants, spas, and travel destinations? . At the end of 2022, I am rating the following (from best to worst) based on my personal experience. . . . Restaurants. . Even though Michelin has not rated it, Mama's Fish House on Maui is our favorite restaurant worldwide. Mama's Fish House combines an authentic Hawaiian atmosphere with exceptional cooking and a magnificent…
Read More: Best of the Best 2022
After many weeks of hard work, Inna and I decided to take a short 5-day trip to Kauai, Hawaii. Initially, we thought Christmas travel to Hawaii would be out of our price range. Still, we found reasonably priced airline tickets on United Airlines from San Francisco to Lihue. . . . . . Wednesday, December 21, 2022 . As our flight to Kauai was scheduled…
Read More: Back to Kauai
After learning to stand-up paddle (SUP)surf in Kauai over the summer, I was eager to try SUP surfing in Santa Cruz. However, the new stand-up paddleboards for surfing were extremely expensive. . After consulting with Oliver at Covewater Paddle Surf in Santa Cruz, I thought the best SUP model for me would be the Starboard Wedge 9'2" 160-liter model. However, it was priced at $1870…
Read More: SUP Surfing on Fanatic Allwave 9’3″
For our 21st Anniversary Dinner, Inna made dinner reservations at our favorite Michelin-rated restaurant nearby - The Plumed Horse - in Saratoga. . After arriving at 8:30pm and parking nearby, we were seated outdoors, near propane heaters. We looked over the Chef's Tasting Menu and the A La Carte Menu and decided to order from both menus. . . . . . Chef's Tasting Menu…
Read More: Dinner at Plumed Horse
With COVID-19 finally over and Elton John nearing retirement, we decided to see his final concert in the San Francisco Bay Area in Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara. . Parking near Levi's required some creative effort. Every parking lot nearby was charging $60 just to park, and street parking was unavailable. However, we found an accessible location within 15 minutes of the stadium. . After getting…
Read More: Review: Elton John Farewell Yellow Brick Road at Levi’s Stadium
On Friday evening, Inna made reservations at a small French restaurant - Pastis Bistro - in Palo Alto. I was surprised that I had never eaten there. . . . . . After sitting outdoors, we looked at the menu and ordered the following items. . Boris: Iced Tea, Halibut. . Inna:Iced Tea, Coquille St. Jacques, French Onion Soup. Dessert: Souffle. I was surprised (and…
Read More: Dinner at Pastis Bistro, Palo Alto
Saturday, September 24, 2022 . . Inna planned a weekend trip to San Francisco for my birthday, staying at the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel downtown. She also pre-purchased tickets for To Kill a Mockingbird at Golden Gate Theater. . . . . . In the afternoon, we drove to Marina Boulevard and parked there. We noticed a few people going out wing foiling. I did…
Read More: Birthday in San Francisco
For my birthday, Inna pre-purchased tickets to the To Kill a Mockingbird performance by Aaron Sorkin at Golden Gate Theater for 7:30pm. . . . . We started our walk to the theater from the Clift Royal Sonesta Hotel at around 7:00pm. It was a sketchy part of town with lots of homeless everywhere. We arrived around 7:20, and Inna picked up her tickets at…
Read More: Review: To Kill a Mockingbird at Golden Gate Theater