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Return to Mountain Biking at Quicksilver Almaden County Park

california, mountain biking, sf bay

Once the rains in San Jose finally stopped, I returned to mountain biking at Almaden Quicksilver Park and surrounding trails. However, I noticed that my rear tire was constantly losing pressure.. . . . . . . . At first, I took my 2011 Specialized FSR Stumpjumper S-Works FSR Carbon to Trail Head Cyclery. The mechanic there redid the rear tire. However, one week later,…

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Alex’s Graduation from Dartmouth Middle School

dartmouth, personal

How time flies! Only yesterday, Alex entered Dartmouth Middle School as a 6th grader (from Guadalupe Elementary). Three short years later, he is graduating with honors from Dartmouth Middle School and heading to high school (Go Bells!). . The Dartmouth Middle School Graduation followed the following Program:. Processional to "Pomp & Circumstance" . Flag Salute. "Star-Spangled Banner" by the Chorus. Greetings and Introduction by Mr.…

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Windsurfing Coyote Point on new Ezzy Elite sails

california, sf bay, windsurfing

After 25+ years of windsurfing on 20-year-old gear (1996 Ezzy Transformer sails, Aluminum Chinook booms, and PowerEx masts), I returned to the sport with new, modern gear.. . . . I found an excellent deal online at Isthmus Windsurfing, where Jon Massman was able to help me build a new quiver of sails based on 2016 Ezzy Elite sails and Ezzy Masts.. . I purchased…

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Dartmouth Symphonic Band Banquet

dartmouth

At the end of Dartmouth Middle School's school year, the Symphonic Band held a final banquet to celebrate all of the band's accomplishments.. . The banquet was supposed to start at 7:00pm, so we arrived at 6:30 to wait in line. The banquet was really created a bit later. We stood in line for a catered dinner (Alex sat separately with his friends). After a…

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Kinetic Sculptures Race in Ferndale

california, humboldt

Our first stop in Ferndale occurred during lunchtime after we had hiked at Humboldt Redwoods State Park nearby.. . . . At first, we stopped by Ferndale Pizza, where Alex ordered and ate an entire pepperoni pizza! I ordered the Fettuccine Alfredo (which was well prepared), and it filled me up.. . After lunch, we decided to stop by at Humboldt Sweets. Yelp indicated that…

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Exploring the Lost Coast

california, hiking, lost coast

On Saturday, May 27, we started our long drive from San Jose to Garberville and Shelter Cove (aka the Lost Coast).. . There was a lot of traffic on I-880 and US-101, so we stopped by for lunch at a well-regarded (according to Yelp) eatery - Sarah's Sweets and Eats in Petaluma.. . I ordered a delicious Pastrami Reuben sandwich, while Inna ordered the Monte…

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A Day out in San Francisco

california, sf bay

Since Friday, May 26, was a Juniper Holiday, Inna and I decided to see Monet's "The Early Years" exhibit at San Francisco's Legion of Honor Museum.. . The drive there was uneventful, though finding parking was a challenge. There were several intriguing sculptures in the courtyard of the museum. The sculptures looked like they were made from wet clay - yet they were solid.. .…

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Spring Concert at Dartmouth Middle School

dartmouth

Today, we attended the last performance of Dartmouth Middle School's Spring Concert - the second concert in 2017. Since he is graduating this year, Alex played trumpet for the last time with the Dartmouth Symphonic Band.. . . . After the obligatory "Star-Spangled Banner," the Jazz Band opened the Spring Concert with "Listen Here" by Eddie Harris. This was followed by "Superstition" - a song…

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Dartmouth Symphonic Band’s Disneyland Trip

dartmouth

One of Alex's reasons for wanting to join the Symphonic Band at Dartmouth Middle School was to participate in the annual Disneyland trip. He worked hard during 7th grade to prepare for his Symphonic Band audition and was finally admitted into the Symphonic Band in June of 2016.. . . During the Disneyland trip, the Symphonic Band got to play at Disneyland and California Adventure…

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A Grand Day Out in Sonoma

california, sf bay, winery

Since our 16th engagement anniversary was on May 5, we decided to revisit where I first proposed to Inna - at the Benziger Winery, atop the hill that overlooks the winery.. . . . We enjoyed strolling around Benziger Winery's gardens, looking at the beautiful flowers.. . . . We saw a few frogs lurking about in the nearby lily pond, ribbiting. Inna took lots…

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Windsurfing Coyote Point

california, sf bay, windsurfing

Today, I opened the 2017 Windsurfing season with a great session at Coyote Point, near San Francisco. It's one of my favorite local spots, along with Crissy Field, Rio Vista Powerlines, and Waddell Creek.. . The iWindsurf website reported 20 knots of wind, gusting to 30 knots, and I was excited to experience the fantastic bump'n'jump sailing again.. . When I arrived at 3:00pm, a…

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Garrahan Off-road Training at Carnegie Hills SVRA

motorcycling

Since selling my Honda CRF250R in December 2016, I have not ridden any dirt bikes for a few months (the constant rainy weather did not help).. . I decided to refresh my off-road motorcycling skills with Brian Garrahan. I enrolled in his Into to Dirt class with Garrahan Off-Road Training for a one-day seminar at Carnegie Hills SVRA. . . I have only visited Carnegie…

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Riding Yamaha WR250F at Hollister

motorcycling

After selling my beloved "red-sticker" 2013 Honda CRF250R offroad motorcycle in December 2016, I have been looking to replace it with a "green sticker" Yamaha WR250F for many months. The Yamaha WR250F was my #1 choice since it can be ridden year-round in California (being a green sticker bike), has a wide ratio transmission, and is expressly designed for trail riding.. . . . I…

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Hiking Pinnacles National Park

national park

Since I could not play tennis (due to my minor mole removal surgery), I decided to explore Pinnacles National Park, located only 90 minutes from San Jose.. . Despite living so close for many years, I was unaware that the famous Pinnacles National Park was close. I decided to drive and see it for myself (since Inna and Alex were on their Caribbean cruise).. .…

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Spring Bloom in Filoli Gardens

california, garden, sf bay

Today, Inna and I decided to see the freshly blooming flowers at Filoli Gardens in Woodside. When we arrived in the afternoon, there was a line to buy tickets. Although we have often been to Filoli Gardens, we have never seen a line.. . . . Many roses, tulips, and many other varieties were on display. Inna and I enjoyed viewing and smelling the flowers..…

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Bouquets to Art 2017

california, museum, sf bay

Although I have been to San Francisco's de Young Museum multiple times, I was never overly impressed by its collection of paintings and sculptures.. . Thus, reluctantly, I decided to come to the famous Bouquets to Art 2017 show. We arrived at the museum around 1:00pm, where we met with our friends (fortunate enough to have spare tickets to the show).. . . . Both…

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