A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
To avoid parking at the expensive San Francisco (or De Anza) parking lot, we ordered UberX from our home to the San Francisco Airport (SFO). The UberX ride was fast and efficient, and we arrived with plenty of time to spare (since I had already checked in online using United's iPhone app). The final cost was $55 - high - but cheaper and more convenient…
Read More: Relaxing in Cancun
On a beautiful, hot November day, we decided to enjoy a family game of miniature golf at the Emerald Hills Golfland.. . . . Inna and I played on one team, while Alex and James played on the other.. . Alex and James took an early lead on hole #1, with Alex scoring 2 and James scoring 3, while I scored 3 and Inna scored…
Read More: Playing miniature golf at Emerald Hills Golfland
Today was my 6th day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA.. It's been quite dry the past week, and I noticed very few muddy trails.. . . . To warm up (since the Vintage track was closed), I proceeded to ride the Harmony Gate road. Harmony Gate is a straightforward trail. After that warm-up, I rode the TT Track…
Read More: Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA
Our friends purchased an indoor skydiving certificate at iFly, and our son Alex was eager to try it out.. . . . In the flight chamber, in-rushing air creates a cushion on which one can float, counteracting the earth's gravitation. After suiting up and getting instructions from the flight instructor, Alex was taken to the flight chamber and shown how to move his arms, legs,…
Read More: Indoor Skydiving at iFlyToday was my 5th day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA. It had rained heavily the week before, and I was eager to explore all the muddy trails at Hollister Hills SVRA.. . By now, most of the trails had dried off, and only a few patches of wet mud remained.. . . . The bike started and ran…
Read More: Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA
After work (due to heavy traffic on 85), Inna and I decided to stop by for dinner on Castro Street in Mountain View.. . We usually eat at our favorite Oren's Hummus Shop, but this time, we decided to be adventurous and try the nearby Bushido - a Japanese Sushi restaurant. We chose to sit outside and enjoy the beautiful, warm November weather. It's much…
Read More: Harakiri at Bushido, Mountain View
We decided to try bowling with our friends at Bel Mateo Bowl after our hike to Huddart County Park. It was almost Halloween time, and the Bel Mateo bowl had many Halloween decorations. Some staff were also dressed in Ghoulish costumes to frighten us all.. . We settled into our chosen lane once we got the obligatory bowling shoes (my size 11 was too big!).…
Read More: Bowling at Bel Mateo Bowl
Today, we decided (despite the slightly drizzly weather) to hike in the beautiful Huddart County Park in San Mateo / Woodside, CA.. . . . Based on recommendations in Alltrails.com, we initially tried to follow the Crystal Springs Trail.. The Crystal Springs Trail is a single track trail that runs down the northern section of the park and connects to several trails in the park.…
Read More: Hiking in Huddart County Park
Today, we saw a once-in-a-blue-moon Halloween Concert at Dartmouth Middle School.. . Most of the Concert and Symphonic Band were dressed in black, and some choir participants wore Halloween-themed costumes and make-up. Alex wore all black (as expected). . . . . The music program started out with the following compositions by the Concert and Symphonic Bands:. "Grim Grinning Ghosts," arranged by Douglas E. Wagner…
Read More: Halloween Concert at Dartmouth Middle School
Since I have been chiefly dirt biking alone, I joined the East Bay Dirt Bike group. The group usually rides at Carnegie SVRA. However, the group decided to ride at the Hollister Hills SVRA today.. . . I arrived at 9:15 am, though the meetup was supposed to start at 9:00 am ( I had to stop at Whole Foods for a sandwich!). At first,…
Read More: Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA with the East Bay Meetup
I plan to ride the Russian Ridge OSP with the South Bay Mountain Biking meetup for about a week. I have been to other South Bay mountain bike riders, and this was a chance to ride some new trails that I have not previously ridden.. . Despite early morning fog in Los Gatos, the weather was fantastic at Russian Ridge OSP, and we had a…
Read More: Biking Russian Ridge OSP
We have not been to San Francisco's Geary Theater in a while - as nothing recently playing really excited us. However, Inna was intrigued by the concept behind "The Hard Problem" - a relatively recent (2015) play by Sir Tom Stoppard (screenwriter for Shakespeare in Love) on the subject of consciousness.. . . . How does consciousness come about? Is our identity the product of…
Read More: Review: “The Hard Problem” (Geary Theater)
Before seeing "The Hard Problem" at the Geary Theater, we stopped by for dinner at the well-recommended Cafe Claude in San Francisco, conveniently near the Sutter-Stockton garage.. . . . We made reservations in advance, but Cafe Claude was not very busy Wednesday evening. Cafe Clause serves a limited number of French dishes in a casual setting.. . . . Our waitress recommended the "Brandade…
Read More: Enjoying Cafe Claude in San Francisco
Today was my third day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA. It had rained the day before, and I was eager to explore all the muddy trails at Hollister Hills.. Many usual trails were closed (like the TT Track and Four Corners), but some re-opened later in the day (TT Track).. . . . I first warmed up on…
Read More: Muddy Day at Hollister SVRA
Because of the unusually sizzling California weather (90+ Fahrenheit in October!), we decided to hike at the nearby Villa Montalvo, with significant tree cover on most trails.. . . . Villa Montalvo is located in Los Gatos and usually hosts many arts & theater productions. We used Google Maps to provide driving directions.. . When we arrived, a production of Romeo & Juliet was in…
Read More: Hiking Lookout Trail at Villa Montalvo
Today was my second day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA. I was eager to explore all of the trails at Hollister Hills to see which suits my riding skill level and which is a bit of a stretch.. . I first warmed up on the nearby Classic/Vintage Track, followed by multiple rides around the TT (Time Trials) Track.…
Read More: Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA
. . The rain pours down in steady streams, shrouding in the gloom the Irish countryside of "Outside Mullingar," a recent play by John Patrick Shanley that opened on October 5, 2016, at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts.. . . The play premiered at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 23, 2014, and closed on March 16, 2014. This was my…
Read More: Review: “Outside Mullingar”, TheatreWorks
For our family day, we decided to try playing Bocce Ball at the local Campo di Bocce restaurant and Bocce ball game center. I made reservations for 1:30pm (90 minutes of playtime) on Sunday, October 2nd.. . . . While playing Bocce Ball, we ordered a few appetizers and entrees from the restaurant.. . Alex selected the following dishes for himself:. Garlic Bread. Caesar Salad.…
Read More: Campo di Bocce, Los GatosSince October 1 started the "Red Sticker" riding season in California, I was eager for a ride on my Honda CRF250R offroad motorcycle. The CRF250R is a "Red Sticker" bike by California standards, so I can only ride from October 1 to May 30 in most local SVRA areas.. . It was getting very crowded when I arrived at Hollister Hills SVRA on Saturday, October…
Read More: Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA
For my birthday, Inna surprised me by making reservations at the newly opened Bywater Restaurant in downtown Los Gatos. Since this restaurant was newly opened by David Kinch, the famous chef of the 3 Michelin-star rated Manresa (also in Los Gatos), we were eager to have a bite there.. . When I lived in Houston, CA (after graduating from Georgia Tech), I got used to…
Read More: The Bywater Restaurant in Los Gatos