A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After I finished my SUP surfing session at the Hook (41st Street, Capitola), I tried to carefully take my 9'3" Fanatic Allwave SUP out of the water. However, exiting through the surf is tricky during high tide as waves hit the launch location. One of the waves hit me, and I let go of the SUP. The SUP hit nearby rocks and was dented. .…
Read More: Repairing Fanatic Allwave 9’3″ SUP
One of my older Firex Smoke Detectors stopped working in our master bedroom (after a shower, it was activated but wouldn't silence). I started looking for the best replacement for my home's detectors. . . . . . I looked at multiple reviews of Smoke Detectors on Amazon.com, but I needed help identifying the best one. I have tried the following smoke detectors so far:…
Read More: Review: Smoke Detectors
The 41st annual Leap Sandcastle Classic at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, was scheduled for Saturday, October 28, 2023. We heard a little bit about it from the website: . . The Leap Sandcastle Classic is back at Ocean Beach on Oct. 28, 2023 from 11am-3:30pm! The free event brings out thousands of people for the ultimate sandcastle contest. You can watch teams build absolutely enormous…
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Inna purchased two tickets to Tango Lovers in San Francisco's Herbst Theater. It was our first time at Herbst Theater. It's quite a small venue, and we had excellent seats with a clear stage view. . The program began with a jet landing in Buenos Aires, accompanied by the orchestra and two singers, Guillermo Fernandez and Maria de Los Angeles, singing a duet. . Something…
Read More: Tango Lovers at Herbst Theater
Friday, October 13, 2023. For our 22nd Wedding Anniversary, Inna made reservations at the Indian Springs Hotel in Calistoga. After finishing our work on Friday evening, we lightly packed our suitcases and loaded our Tesla Model Y. . . We started our drive to Calistoga at 17:20, encountering heavy traffic and about 30-45 minutes of delays. We arrived at Indian Springs at around 19:52. We…
Read More: Relaxing in Calistoga
Saturday, October 7, 2023. After landing at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport at 20:20 (on a flight from Brindisi's Solento Airport), we planned to take a taxi to the nearby Fly Deco Hotel in Ostia. . At first, we had difficulty finding the airport exit, but we finally managed to exit and queue for a taxi. When we reached the head of the queue (15…
Read More: Taxi Hell at Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino (Rome) Airport
Our hostess suggested visiting Ostuni instead of Brindisi when we were checking out of our Hotel Palazzo Papaleo in Otranto. She said that Ostuni is much more picturesque and exciting than Brindisi's port. . . Although I had researched Brindisi and planned to stop there, I switched my plans to Ostuni, about 30 minutes away from Brindisi (by car). . . . The drive from…
Read More: A Stop in Ostuni
October 2, 2023. After speaking with an agent at Hertz Car Rental (which I had previously booked with), we finally settled on the front-wheel-drive Opel Corsa (made in Zaragoza, Spain) with license plate GL235AS. . . Since I had never driven in Italy, I opted to purchase additional auto insurance coverage as a precaution. The other basic insurance added 100.00 euros to my bill (the…
Read More: Driving Opel Corsa in Italy
Thursday, October 5, 2023. . . From Lecce (parked at the Parkejoo near downtown), we started our drive to Otranto at 18:20 (later than I would have liked, as I prefer to drive during the daytime). . . . . I programmed Otranto on my iPhone's Google Maps application, and we started our drive there. Traffic was heavy during rush hour, and I made a…
Read More: Relaxing in Otranto
Thursday, October 5, 2023. On the long drive to Otranto (our next major destination), we decided to visit Lecce. . After driving from Matera over mostly one-way and some two-way roads, we reached Lecce in two hours. Passing slow-driving cars on one-way roads took a lot of work, as most roads were curvy and bumpy. . . When we reached Lecce, I parked at the…
Read More: A Visit to Lecce