Wisetrips Travel Blog – Page 57 – A digital travel diary.

Review: Fiddler on the Roof at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

Tuesday, May 28, 2019california, musical, sf bay, theater

The sorry state of the world gives us a new reason to appreciate the depth of feeling so powerfully, so ingeniously embedded in "Fiddler on the Roof," the much-loved and much-revived 1964 musical comedy that is touring the country and visiting San Jose from May 21 - 26, 2019.. . . . . The touring production, currently playing at the San Jose Center for the…

Tennis Technique Improvement

Wednesday, May 15, 2019tennis

Watching the Tennis Fundamentals video from Feel Tennis Instruction, Tomasz has reminded me about focusing my tennis technique on the following basic fundamentals:. . Biomechanical Fundamentals. Stability (Priority #1). Hip Rotation. Shoulder Rotation. Swing Style. . . . . Here are my favorite Serve Tips from Peter Freeman of Crunch Time Coaching:. Secret Power Source: . Only when the tossed ball has reached its peak,…

Hiking Wapama Falls Trail, Yosemite

Sunday, April 21, 2019hiking, national park, strava

We were sore from the previous day's hike to Chilnualna Falls, so we decided to hike a flatter, more relaxing trail.. . . . Inna found an exciting hike to Wapama Falls, starting from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.. . . . When we woke up, we initially planned to eat breakfast at our new local favorite breakfast spot - Pony Expresso Coffee House & Roasting. However,…

Hiking Chilnualna Falls Trail, Yosemite

Saturday, April 20, 2019hiking, national park, strava

In the morning, we decided to try eating breakfast at our Best Western Plus in Mariposa. However, we were not very impressed when we explored the dining options available. Besides cold cereal and scrambled eggs, there was not much to tempt us to stay.. . . . . Instead, we decided to try the Pony Espresso Coffee House, a mile away (still in Mariposa). I…

Hiking Mirror Lake Trail, Yosemite

Friday, April 19, 2019hiking, national park, strava

Since my last visit to Yosemite National Park was 6 years ago (in 2013), Inna and I decided to re-visit the park during the off-season (spring) to re-acquaint ourselves with beautiful hikes, spectacular waterfalls, and tall redwoods and pines.. . . . We started our drive from San Jose to Yosemite Valley on Friday, April 19, 2019, at 8:30 am, through Hollister (152 East), encountering…

Rick Newman Tennis Lesson 1: Volleys

Thursday, April 18, 2019tennis

Rick Newman's Tennis Lesson 1: Volleys. . It's been a while since I've had tennis lessons, and I wanted to resume improving my tennis game. I decided to try tennis lessons with Rick Newman, a coach with much experience.. . In my first day's lesson, Rick had me focused on tennis volleys, an area where I was underdeveloped. My volleys had very little control, and…

Review: Aladdin at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts

Wednesday, April 17, 2019california, musical, sf bay, theater

Although I have seen Aladdin previously at Disney's California Adventure Theme Park, I have never seen the entire production on stage. Since Inna also wanted to see it, I purchased 3 tickets for the Aladdin Touring show at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. . . . I would have preferred to have seen the musical on Broadway (since Broadway shows tend to employ…

Biking Almaden Quicksilver County Park

Sunday, April 14, 2019california, mountain biking, sf bay, strava

After many weeks of constant rains, it was finally time to mountain bike in my favorite local Almaden Quicksilver County Park. . . . . . . The whole park was as green as I've ever seen it. Here is my Strava.com feedback: . . Ride . Biking Almaden Quicksilver . 8:45 AM on Sunday, April 14, 2019 · Santa Clara County, California . Distance…

Early blooms at Filoli Gardens

Sunday, March 17, 2019california, garden, sf bay

After a long, rainy winter, we visited Filoli Gardens to observe and photograph the latest blooming flowers. According to Filoli, the following flowers bloomed: tulips, camellias, and daffodils.. . . . When we arrived at around 1:00 p.m., we had to circle around the parking lot a few times to find an open space. Having parked the minivan, we queued in a long line to…

Review: Old Stock – A Refugee Love Story

Saturday, March 16, 2019california, sf bay, theater

On the spur of the moment, Inna purchased tickets for the Klezmer musical "Old Stock - A Refugee Love Story," playing for only 2 days at the Bing Hall at Stanford University. . . . . . A brief Synopsis according to Sydney Festival:. A dark, funny and high-energy klezmer-folk tale inspired by the real-life story of two Romanian Jews seeking refuge in Canada in…