A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Since I have been practicing tennis at the Sunnyvale Municipal Tennis Center for the past two years, I have started recording my training sessions and then conducting my own in-depth review of my tennis technique.. . . . I created a video recording on my GoPro Hero4 Silver to identify my mistakes and errors for each tennis stroke.. . Forehand/Backhand Video. . Open video .…
Read More: Tennis Training Review 8/17/18
For Alex's 16th birthday, Inna and I purchased an almost-new Firewire Spitfire Helium 6' Epoxy surfboard (since Alex has long outgrown his Wavestorm 8' board).. . . . This new board has a volume of 34.9 liters and a length of 6 feet. It was perfect for Alex (as the 25-liter board he tried at Ripcurl was too difficult to surf).. . . . Alex…
Read More: Surfing Pleasure Point on Firewire Spitfire
Having sailed on my 1999 Mistral Flow Classic 276 for 19 years, it was time for an update. I tried out the Fanatic Freewave STB 95-liter version in the ABK Windsurfing Camp at Rio Vista in July and thought it was a nice board but lacked a bit of volume for lighter wind days.. . The "Stubby," as it is affectionately known, has a unique…
Read More: Fanatic FreeWave STB 105
Since it was my son's 16th Birthday, we decided to treat him to lunch at the Michelin-rated Alexander's Steakhouse in Cupertino.. . . . I made reservations for Saturday, August 4, at 13:45. Before eating lunch, we decided to stop by for a couple of bowling games at Bowlero in San Jose.. . . . We played 3 games, and I scored 111 on the…
Read More: Alex’s Birthday Lunch at Alexander’s Steakhouse
Although I have been windsurfing since 1991, I have never taken formal lessons. I learned by watching other sailors, first in Houston, Texas, then later in the Gorge.. . . Since I had problems with my jibes, I enrolled in the ABK Windsurfing Camp on Sherman Island for 4 days: Thursday, July 26 - Sunday, July 29. . . . . . On Thursday, July…
Read More: ABK Windsurfing Camp at Sherman Island
After finishing watching Wimbledon (watching Novac Djokovic destroy Kevin Anderson in 3 sets) and the World Cup Final (where France beat Croatia 4-2), I decided to check the weather.. . After reviewing a highly favorable iWindsurf wind forecast for Rio Vista, I decided to take the risk and drive 90+ minutes to windsurf at Sherman Island County Park.. . . . I picked up a…
Read More: Windsurfing Sherman Island
With Russia in the FIFA World Cup playoffs, I wanted to see the 11:00am playoffs of Russia vs Croatia.. . I decided to surf at Pleasure Point with Alex in the morning, using our two 8-foot Wavestorm surfboards. The waves were 3-4 feet high and inconsistent, but I rode a few to shore. Alex did far better, catching dozens at Pleasure Point and then at…
Read More: FIFA World Cup: Russia vs Croatia
While staying at our Mitsui Garden Hotel in Kyoto, we decided to venture to nearby Osaka. Osaka is known for its fantastic restaurants and is considered Japan's culinary capital.. . . . On arriving at Osaka Station by train from Kyoto, our first stop was the Kuromon Market. This was a large outdoor market with roofs (to protect from rain).. . . . Like the…
Read More: Relaxing Osaka
We arrived at Kyoto Station from Kanazawa (our last major stop on our two-week tour of Japan). We removed our luggage from the train and headed to the Kyoto subway station to get closer to our Mitsui Garden Hotel. The hotel was near our subway stop at Karasuma Oike Station. I was relieved that my Pasmo travel card still worked in the subway!. . .…
Read More: Delicious Kyoto
Our train journey from Matsumoto to Kanazawa was smooth and uneventful. The Shinkansen "bullet train" sped along at a brisk pace. I used my iPhone to measure the speed and saw it reach 150 mph.. . . . We arrived exactly on time - around 11:50 - and proceeded to board a taxi for our Hotel Pacific downtown.. . . . When the taxi dropped…
Read More: Scenic Kanazawa