Wisetrips Travel Blog

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" …

For Grandma Bella's 85th birthday, Inna and I took Grandma to the Michelin 3-Star Manresa Restaurant in Los Gatos. We have been to Manresa a few times but have not returned since the fire (and its upgrade from Michelin 2 Star to 3 Star rating). While Bella enjoyed the spectacular desserts and Manresa, she was less impressed by the plain interior and actually preferred The Plumed Horse …

Who knew that there was a nearby wildlife refuge in North San Jose? Steve Stolper suggested I join him on his bird-watching hike on the Mallard Slough Trail at the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge in Milpitas? We met Steve at  1751 Grand Blvd, Alviso, CA 95002 , where a parking lot leads to a small Educational Center. We saw many interesting birds on the 5-mile hike that took about two hours. …

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 the following gear: 2016 Ezzy Elite 4.5m 2016…

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 good dinner, Mr. Sam Neipp showed us a slideshow and played some of t…

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 it might be closed (but Yelp has been frequent…

After waking up at 7:00 am and quickly showering, we dressed and headed for breakfast at our Best Western Plus . I was surprised at how busy it was at 8:00 am; everyone had the same idea of getting an early start on breakfast. There was not a lot of variety at Best Western (but at least it was free), so Alex decided to make himself a waffle while I selected the scrambled eggs (which were mildly edible). The …