Wisetrips Travel Blog

One of our friends has a timeshare at Marriott's Newport Coast Villas but couldn't spend the time due to concerns about COVID-19. Another week at Newport might be fun since we stayed in nearby Laguna Beach in September.   We reserved our 7 nights at Marriott from Saturday, February 27 to Saturday, March 6, 2021. Alex was excited, as it would allow him to surf at Trestles or Huntington Beach and perhaps a few…

For Inna's birthday, I originally intended to treat her to a Japanese barbecue at Gyu-Kaku . However, as I developed a headache, I canceled the reservation. Later on, after taking some Tylenol, I felt much better, so we decided to drive to Los Gatos and find a nice restaurant with outdoor seating.   At first, I thought about the recently opened Pastaria  & Market restaurant (where we have eaten relatively recently…

For Inna's birthday, I surprised her with an iPhone 12 Pro Max . She used her iPhone 8 Plus a lot and wanted a larger screen and a better camera with more zoom options. Since my intended cellular provider was Google Fi, I ordered a sim-unlocked version directly from Apple, as Costco and Amazon only sold carrier-locked versions. I scheduled a Enjoy delivery from 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, February 21, 2021. I was…

Thursday, February 10,  2021 My rear brake stopped working on my recent mountain bike ride at Almaden Quicksilver County Park . I was shocked, as I had my rear brake pads replaced by Michael at Silva Cycles recently. I thought my rear brake cable had broken, but that was not the case. When I brought my bike to Silva Cycles, Michael found that my new rear brake pad was missing (last replaced in November). How and why did it f…

For Valentine's Day , I made a reservation (via OpenTable ) for 5:15 p.m. on Sunday, February 14th, at our favorite Palo Alto restaurant,  Evvia .  Evvia serves authentic Greek entrees, and we really like the high-quality dishes. When we arrived at 17:20, I was surprised by how easy it was to find parking. Usually, Palo Alto downtown is quite busy (especially on Valentine's Day). After parking, we waited a few minut…

For Valentine's Day, I surprised Inna with the latest Apple Series 6 Watch . Inna's Series 3 Apple Watch has been flaky lately, and the newer version, with EKG and blood oxygen sensors, might provide her with more insight into her activities. The Apple Watch Series 6 40mm was on sale at Costco for $349, so it was only about $100 over the Apple Watch SE model I currently use. I had to replace my Series 3 Apple Watc…

After my Aukey EP-B40P Bluetooth earbuds stopped working (the battery died), I started looking for suitable replacements. My wife purchased the Apple AirPods initially, but I did not like the sound quality, which seemed lower than my $25 Aukey EP-B40P buds. I decided to try the Apple AirPods Pro next, but they did not impress me, even though they cost $200!  My next Bluetooth wireless earbuds attempt was the Aukey EP-T…