A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After surfing for many weeks at famous surfing spots in Laguna Beach: Thalia Street, Rockpile Beach, Newport Beach, San Clemente, and Trestles, I realized that my surf paddling could use improvement. . I discovered Rob, a local surf trainer, teaches proper surf paddling techniques. He runs a website called surfingpaddling.com. He is based in the San Francisco Bay Area and offers online and private lessons..…
Read More: Surf Paddling at Linda Mar
For my 53rd birthday, Inna made reservations at Dio Deka, a fine Greek Restaurant in the heart of Los Gatos. After arriving at 19:15, we were treated to a lovely outdoor table. . . . . . After carefully looking at the menu, we ordered the Japanese Fairy Tale cocktail along with Octopus and Pita. . . . . Later on, we ordered the main…
Read More: Boris’ Birthday Dinner at Dio Deka
Since I could not find time to ride my 2015 Yamaha WR250F off-road dirt bike, I sold it to make space for other toys. . . . After placing an ad on Craigslist for $5.00, I found a buyer for $5,000 (including my riding gear) in two days. I was sad about selling this excellent motorcycle that has given me so many exciting memories of…
Read More: Selling Yamaha WR250F Dirt Bike
On September 15, I placed an ad on Craigslist.com to sell Alex's 2008 Lexus RX350 AWD. Since Alex would be away at Northeastern University in Boston for the next 4 years, he would not need the Lexus. . . . . . After placing an ad, I received multiple inquiries. I was able to sell it in one day. The demand for vehicles must be…
Read More: Sellling Lexus RX350 AWD
With Alex departing for London (to study abroad with the N.U.in London program at Northeastern University), Inna and I took out for his last dinner in Los Gatos. . . . . We chose one of his favorite local restaurants, The Pastaria & Market, in Los Gatos. . . . . . . When we arrived at about 7:30pm on Thursday, September 2nd, the restaurant…
Read More: The Last Supper at Pastaria
While working from home in San Francisco, I was fortunate to rent an Airbnb (3038 Baker Street) 5 minutes from Crissy Field.. . . . . During the summer, San Francisco experiences consistent daily winds from 15-25 knots from 15:00 - 20:00. I was fortunate to have windsurfed daily after work. . My usual routine was as follows:. Check the Crissy Field video cam for…
Read More: Windsurfing at Crissy Field
. When I arrived at Crissy at around 7:30 a.m., the athletes were already swimming toward Crissy from Alcatraz (they jumped off the Hornblower Cruises boat into the cold, murky waters off Alcatraz for the 1.5-mile ocean swim to shore). . . . . Many people eagerly awaited the first swimmers, and I climbed over the rocks at St. Francis Yacht Club to get a…
Read More: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon
Saturday, August 14, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up at 8:30 and took a short stroll to Le Marais Bakery, where we purchased pastries and coffee. We were surprised by a longer-than-expected order line and the number of people on the street. The bakery was much busier than on weekdays. . . . . We ordered the following items:. Boris: Mocha,…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 5
Saturday, August 7, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up around 09:00 and took a short stroll to Crissy Field. After we returned, I made a couple of sandwiches with pastrami from Lucca Deli on Acme sourdough bread for Alex and me. . . . . . Alex and I spent most of the day boat surfing on the Petaluma River in…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 4
At about 10:30, I drove with Alex to Novato, California (about 30 minutes away from our Airbnb home in San Francisco) for a boat surfing session with Rob Case (surfingpaddling.com), scheduled for 11:15. This was part of Alex's 19th birthday present, and I was hoping that it would turn out well. . . . . . The plan was for 3 surfers to take turns…
Read More: Boat Surfing on Petaluma River
Saturday, July 31, 2021 . In the morning, Inna and I woke up around 08:00. I installed the Via Velo Bike U Lock on Inna's Specialized hybrid bike, cleaned up my windsurfing gear, started the washing machine, and loaded the dishwasher. . . . . Alex had severe allergies to ragweed pollen, so we walked to Arsicault Bakery (on Arguello) to bring him some of…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 3
Saturday, July 24, 2021 . I woke up at 06:30 but decided to sleep until 07:45. Inna, I went for a short walk to Crissy Field. . . . . . . . Inna hoped to photograph some of the local Night Herons and other birds who frequently inhabit the Palace of Fine Arts. She managed to take a few excellent photos. . . .…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 2
While we could still work from home (due to COVID-19), Inna had an idea to try living in San Francisco. She reserved an Airbnb house from July 17 to August 16, located near the Presidio, Marina Blvd, and Crissy Field, that suited our work-from-home intentions. . . Saturday, July 17, 2021 . Inna, Alex, and I packed our suitcases, but I decided to leave earlier…
Read More: San Francisco Workation Week 1
After hearing disturbing news about my 2008 Toyota Sienna Limited minivan from my auto mechanic at Foreign Affair, I decided to research possible alternatives in case I needed to replace my van. . One possible alternative was to replace it with a 2021 Tesla Model Y SUV. Another alternative was to look at the 2021 Toyota Sienna AWD XSE option. . When I priced both…
Read More: Tesla Model Y Test Drive
Saturday, July 3, 2021 . In the morning, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. I stopped by the nearby Farmer's Market to purchase a few essentials for the upcoming week, including fresh organic tomatoes, pita bread, blueberries, and tzatziki sauce. . . . . . . . After returning home and eating a breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and raspberries, we drove Alex to San…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 4
Saturday, June 26, 2021 . . . In the morning, I stopped by Whole Foods for a few grocery items (bananas, Gouda cheese) and to get cash for my Saturday's Farmer's Market visit. I purchased fresh organic tomatoes, sourdough bread, blueberries, and raspberries at the market. . . . . . . After returning home and eating a quick breakfast of yogurt with blueberries and…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 3
Saturday, June 19, 2021 . . . I woke up early in the morning to shop at the nearby Farmers' Market (next to our Fire Station). Inna and I walked over and examined all the stands. We purchased German Rye Bread, pre-sliced Sourdough bread, Grapefruits, Tomatoes, Burrata cheese, tzatziki, blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries. . . . . . . . Finished with shopping, Inna and…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 2
With the COVID-19 pandemic ending, we planned another work-from-home trip to our favorite Laguna Beach rental home (June 12 - July 12, 2021). We enjoyed last year's stay (from September 4 - October 4, 2020) and looked forward to exploring the beautiful beaches, eating delicious pastries at Moulin Bakery, and surfing at Rockpile Beach. . We were unsure how much longer our current employers would…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation Week 1
With Alex out surfing with his friend at San Luis Obispo, Inna and I decided to revisit Carmel-by-the-Sea on Memorial Day. . After waking up at 07:30 and getting dressed, we drove to Carmel around 08:30 (stopping for gas at Shell). I noticed that gasoline prices have really increased recently (to $4.40/gallon for 87 unleaded) . . We arrived in Carmel-by-the-Sea around 10:00, parked our…
Read More: Returning to Carmel
To celebrate my new job at Nvidia and Inna's recent promotion at Genapsys, Inna made dinner reservations at our favorite Campbell Restaurant - Naschmarkt - for 8:00pm. . . . . We ran a bit late and had trouble finding parking, but we eventually found a spot nearby. We arrived around 8:20pm and sat outside near two excellent heaters. . After looking at the menu,…
Read More: Dinner at Naschmarkt