A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
Elton John was one of the first rock musicians I heard of growing up. In fact, I recall that "Your Song," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Crocodile Rock" were some of the first songs I heard played on my dad's record player.. . . . I have seen two other Elton shows - the Elton John's Made in England Tour in Tacoma Dome, Washington, on…
Read More: Review: Farewell Yellow Brick Road
With Ms. Diane Wyant as the new music director at Bellarmine College Prep, I was eager to hear all the new arrangements and pieces prepared for the symphonic band.. . . . The Winter Concert started out with the performance of the newly formed Bellarmine Chamber Orchestra, playing the following three compositions:. . Bellarmine Chamber Orchestra. "Forever Joyful!" by Brian Belmages . "A Soldier's Hymn"…
Read More: A Winter Concert at Bellarmine
After dropping off Alex at this Speech & Debate tournament at Los Gatos High School, I had a couple of hours to burn off some fat at the Almaden Quicksilver County Park.. . . . I arrived at the Hacienda Entrance around 7:50 a.m., but the park entrance was still closed. A ranger came around 7:55 a.m., opening the gate so I could park my…
Read More: Biking Almaden Quicksilver County Park
For our 17th Wedding Anniversary, we decided to have a nice, romantic dinner at the Evvia Restaurant in Palo Alto. At first, I made dinner reservations at 21:00 on Sunday, October 14th (using OpenTable), but I could book an earlier time (by calling the restaurant directly).. . The last time we dined at Evvia was on Bella's 83rd birthday, and we enjoyed our dinner a…
Read More: Anniversary Dinner at Evvia
Alex had been making excellent surfing progress on his 6' Firewire Spitfire board. He surfed on it in various conditions at "The Hook" and Pleasure Point in Capitola. However, on Saturday, October 13th, feeling confident about his abilities, he decided to try surfing at the famous "Steamer Lane" surfing spot in Santa Cruz (near the Lighthouse).. . Alex encountered 6-8 foot waves at Steamer Lane,…
Read More: Disaster at Steamer Lane
Since returning from our incredible summer trip to Japan (where we tasted the most delicious ramen at a small restaurant in Matsumoto), we have been looking for a similar experience in San Jose. One of my co-workers suggested I try the Hokkaido Ramen Santouka place at the Mitsui Marketplace (Japanese grocery store) nearby.. . Although I lived nearby, I have never been inside Mitsui Marketplace.…
Read More: Eating Ramen at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
I finally saw Shakira's El Dorado concert at SAP San Jose today. The concert was initially planned for February, but due to Shakira's vocal problems, it was rescheduled for September 6.. . . I like listening to some of Shakira's songs during my fitness workouts, so I hope to feel some energy during the show. Although she does not have a strong voice, she is…
Read More: Review: Shakira El Dorado
After early morning breakfast, we decided to enjoy a beautiful day of hiking on West Cliff Drive in Santa Cruz. When we arrived there at 10:30 am, the weather was a bit cold and overcast, with a temperature of 60 F.. . . . Eventually, as we approached Natural Bridges State Beach (1.8 miles from the Santa Cruz Lighthouse), the clouds cleared up, and beautiful…
Read More: Hiking West Cliff DriveSince the surf forecast in Santa Cruz was poor, I decided to ride my Specialized FSR mountain bike at my usual Almaden Quicksilver County Park.. . . . I arrived at the Hacienda Entrance at around 9:30 and pumped up the tires on my bike (which were flat). I put on my Aukey Latitude Bluetooth headphones and started the Strava app on my Apple watch…
Read More: Biking Almaden Quicksilver County Park
Alex was getting used to his Firewire Spitfire 6' surfboard and had another fantastic surfing session at "The Hook" in Capitola, CA.. . . . I also hoped to try out my used Firewire Spitfire 6'6" surfboard (45-liter) that I recently acquired, but I was too tired from yesterday's surfing to continue.. . After a short hike to Capitola, I returned to "The Hook" around…
Read More: Surfing at “The Hook”
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
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
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
Since iwindsurf.com was reporting epic windy conditions at Crissy Field in San Francisco, I decided to try windsurfing there. I initially hoped to sail at Waddell Creek, but the forecast was less favorable.. . . . . . The traffic was quite heavy, but I found plentiful windsurfing parking (on a green lawn, no less) on the east beach. I was surprised that many people…
Read More: Crankin’ at Crissy Field
Today, I finally got to windsurf my Goya 84-liter quad custom waveboard in really windy conditions.. . When I arrived at Coyote Point, I saw a few sailors on 5.7m+ sails, so I decided to sail my tried-and-true Mistral Flow 276. However, when a few sailors returned, they reported crazy winds in the channel - of up to 30+ knots. They were all rigging down…
Read More: Windsurfing Coyote Point’s High Winds
We decided to have a fun family day at the Emerald Hills Golfland in South San Jose. In the past, Inna used to beat everyone, with Alex and I trailing by a few shots.. . On this particular occasion, I played unusually well (at least consistently) and made a few errors.. . . . Inna and Alex played equally well, eventually tying for second place..…
Read More: Fun at Emerald Hills Golfland
Today, I listened to the "Jazz in the Spring Concert" at Bellarmine College Prep's Sobrato Mainstage Theater, where my son plays the trumpet as a freshman. The music program was extensive, but it was sad since Frank and Diane Wyant left Bellarmine. . . Ryan Stohs was substituting for Frank and Diane Wyant.. . . . Alex played trumpet in the first three compositions (as…
Read More: Jazz in the Spring at Bellarmine
Since I recently purchased a Goya 84L Custom waveboard and an Ezzy Elite 4.0 wave sail, I have been eager to try them out.. . . . Checking the wind forecast on iWindsurf.com, I noticed that high winds were expected at Coyote Point (and many other sailing sites in the San Francisco Bay area). I headed to Coyote Point (closest to me) and rigged my…
Read More: Windsurfing Coyote Point
Since my son wanted to learn windsurfing, I signed him up for 2-day windsurfing lessons at Boardsports in Alameda.. . Due to lighter morning winds, sandy beaches, and relatively shallow waters, I was told it was the most desirable location for beginners.. . . . On Saturday, May 5, the windsurfing lesson started at 10:00 am and ended at 1:00 pm.. . . . The…
Read More: Windsurfing Lessons at Alameda