A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
After helping Alex move his belongings to his new digs in San Francisco, Inna and I decided to see the Monet in Venice exhibit at the de Young Museum. Today was the last day of the exhibition, and we managed to get tickets for the 10:30 showing. . . We really enjoyed the exhibition, though it was crowded.. . . . Here is a nice…
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After checking the iwindsurf.com pro forecast, which had a very favorable outlook for Saturday's wind, I decided to wingfoil at Coyote Point in San Mateo. . . . . . On arrival at Coyote Point (a 45-minute drive from San Jose) via US-101, the wind was showing as 15 knots. The forecast called for 20 knots by 15:00, but I didn't believe it. . I…
Read More: Wing Foiling at Coyote Point
I had heard of The Sound of Music for many years, but I had never felt a strong desire to see it. Given its enduring reputation as one of the world's most beloved musicals, I became curious and decided to see if it was playing anywhere nearby. Fortunately, I discovered that The Sound of Music was coming to the San Jose Center for the Performing…
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After checking the iwindsurf.com pro forecast, which had a very favorable outlook for Saturday's wind, I decided to wingfoil at Coyote Point in San Mateo. . . . . . On arrival at Coyote Point (a 45-minute drive from San Jose) via US-101, the wind was 12 knots (much lower than forecast). A few wing foilers and windsurfers were putting around, but no one was…
Read More: A Windy Day at Coyote Point
The Almaden Valley Athletic Club, where I am a member, was celebrating its 50th anniversary on May 30th, and I decided to attend with my wife. . . According to ChatGPT:. . The founding story of Almaden Valley Athletic Club is closely tied to two longtime friends, Jim Theiring and Joe Shank, who grew up together in Coos Bay, Oregon. . In 1974, Jim and…
Read More: Celebrating AVAC 50th Anniversary
After checking the iwindsurf.com pro forecast, I decided to wing foil at Coyote Point in San Mateo. . . . . . On arrival at Coyote Point (a 45-minute drive from San Jose) via US-101, the wind was showing as 15 knots. I decided to rig my brand-new Duotone Slick SLS 5.5m wing. . . Wing Foiling Gear . Board: Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra…
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After checking out of the Airbnb in Forestville, we drove for about 45 minutes to Jenner Headlands Preserve. . . We decided to do a short, 4.5-mile loop from sea to sky. It took us about two hours, and we saw cows, horses, and many birds along the way. . . . . For lunch, we first stopped at Cafe Aquatica, but our friends wanted…
Read More: Hiking Jenner Headlands Preserve
On Sunday morning, after breakfast, we decided to hike a few trails at the nearby Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve (about a 20-minute drive from our Airbnb home in Forestville). . . On arrival at the park at around 10:30, we noticed a long line of cars trying to get in, with many cars parked on the road. We decided to try parking on the…
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For Memorial Day weekend, we decided to join our friends at a house in Forestville (on the Russian River), with a stop to kayak with Burke's Canoe Trips. I had called Burke's one day earlier to make reservations for two kayaks: one two-seater for Inna and me, and one single-seater for Alex. We were told to arrive before 11:00, as it usually took 3-3.5 hours…
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We had eaten at Gary Danko twenty years ago and decided to try again. Inna had made dinner reservations for Saturday, May 16, at 19:15 (the only time she could find, as the restaurant is extremely popular and needs to be booked in advance). . . We had actually arrived earlier (at 18:00) and were hoping to get an earlier seating. Still, the restaurant was…
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With a strong wind forecast (20-30 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I was anticipating epic conditions at Crissy Field. . . . I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started our drive to San Francisco around 11:00, arriving at Crissy Field at 12:40. . After finding a nice place to park (with a lawn nearby for assembling the foil and wing), we…
Read More: Second Day Wing Foiling at Crissy
For Mother's Day, I made dinner reservations at Dio Deka, our favorite Greek restaurant in Los Gatos. It used to be a Michelin 1-Star restaurant (but not any longer). . After parking near the restaurant, we walked over and were seated outside. It was the first time we had ever sat on the patio at Dio Deka (near the fountain), and we really enjoyed it.…
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Inna purchased tickets to the "From Me to You" concert featuring Andrey Makarevich (from Mashina Vremeni) and Laima Vaikule. The concert was held at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts at 19:00. . I was not familiar with Laima Vaikule, so I was curious about her and the combined concert with Andrey. . Andrey Makarevich — legendary rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for poetic…
Read More: Makarevich & Vaikule “From Me to You”I've been waiting for the right wind conditions to start my wing foiling season in San Francisco, and finally got the opportunity today. The iwindsurf.com forecast initially had very favorable winds (as reported on Friday), but showed less favorable SW winds on Saturday morning (NW winds are best). . . I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear (having assembled the Foil…
Read More: First Day Wing Foiling at Crissy
Inna had pre-purchased two tickets to the Hearst Castle's Grand Rooms Tour for Saturday, May 2, at 11:20. We arrived at 11:15, and our tour bus was already loading. We ended up being seated in the back. . . A Visit to Hearst Castle: Grandeur, Art, and the Collector’s Trophy Room . Big Rooms Tour Experience. . Few places in America capture ambition, extravagance, and…
Read More: Hearst Castle, Cambria
Friday, May 1, 2026 . After returning from work, Inna and I quickly packed and set out on our long drive to Cambria, CA (on California's central coast). We had planned to visit Hearst Castle and enjoy the area for the weekend. . Our route was mostly on US-101, and there was heavy traffic. We arrived a bit later than we expected, at around 19:40.…
Read More: A Trip to Cambria
Inna and I decided to explore Half Moon Bay, which we have been neglecting. She has made a lunch reservation for 13:15 at the By The Teashore teahouse (which had recently opened to rave reviews). . We started our drive to Half Moon Bay at 11:15 on a lightly drizzly Sunday morning. Traffic was light, and we parked on Half Moon Bay's Main Street at…
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On the spur of the moment, Inna purchased two tickets to Angélique Kidjo's concert at Stanford's Bing Hall, for Saturday, April 25, at 20:00. . . . Before the concert, we stopped by for dinner at the newly opened Zaytinya Palo Alto (Mediterranean Restaurant). . . Right before dinner, we learned of a shooting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It made us a bit…
Read More: Angelique Kidjo at Bing Concert Hall, Stanford
I have always enjoyed listening to the 3 Italian Tenors (Il Volo) and was delighted to learn of their concert in San Jose. I purchased tickets for O1/2 seats in section 101 (excellent seating) of the San Jose Civic Center. . . In general, the San Jose Civic Center is not the best place for musical concerts, as the acoustics are mediocre and the seats…
Read More: Il Volo World Tour at San Jose Civic Center
I had really enjoyed reading Andy Weir's bestselling novel Project Hail Mary, and was delighted to learn that a movie was being made (just like The Martian). . . . Since it had excellent reviews, Inna and I decided to see it at the Cinemark CinéArts Santana Row movie theater. We chose the 15:25 showing and stopped by at the Augustine cafe (for cappuccinos) before…
Read More: Project Hail Mary