A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
To explore Arnold's beautiful lakes and nearby trails, Inna reserved a charming Mountain Cottage in Blue Lake Springs (via Airbnb). The cottage is located at 1709 Manzanita Drive, Arnold. . Initially, we planned to rent a kayak, but the nearby shop charged about $80/day and required a roof rack to transport the kayak. We decided to order the Explorer K2 Kayak Inflatable Kayak from Amazon.com…
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I had a free day at work and decided to surf in Capitola. Although Surfline did not report favorable conditions, I wanted to return to surfing this season. . The 40-minute drive from South San Jose to Capitola was smooth, and I arrived at the Hook Parking lot around noon. I parked and put on my wetsuit, booties, and a cheap watch. I waxed my…
Read More: First Day of Surfing at the Hook
After returning from a ball-machine session at AVAC, Inna and I decided to return to Los Gatos and visit our favorite local patisserie, Fleur de Cocoa. Inna agreed to drive her new Tesla Model Y, and I enjoyed the smooth, quiet ride. . . . When we arrived, it was pretty busy (with all the inside tables full). We also noticed that most outdoor tables…
Read More: Lunch at Teleferic
On March 30, 2022, I finally received the Tesla Model Y, which I had ordered on September 21, 2021, with the following options: . . White paint. Black interior . . Tow Hitch (for attaching mountain bike racks). . . . The Tesla Model Y was dropped off at around 4:00pm on March 30, 2022. I was contacted a few days before my delivery and…
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For Inna's birthday, I decided to treat her to a weekend of relaxation at the delightful Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga, California.. . . Due to the limited availability of dining options, Inna and I made the following restaurant reservations: . Friday, February 25, 19:45: Dinner at Evangeline, Calistoga . Saturday, February 25, 09:00: Breakfast at Solbar, Calistoga . . Saturday, February 26,…
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I made dinner reservations for Inna's birthday at Dio Deka in Los Gatos for 19:45. We arrived on time and parked on the street on Los Gatos Blvd. . . . . After ordering a Japanese Kiss cocktail (as Strawberry Margaritas were not available), Inna and I ordered Tzatziki with pita bread and Octopus to start our dinner.. . . . After sitting down and…
Read More: Inna’s Birthday Dinner at Dio Deka
I decided to try the highly-rated Asa Los Gatos restaurant for Valentine's Day. When researching restaurants, I was surprised that Asa was nearby in Los Gatos and unaware of its existence. . . . I made reservations for Monday, February 14th, at 19:45, and we arrived on time. After being seated, we looked over the menu and ordered the following dinner items:. . . Appetizer:…
Read More: Valentine’s Dinner at Asa Los Gatos
I was excited when Tony invited me to play golf at Pruneridge Golf Club. Although I took golf lessons many years ago and played miniature golf multiple times, I have never played a real game of golf. . . . . . I met Tony at the Pruneridge Golf Club parking lot at around 8:15 a.m. Very thoughtfully, Tony brought over two sets of clubs…
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Having seen The Art of the Brick Lego creations during her visit to Boston in 2014, Inna was excited when she learned of a new Art of the Brick exhibit in San Francisco. She purchased tickets in advance, for a 14:00 entrance on January 22, 2022. . . . . On Saturday, we started our drive to San Francisco around 10:50, arriving downtown around noon…
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On a mild winter day, Inna and I decided to enjoy our last day of Christmas vacation by visiting Carmel-by-the-Sea. Traffic was relatively light since it was Monday, January 3rd, and we arrived in Carmel at about 12:20. . . . . . On the way there, Inna made lunch reservations at Stationaery, one of our favorite lunch bistros (for 13:00.) Having arrived a bit…
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On Sunday, January 2nd, 2022, Inna and I decided to try eating lunch at the recently opened Epernay Bistro on Main Street in Los Gatos. . . . Since the weather outside was sunny and pleasant, we decided to eat outdoors, ordering the following items: . Boris: French Onion Soup, Truffle Fries, Cappuccino. Inna: Eggs Benedict, Cappuccino . . Although the service was a bit…
Read More: Lunch at Epernay Bistro
On Christmas Eve, Inna and I strolled through our Almaden Winery neighborhood to enjoy and delight in the elaborate Christmas ornaments set up for display. . . . For Christmas Eve, Inna ordered a few ethnic Russian favorites, including: . 'Olivye' Salad. Roasted Duck. Holodetz. Shuba. . . I really liked the Roasted Duck - it was delicious!. . . . . .
Read More: Christmas in the Neighborhood
Saturday, December 18, 2021. . On Saturday, December 18, 2021, we woke at 05:30 to prepare for the long drive to North Lake Tahoe. One of our friends offered us a room at a house on Donner Lake (near Truckee), and we planned to use it as a base to snowboard at Palisades Tahoe (formerly Squaw Valley) and at Alpine Meadows. I pre-purchased Ikon passes…
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With a Covid-19 outbreak at N.U.in London, we suggested that Alex return one week earlier from London, UK. Instead of Sunday, December 19th, we modified Alex's return flight to San Francisco for Sunday, December 12th. . . His American Airlines Flight from London's Heathrow Airport arrived on time in San Francisco (thankfully, ahead of the big winter storm heading for Northern California). . Alex almost…
Read More: Dinner at Golden Triangle
Inna found out about a Pink Martini Concert in Palo Alto (for which tickets were sold out), but she purchased excellent seats for a concert at SF Jazz (201 Franklin St, San Francisco). . . After driving to San Francisco, we decided to park at the Performing Arts Garage, where I parked my van. It seemed safer than the other parking lots nearby (due to…
Read More: Review: Pink MartiniAfter watching a few tennis instructional videos on YouTube (MyTennisHQ), I have listed tips to improve my tennis skills. . . . . . And here's another GoPro Hero4 video of my ball machine training session. . . . . Forehand Drive Issues to work on:. Keep the head still, looking through the racquet's strings to see the incoming ball. . Accelerate the racquet through…
Read More: Tennis Forehand Tips
After watching a few tennis instructional videos on Youtube (2 minutes tennis), I have listed tips to improve my tennis skills. . . . . . Here is a GoPro Hero4 video of my recent service practice. . . Open video Tennis Serve Issues to work on:. Being still before starting the serve motion . . Tossing the ball in front. More coiling, separating arms…
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For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Inna reserved the Avila La Fonda Hotel, located on the beautiful Avila Beach, California, for the two-day weekend, from Friday, October 15 to Sunday, October 17. although we have stayed at Pismo Beach multiple times, we have never stayed at Avila Beach. . . . Friday, October 15, 2021 . We started our drive to Avila Beach on Friday, October…
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For our 20th Wedding Anniversary, I made dinner reservations for 6:45pm at Flowers, Saratoga. We noticed Flowers nearby when we last dined at The Plumed Horse (for Alex's Bellarmine Graduation). It was an exquisite restaurant, and we wanted to try it.. . We arrived on time and parked in the parking lot near Plumed Horse. . . . . . After checking in, the hostess…
Read More: Anniversary Dinner at Flowers, Saratoga
On October 5, 2021, I joined the Almaden Valley Athletic Club (AVAC) to resume tennis training. The monthly membership cost is $200/month for one adult. In addition, I had to pay a $175 membership joining fee.. . . In 2020, I was well on my way to improving my tennis skills, moving from a USTA 3.0 rating to 3.5. This training involved daily training on…
Read More: Tennis at AVAC