A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
On Saturday, June 21, Inna, Alex, and I decided to hike around Saratoga. Inna found a highly rated trail on AllTrails.com, called Seven Springs Trail, and we decided to hike it. . . The trail had panoramic views of the San Francisco Bay Area, including the new Apple campus in Cupertino. The grass was all yellow (burned out), so this hike might be more scenic…
Read More: Hiking Seven Springs Trail, Saratoga
On Thursday, June 19th (a U.S. Holiday), Inna, Alex, and I decided to hike around Felton. Inna found a highly rated trail on AllTrails.com, called Fall Creek Trail, and we decided to hike it. . . We parked our car here (see Google Maps link). There was a small parking lot (but it was full), so we parked on the side of the road. .…
Read More: Hiking Fall Creek Trail, Felton
With the temperature in San Jose approaching 97 degrees Fahrenheit, we considered our escape to cooler climates. Initially, we considered visiting Crissy Field in San Francisco, but the traffic there was quite heavy (with a 90-minute drive time). . . Instead, we decided to revisit Pacifica, where temperatures were hovering around 60°F (and it was only a 50-minute drive). We loaded our Tesla Model Y…
Read More: Hike to Mori Point
For the Memorial Day weekend, Inna made reservations at the Little River Inn in Mendocino (about 200 miles north of San Jose), a 5-hour drive away. We wanted to escape the city's hustle and bustle and enjoy nature's peaceful serenity. It's been many years since we last visited Mendocino, and we were eager to get back. . . . . Friday, May 23, 2025 .…
Read More: A Short stay in Mendocino
Friday, January 3, 2025 . With Patrizia, as our local guide in Langenfeld, Inna and Alex embarked on a snowshoeing hike to the Wiesle Hut. . . Alex and Inna had a lot of fun snowshoeing in deep snow and enjoying the small desserts at the Wiesle Hut. Unfortunately, I could not join them because I was busy alpine skiing at Solden. . . Here…
Read More: Snowshoeing to Wiesle Hut
For our 10:00 hike from Aquadome, our hiking guide, Patrizia, took us to Eagle's View (Adlerblick) for panoramic views near Langenfeld, Austria. . . We were supplied with a small backpack that carried additional water, apples, and ice cleat crampons (for putting on boots). Patrizia ordered two taxis to take us to the beginning of the hike near Giles (a short distance away from Aquadome…
Read More: Hiking to Eagle’s View, Langenfeld
Monday, December 30, 2024 . Once we reached Aqua Dome in Längenfeld from the Ötztal Bahnhof (train station) using bus #320, we dropped off our 3 large suitcases and decided to grab lunch (as our room #169 was not yet ready). . . We decided to grab lunch at the cafe and sat near the bar. We ordered the following items: . . Boris: Frittatensuppe…
Read More: Relaxing at Aqua Dome, Langenfeld
Wednesday, December 25, 2024. After breakfast, we decided to head into town and try hiking the Verwall Trail around Verwall Lake (the trail starts at Hotel Mooserkreuz). . . According to our hotel's concierge and Snow-Online: . Verwall trail is considered one of the most beautiful trail sections in Austria. This 10-kilometer intermediate route starts near Hotel Mooserkreuz and leads into the scenic Verwall Valley.…
Read More: Hiking Verwall Trail in St. Anton
At noon, after checking out of H2otel / Aquadome in Unhais de Terra, we drove the Nissan Qashqai to Casal de São Simão to hike along the wooden floorboards to the famous "Passadico das Fragas de São Simão." . . Upon arrival at 14:00, we were hungry and decided to stop for lunch at Restaurante Varanda do Casal. It was an unexpectedly fancy restaurant at…
Read More: Hiking Casal De Sao Simao, Portugal
Friday, September 27, 2024 . At around 09:30, we started our one-hour drive from Unhais da Serra to Piodao. The road was extraordinarily twisty and narrow, but it had beautiful views of the surrounding hills and mountains. Some of the hills were purple (perhaps Jacaranda)? . . Upon reaching Piódão, we parked our car and added extra layers of clothing, as it was a chilly…
Read More: Hiking from Piódão to Foz d’Egua
. After many years, we returned to Felton to hike in the beautiful Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. Inna decided to follow the river to the Cathedral Redwoods. . . . We followed the Pipeline Road (which parallels River Trail) from the parking lot to the Cathedral Redwoods, a small grove of giant sequoias. It was a pleasant day to hike among the giant redwoods.…
Read More: Hiking Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park
Inna and I decided to try walking a new trail in Burlingame. She heard that the Sawyer Trail South is an easy, paved trail along the Crystal Spring Reservoir. . We arrived and parked our Tesla near the trailhead. The two-hour round-trip hike was straightforward, and we managed a breakneck pace (3/5 miles/hour). . . . It was a straightforward, enjoyable hike, and we hope…
Read More: Hiking Sawyer Camp Trail South in Burlingame
Inna and I tried hiking the Alma Trail in Bear Creek Redwoods, nearby, to burn some calories and explore nearby trails. . This was a moderate hike with significant elevation gain (1469 ft). We enjoyed the hike, but Inna was a bit tired. . . . . . . . . .
Read More: Hiking Alma Trail in Bear Creek Redwoods
After a long time, we decided to hike in Castle Rock State Park in Los Gatos. . . When we arrived, we were surprised by the large parking lot, which had been converted from gravel to a fully paved one with many paid parking spaces. . . . . . . The hike started from the parking lot, heading south toward the waterfall and westward.…
Read More: Hiking Castle Rock
While visiting Sedona and staying at the Hilton Sedona at Bell Rock on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 23, 2023, we decided to visit the famous Grand Canyon. . . . . Though we have stayed in Sedona twice before, we never found time to visit the Grand Canyon, a mere 2.5 hours away by car. On one occasion, it snowed during Thanksgiving, and the roads…
Read More: A Day trip to the Grand Canyon
. . . The Top 10 Sedona Hikes. . Devil's Bridge. Directions from Hilton Sedona. Drive north on Hwy 179, approximately 7.6 miles. . Turn left onto SR89A to Dry Creek Road. Turn right onto Dry Creek Road. . Turn right on Long Canyon Road. . Parking on the right.. Trail Info: . A moderate to strenuous 4.2-mile out-and-back trail starts with a winding trail…
Read More: Top 10 Sedona Hikes
I made a car rental reservation with Avis Car Rental through Costco Travel. The Avis Car Rental booth is conveniently located next to our Vdara Hotel in Bellagio, Las Vegas. I reserved a mid-size SUV, intending to pick it up on Wednesday morning, November 22. I planned to drive to Sedona with a stop at the Grand Canyon and an eventual car drop-off at Phoenix's…
Read More: Return to Sedona
Tuesday, October 3, 2023. Castelmezano is a member of the I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy") association, and the grand views around the village certainly warrant that lofty claim. . . . In the morning, we woke at 7:30, showered, and dressed. We had to pack our clothes to prepare for the drive to Matera. . . . Before leaving…
Read More: Hiking the Path of the Seven Stones
Inna originally booked a boat tour for my birthday, but an unfavorable marine forecast necessitated rescheduling. Instead, we decided to hike the world-famous Path of the Gods (Sentiero Degli Dei). . We woke up at 7:00 a.m., showered, and walked to our favorite Gentile Cafe for a quick Italian breakfast of pastries and cappuccinos. I also stopped by the nearby Deutsche Bank to withdraw 200.00…
Read More: Hiking Path of the Gods
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…
Read More: A Weekend in Arnold