A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
On November 20, 2021, Inna and I revisited Sedona, Arizona. We last visited Sedona on November 28, 2019 (before COVID-19) and were eager to hike some of our favorites again. . Since the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock was much more expensive, Inna and I decided to try the Lantern Light Inn instead. We also booked Southwest Airlines Flight #2316 from SJC to PHX,…
Read More: Back to Sedona
On Saturday morning, we decided to enjoy one of our last COVID-19 days (before another lockdown) by visiting Point Lobos State Park and hiking to the famous Allan Memorial Grove, which overlooks the Pacific Ocean. . . The drive to Point Lobos was easy, with little traffic on Highway 101 heading south. We arrived around 11:20 am, parked inside the Point Lobos State Natural Reserve,…
Read More: Hiking Point Lobos State Reserve
On Sunday, November 22, 2020, Inna and I decided to hike the trails of the nearby Sanborn County Park in Saratoga, CA. We drove to the Costanoan Group Area parking lot and parked our car there.. . We walked to the Sequoia/Person Grove Picnic area from the parking lot, taking photos of the beautiful trees.. . . . The fall's yellow and red leaves were…
Read More: Hiking Sanborn County Park
Having last hiked the Dipsea Trail in September 2016, I was eager to experience the raw beauty of untouched wilderness again. I was especially keen to revisit the rainforest, with its lush vegetation and moss-covered trees. . . Although the Dipsea Trail has multiple entrances, I decided to start the hike from the intersection of Highway 1 and Arenal Avenue in Stinson Beach. The trail…
Read More: Hiking Dipsea Trail
With the California wildfires raging and the air quality in San Jose in the 150+ (unhealthy range), according to PurpleAir, Inna and I decided to escape the smoke and haze by hiking in Pacifica.. . . . The drive from San Jose to Pacifica was uneventful, taking about 45 minutes. We parked at Mori Point (the parking lot there was closed). From there, we hiked…
Read More: Hiking Pacifica
With July 4, Independence Day (a 4-day weekend) rapidly approaching, Inna and I were considering various travel options. We really wanted to get away from San Jose, but the increased incidence of COVID-19 made planning for a getaway difficult.. . Considering various alternatives, including Mendocino, Lake Tahoe, Bear Valley, and Morro Bay, we decided on Morro Bay. Having never visited Morro Bay, we liked exploring…
Read More: Exploring Morro Bay
Having never been to Sedona or the Grand Canyon, my wife decided it would be fun to travel to Arizona during the upcoming Thanksgiving Holiday. She found inexpensive airline tickets on Southwest Airlines from San Jose to Phoenix, Flight #1984, departing at 7:35 p.m. from San Jose and arriving in Phoenix at 10:25 p.m.. . . . She looked into several hotels and resorts and…
Read More: Exploring Sedona
It's been a long time since we last visited Santa Barbara (September 1, 2012), and we decided to revisit the beautiful city during the July 4 Independence Day weekend.. . Since I had loaded the car the previous day, we could depart early (before 08:00), avoiding the usually heavy holiday traffic.. . . . On the way there, we planned to stop at various scenic…
Read More: Road Trip to Santa Barbara
We were sore from the previous day's hike to Chilnualna Falls, so we decided to hike a flatter, more relaxing trail.. . . . Inna found an exciting hike to Wapama Falls, starting from Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.. . . . When we woke up, we initially planned to eat breakfast at our new local favorite breakfast spot - Pony Expresso Coffee House & Roasting. However,…
Read More: Hiking Wapama Falls Trail, Yosemite
In the morning, we decided to try eating breakfast at our Best Western Plus in Mariposa. However, we were not very impressed when we explored the dining options available. Besides cold cereal and scrambled eggs, there was not much to tempt us to stay.. . . . . Instead, we decided to try the Pony Espresso Coffee House, a mile away (still in Mariposa). I…
Read More: Hiking Chilnualna Falls Trail, Yosemite
Since my last visit to Yosemite National Park was 6 years ago (in 2013), Inna and I decided to re-visit the park during the off-season (spring) to re-acquaint ourselves with beautiful hikes, spectacular waterfalls, and tall redwoods and pines.. . . . We started our drive from San Jose to Yosemite Valley on Friday, April 19, 2019, at 8:30 am, through Hollister (152 East), encountering…
Read More: Hiking Mirror Lake Trail, Yosemite
Today, Inna and I decided to hike the John Nicholas trail in Sanborn County Park. Although I usually mountain bike ride there, it might also be a great place to walk on a hot summer day since the numerous redwoods and other trees provide a lot of shade.. . . . My Strava information recorded the 10-mile hike below. The hike took us 3.5 hours…
Read More: Hiking John Nicholas Trail
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 Drive
In the morning, after checking San Francisco and Santa Cruz weather, we decided to drive to San Francisco's Presidio and hike around to the Golden Gate Bridge.. . . . We have previously hiked the Lands End Trail, but we wanted to try a different hike this time. After looking at the list of possible hikes on Alltrails, we decided to hike the Presidio Promenade…
Read More: Hiking Presidio and visiting The Legion of Honor
. . . . After eating a delicious breakfast at Dorfladen Ehenbichler Bakery on Schulweg 14, we headed for a treetop adventure on the Austria-Germany border called Baumkronenweg Ziegelwies. . . . . . . In the first part, we walked above the treetops on long wooden platforms overlooking the nearby Lech River. This was a concise walk, taking about 10-15 minutes. After finishing the…
Read More: Hiking Füssen
. . . . We enjoyed a delicious early morning breakfast at the Aqua Dome Hotel – one of the best we’ve ever had!. . . . . There was fresh bread, pastries, cheeses, eggs, and fruits.. . . . The cold-cut selection was excellent, and all the meats were fresh and delicious! . . . The quality of the food was better than that…
Read More: Exploring Nordkette, Alpine Zoo, and Innsbruck
. In the morning, after breakfast of cereal and cold cuts, we drove to Stubnerkogel Mountain in Bad Gastein to walk on the suspension bridge and hike around the top.. . . . After getting on the gondola, we exited at the top and walked to some amazing overlooks into the valley below.. . . . At first, we could not find the suspension bridge…
Read More: Hiking in Bad Gastein, Dorfgastein, and Werfen
Who knew that there was a nearby wildlife refuge in North San Jose?. . Steve Stolper suggested I join him on his bird-watching hike on the Mallard Slough Trail at the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge in Milpitas?. . We met Steve at 1751 Grand Blvd, Alviso, CA 95002, where a parking lot leads to a small Educational Center.. . . . We saw many interesting…
Read More: Bird watching at Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge
After waking up at 7:00 am and quickly showering, we dressed and headed for breakfast at our Best Western Plus. I was surprised at how busy it was at 8:00 am; everyone had the same idea of getting an early start on breakfast.. . . . There was not a lot of variety at Best Western (but at least it was free), so Alex decided…
Read More: Hiking Humboldt Redwoods State Park
On Saturday, May 27, we started our long drive from San Jose to Garberville and Shelter Cove (aka the Lost Coast).. . There was a lot of traffic on I-880 and US-101, so we stopped by for lunch at a well-regarded (according to Yelp) eatery - Sarah's Sweets and Eats in Petaluma.. . I ordered a delicious Pastrami Reuben sandwich, while Inna ordered the Monte…
Read More: Exploring the Lost Coast