A digital travel diary. · WP v1.22 · Updated
On Saturday evening, September 12, we returned to Laguna Beach from our short stay in Las Vegas. After unloading our Sienna minivan, Inna and I ate dinner in downtown Laguna Beach.. . . . . . At first, we decided to try Wild Taco on Ocean Avenue. We found a cozy table outside and looked at the menu. Since no one came around to take…
Read More: Returning to Laguna Beach
Since March 2020, Alex has been trying to retake the A.C.T. test for college admission. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, all of these registered tests in California have been canceled.. . . . . . When the air quality in San Jose deteriorated due to nearby fires, we rented a house at Laguna Beach to escape the horrible, smoky air and take advantage of the work-from-home…
Read More: Vegas, Baby!
Bay Area wildfires pushed our local Air Quality Index (AQI) from its usual 25–30 to over 160 on several days. Hiking and mountain biking were out, and even short walks around our neighborhood or Vasona Lake became unpleasant because of the smoke and my coughing. . . . . . . Since all of us were working from home, I thought about places to get…
Read More: Laguna Beach Workation
Friday, July 31, 2020 . . . It was finally time for our small mini-vacation to Pismo Beach for surfing and relaxation. Inna and I woke up at 07:30 and loaded the Toyota Sienna minivan with our surfboards, wetsuits, and beach toys.. . After a delicious breakfast (Inna made some crepes with caviar), we embarked on the 3-hour drive to Pismo Beach. The drive was…
Read More: Relaxing at Pismo Beach
With Andy Brandt's ABK Clinic canceled due to COVID-19, I took some time off work to enjoy the best season winds at Sherman Island. July is usually the most consistent time for strong winds.. . . Sunday, July 26, 2020 . . . . My week of windsurfing began on Sunday, July 26. After waking up at 05:45, I drove early to Sherman Island, arriving…
Read More: Windsurfing at Sherman Island
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. We had never visited Morro Bay and liked…
Read More: Exploring Morro Bay
Since Alex, a junior in high school, will be graduating from Bellarmine College Prep next year, we decided to tour well-respected colleges and universities in Southern California that he is considering applying to.. . Our plan was as follows:. . Date . College / Activity Tour Time Hotel Location . Feb 15 Saturday Cal Poly (on the drive to LA) Kimpton Hotel, LA . Feb…
Read More: Southern California College Tour
I originally planned to leave San Jose by 13:00 for the December return trip to Mammoth Mountain, arriving in Mammoth Lakes around 19:00.. . . . However, due to Bay Area traffic and road closures on 89 South (which Google Maps did not initially anticipate), we had to drive farther on 89 East, then follow 395 South to Mammoth. Fortunately, the roads were reasonably clean,…
Read More: Back to Mammoth Mountain
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
We have been away from Hawaii, especially Oahu, for so very long. The last time we visited Oahu was during the week of July 4, 2010. While in Oahu, we always stayed in the Waikiki area (Hilton Hawaiian Village).. . . . This time, Inna found excellent airfares on Alaska Airlines, but we stayed at the Turtle Bay Resort on Oahu's North Shore. We also…
Read More: Relaxing on Oahu’s North Shore
Last year (2018), I took my first windsurfing lesson with Andy Brandt of the ABK Windsurfing Clinic at Sherman Island. I have been primarily self-taught in windsurfing (and had picked up many bad habits along the way). Andy significantly improved my sailing technique, and I was eager to become more proficient, especially in planing jibes, duck jibes, and tacking. . . . Day 1 -…
Read More: ABK Windsurfing Clinic at Sherman Island
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
My son has always talked about the beautiful powder conditions at Mammoth Mountain Ski Resort, but I never had the opportunity to go there. However, with his high school ski week vacation from February 17-22, I decided to see if it would be possible to visit Mammoth Mountain.. . At first, I considered driving there, but the 6.5-hour trip from San Jose would be tedious…
Read More: Chasing Mammoth Powder
I have always dreamed of snowboarding or skiing in Switzerland, so when an opportunity presented itself, I decided to seize it.. . . . . . From the many possible Swiss resorts, I selected Verbier based on feedback from a Swiss citizen who has lived there. My alternatives included Zermatt, Chamonix in France, and St. Anton am Arlberg in Austria.. . . . Since I…
Read More: Snowboarding Verbier
We changed our Christmas plans from Paris to Turin, combining city sightseeing with snowboarding in Italy and Switzerland. . When Inna discovered inexpensive round-trip airline tickets to Paris, we planned to visit for one week during Christmas, followed by a week of snowboarding in either France (Chamonix) or nearby Switzerland (Verbier or Zermatt). With these plans in mind, we made a reservation at a lovely…
Read More: Exploring Turin
For my 50th Birthday, Inna arranged a secret trip to New York City! She did not tell me about it, making it difficult to guess her intended destination.. . We last visited New York during the Christmas break in 2016. We had a fantastic time (despite a couple of freezing spells).. . . . We were scheduled to fly out of San Jose International Airport…
Read More: Fall in New York City
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
We arrived at Kyoto Station from Kanazawa (our last major stop on our two-week tour of Japan). We removed our luggage from the train and headed to the Kyoto subway station to get closer to our Mitsui Garden Hotel. The hotel was near our subway stop at Karasuma Oike Station. I was relieved that my Pasmo travel card still worked in the subway!. . .…
Read More: Delicious Kyoto
After five days in Tokyo, we were eager to explore the Japanese countryside and the Nagano prefecture. The Nagano region is well-known for excellent summer hiking and exceptional winter snow-powder conditions (a dream destination for snowboarding).. . We boarded a limited-express train from Shinjuku Station to Matsumoto in Nagano, Japan, where we planned to stay two nights.. . . . When we arrived in Matsumoto…
Read More: Charming Matsumoto
We finally made our family trip to Japan, beginning in Tokyo after finding an unusually good fare for June. . I have always wanted to visit Japan, but airline tickets from San Jose to Tokyo have always been out of reach. However, Inna found an exceptional offer ($439 round-trip) for June, so she purchased 3 tickets on Japan Airlines (JAL) from Los Angeles to Tokyo…
Read More: Terrific Tokyo