A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
For Thanksgiving, Inna decided against cooking and instead selected the nearby Lele Kitchen restaurant for the main dinner. She made reservations for Thursday, November 27, at 16:00. . . . . We ordered the Thanksgiving "Trust the Chef 7-Course Menu" as follows:. . Bread (freshly baked from a 38-year-old starter). Pie Tees x2 (Boris, Inna). Oysters x1 (Alex). Chestnut Soup x3. Trout Draniki x2 (Boris,…
Read More: Thanksgiving Dinner at Lele
After a short stroll around Vasona Lake, on a beautiful fall day in San Jose, we decided to eat an early dinner at our favorite Orchard City Kitchen in nearby Campbell. I booked the 17:15 time slot on OpenTable, but it was unnecessary since that time was not busy. . . . . After sitting outdoors, we looked at the updated menu and ordered the…
Read More: Dinner at Orchard City KitchenMy wife purchased tickets to the Some Like It Hot! musical playing at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts on Sunday, October 25, 2025. . Before attending the performance, we decided to stop by Scott's Seafood in downtown San Jose for dinner. While traffic was light, we had difficulty finding inexpensive parking. The outdoor parking lot near the San Jose Center for the…
Read More: Some Like It Hot! in San Jose
Friday, September 26, 2025. For my birthday, Inna arranged a weekend getaway to Carmel-by-the-Sea with tickets to the Monterey Jazz Festival on Saturday (a big, unexpected surprise for me). . We finished work early, packed our suitcases, and started the drive to Carmel-by-the-Sea. Usually, it takes about 75 minutes to reach Carmel, but there was heavy traffic with multiple slowdowns. We eventually reached Carmel at…
Read More: Monterey Jazz Festival
For my birthday, Inna made dinner reservations at Dio Deka, our favorite Greek restaurant in Los Gatos. Fortunately, Alex was in town for his job interview and could join us for dinner. . . After parking near Los Gatos High School, we walked over and were seated inside. We looked at the menu and ordered the following items: . Appetizer: Soutzoukakia (over-baked lamb and beef…
Read More: Birthday Dinner at Dio Deka
Friday, August 29, 2025 . . About a week ago, Inna and I decided to visit North Lake Tahoe (Incline Village) during the Labor Day weekend, when we would have Monday, September 1, off as a company holiday. Inna had made hotel reservations at the Incline Lodge for 3 nights and dinner reservations at a couple of restaurants (Soule Domain and Big Water Grille). .…
Read More: Back to Incline Village, Lake Tahoe
After my wing foiling session at Coyote Point, I drove to Palo Alto, where Inna had made dinner reservations for 18:00 at the highly-rated Ettan Indian Restaurant. . . We had eaten at Ettan last year and thoroughly enjoyed it. Ettan is extremely popular and challenging to reserve on short notice. . . After I had parked my Toyota Sienna in a nearby parking garage,…
Read More: Dinner at Ettan, Palo Alto
Since Alex was leaving for Georgia Tech (Atlanta, GA), we decided to treat him to dinner (and to celebrate his birthday, which we missed). . . . I found Joey Valley Fair on Google Maps and was surprised to see so many high ratings (for a local restaurant I had never heard of). I was intrigued, and Inna and I made reservations while we were…
Read More: Dinner at Joey Valley Fair
Sunday, August 10, 2025. . Start: #351, Cameron House, A82, Loch Lomond, Alexandria G83 8QZ, Scotland . End: #316, Courtyard Marriott, Keflavik, Iceland. Highlights: Lava Restaurant, Blue Lagoon . After waking up around 08:30, I showered and dressed. When Inna was ready, we walked downstairs, into the long corridor leading to our breakfast buffet. . . . . At around 09:00, we joined the queue…
Read More: Enjoying Blue Lagoon, Iceland (August 10)
Saturday, July 26, 2025. Starting: Hotel Island & Spa, Reykjavik, Iceland . Ending: Hotel Island & Spa, Reykjavik, Iceland . . Highlights: Hallgrimskirkja Church, Einar Johnson Museum, Harpa Concert Hall, Magic Ice Reykjavík, Sky Lagoon . . . . After a restful night of sleep, I woke at 07:30, showered, shaved, and dressed. After Inna awoke and dressed, we decided to try following a one-day…
Read More: Exploring Reykjavík, Iceland (July 26)
In 2017, Inna visited Iceland with a Photofly Group tour. She raved about the beautiful waterfalls, hikes, and natural wonders, and urged me to consider Iceland for our next trip. Last year, we finally found an opportunity to plan a journey of our own, with an additional stop in Scotland. . . . . . Inna booked excellent business-class airline tickets from San Francisco to…
Read More: Exploring Reykjavík, Iceland (July 25)
With iwindsurf.com showing a favorable wind forecast for Saturday, June 7, 2025, Inna and I decided to drive to San Francisco so that I could wing foil at Crissy Field, and she could explore the various neighborhoods. . . I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my wing-foiling gear and started the drive around 10:15. There was usual traffic on the way, and…
Read More: Wing Foiling at Crissy Field
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
Inna made one-day hotel reservations at the Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay for the April 5 - 6 weekend. She wanted us to explore Monterey, Carmel, and Point Lobos Natural Reserve. . Saturday, April 5, 2025 . At around 09:30, we started our long drive to Monterey via US-101. Traffic was relatively light, and we arrived at the Alta Bakery & Cafe at…
Read More: A Weekend in Monterey
We haven't been to Carmel-by-the-Sea in a while, so we decided to revisit it on Saturday. . . After getting ready, we drove to Monterey at 09:30. We stopped for coffee and breakfast at the Alta Bakery & Cafe. We arrived at 10:30, parked nearby, and walked over. A long line stretched to the door, so we queued up. About twenty minutes later, we ordered…
Read More: A Day Trip to Carmel
For Inna's birthday, I had planned a two-day getaway to Calistoga, featuring rest & relaxation at the Indian Springs Resort & Spa and entertainment at Blue Note Napa, where one of her favorite flamenco guitarists, Ottmar Liebert, was performing. . Friday, February 21, 2025. After Inna and I finished work, we started our drive to Indian Springs Resort & Spa in Calistoga. There was some…
Read More: A Short Getaway to Calistoga
On President's Day, Inna and I decided to visit a few shops in Palo Alto, then walk around Stanford University's campus. . . We first stopped by De Novo Fine Contemporary Jewelry, but it was closed on Presidents' Day. The nearby Marvel Cake bakery was also closed. . We decided to stop by Cafe Venetia for coffee and pastries. We found a table outside and…
Read More: Walking around Stanford
After my usual Sunday morning tennis (from 9:00 to 10:30 at Almaden Valley Athletic Club, we decided to drive to San Francisco and explore the city. Inna also purchased tickets to the "Dear San Francisco" show at Club Fugazi at 18:00. . . When we arrived in San Francisco at 13:00, we parked at Crissy Field (where I usually wing foil and windsurf). We talked…
Read More: Dear San Francisco at Club Fugazi
Inna and I planned a two-day weekend at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa from Friday, January 31, to Sunday, February 2, 2025. However, due to the impending rain system (aka Pineapple Express), we decided to shorten the trip to one day. . Friday, January 31, 2025 . We started the long drive to Sonoma in the late afternoon. There were periods of heavy…
Read More: One Night in Sonoma