A digital travel diary. · WP v1.08 · Updated
With time running out for the once-a-year Bouquets to Art Show at the de Young Museum in San Francisco, we decided to visit the beautifully arranged flowers next to fine paintings and sculptures.. . . . We had difficulty finding parking when we arrived at Golden Gate Park, near the de Young Museum. Eventually, we found an open spot and walked to the museum. A…
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Having sailed on my 1999 Mistral Flow Classic 276 for 19 years, it was time for an update. I tried out the Fanatic Freewave STB 95-liter version at the ABK Windsurfing Camp on Sherman Island in July and thought it was a nice board but lacking volume for lighter wind days.. . The Stubby, as it is affectionately known, has a unique outline with no…
Read More: Windsurfing Coyote Point
The sorry state of the world gives us a new reason to appreciate the depth of feeling so powerfully, so ingeniously embedded in "Fiddler on the Roof," the much-loved and much-revived 1964 musical comedy that is touring the country and visiting San Jose from May 21 - 26, 2019.. . . . . The touring production, currently playing at the San Jose Center for the…
Read More: Review: Fiddler on the Roof at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
Although I have seen Aladdin previously at Disney's California Adventure Theme Park, I have never seen the entire production on stage. Since Inna also wanted to see it, I purchased 3 tickets for the Aladdin Touring show at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts. . . . I would have preferred to have seen the musical on Broadway (since Broadway shows tend to employ…
Read More: Review: Aladdin at the San Jose Center for the Performing Arts
After many weeks of constant rains, it was finally time to mountain bike in my favorite local Almaden Quicksilver County Park. . . . . . . The whole park was as green as I've ever seen it. Here is my Strava.com feedback: . . Ride . Biking Almaden Quicksilver . 8:45 AM on Sunday, April 14, 2019 · Santa Clara County, California . Distance…
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After a long, rainy winter, we visited Filoli Gardens to observe and photograph the latest blooming flowers. According to Filoli, the following flowers bloomed: tulips, camellias, and daffodils.. . . . When we arrived at around 1:00 p.m., we had to circle around the parking lot a few times to find an open space. Having parked the minivan, we queued in a long line to…
Read More: Early blooms at Filoli Gardens
On the spur of the moment, Inna purchased tickets for the Klezmer musical "Old Stock - A Refugee Love Story," playing for only 2 days at the Bing Hall at Stanford University. . . . . . A brief Synopsis according to Sydney Festival:. A dark, funny and high-energy klezmer-folk tale inspired by the real-life story of two Romanian Jews seeking refuge in Canada in…
Read More: Review: Old Stock – A Refugee Love Story
I originally purchased tickets for the Cirque du Soleil Volta production on Wednesday, February 27. Still, Inna had an evening class scheduled, and I was forced to sell our tickets to the show.. . . . . . However, a bit later, Inna found tickets for the March 12 show and purchased them. . We really enjoyed the show and all of the incredible acrobatics..…
Read More: Review: Cirque du Soleil Volta
Plot Summary:. . With the Spanish-American War over, newspaper sales were down, and Joseph Pulitzer decided to increase the price that newspaper boys pay for 100 newspapers from 50 to 60 cents. The boys (many of them orphans), loosely organized, decide to strike to force Joseph Pulitzer (and other newspaper publishers) to back down. With the help of Governor Theodore Roosevelt, the newsies eventually prevailed..…
Read More: Review: Newsies at Bellarmine
Elton John was one of the first rock musicians I heard of growing up. In fact, I recall that "Your Song," "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," and "Crocodile Rock" were some of the first songs I heard played on my dad's record player.. . . . I have seen two other Elton shows - the Elton John's Made in England Tour in Tacoma Dome, Washington, on…
Read More: Review: Farewell Yellow Brick Road
With Ms. Diane Wyant as the new music director at Bellarmine College Prep, I was eager to hear all the new arrangements and pieces prepared for the symphonic band.. . . . The Winter Concert started out with the performance of the newly formed Bellarmine Chamber Orchestra, playing the following three compositions:. . Bellarmine Chamber Orchestra. "Forever Joyful!" by Brian Belmages . "A Soldier's Hymn"…
Read More: A Winter Concert at Bellarmine
After dropping off Alex at this Speech & Debate tournament at Los Gatos High School, I had a couple of hours to burn off some fat at the Almaden Quicksilver County Park.. . . . I arrived at the Hacienda Entrance around 7:50 a.m., but the park entrance was still closed. A ranger came around 7:55 a.m., opening the gate so I could park my…
Read More: Biking Almaden Quicksilver County Park
For our 17th Wedding Anniversary, we decided to have a nice, romantic dinner at the Evvia Restaurant in Palo Alto. At first, I made dinner reservations at 21:00 on Sunday, October 14th (using OpenTable), but I could book an earlier time (by calling the restaurant directly).. . The last time we dined at Evvia was on Bella's 83rd birthday, and we enjoyed our dinner a…
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Since returning from our incredible summer trip to Japan (where we tasted the most delicious ramen at a small restaurant in Matsumoto), we have been looking for a similar experience in San Jose. One of my co-workers suggested I try the Hokkaido Ramen Santouka place at the Mitsui Marketplace (Japanese grocery store) nearby.. . Although I lived nearby, I have never been inside Mitsui Marketplace.…
Read More: Eating Ramen at Hokkaido Ramen Santouka
I finally saw Shakira's El Dorado concert at SAP San Jose today. The concert was initially planned for February, but due to Shakira's vocal problems, it was rescheduled for September 6.. . . I like listening to some of Shakira's songs during my fitness workouts, so I hope to feel some energy during the show. Although she does not have a strong voice, she is…
Read More: Review: Shakira El DoradoSince the surf forecast in Santa Cruz was poor, I decided to ride my Specialized FSR mountain bike at my usual Almaden Quicksilver County Park.. . . . I arrived at the Hacienda Entrance at around 9:30 and pumped up the tires on my bike (which were flat). I put on my Aukey Latitude Bluetooth headphones and started the Strava app on my Apple watch…
Read More: Biking Almaden Quicksilver County ParkHaving sailed on my 1999 Mistral Flow Classic 276 for 19 years, it was time for an update. I tried out the Fanatic Freewave STB 95-liter version in the ABK Windsurfing Camp at Rio Vista in July and thought it was a nice board but lacked a bit of volume for lighter wind days.. . The "Stubby," as it is affectionately known, has a unique…
Read More: Fanatic FreeWave STB 105
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…
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Since iwindsurf.com was reporting epic windy conditions at Crissy Field in San Francisco, I decided to try windsurfing there. I initially hoped to sail at Waddell Creek, but the forecast was less favorable.. . . . . . The traffic was quite heavy, but I found plentiful windsurfing parking (on a green lawn, no less) on the east beach. I was surprised that many people…
Read More: Crankin’ at Crissy Field
Today, I finally got to windsurf my Goya 84-liter quad custom waveboard in really windy conditions.. . When I arrived at Coyote Point, I saw a few sailors on 5.7m+ sails, so I decided to sail my tried-and-true Mistral Flow 276. However, when a few sailors returned, they reported crazy winds in the channel - of up to 30+ knots. They were all rigging down…
Read More: Windsurfing Coyote Point’s High Winds