Celebrating AVAC 50th Anniversary

The Almaden Valley Athletic Club, where I am a member, was having a 50th Anniversary party on May 30th, and I decided to attend with my wife.

According to ChatGPT:

The founding story of Almaden Valley Athletic Club is closely tied to two longtime friends, Jim Theiring and Joe Shank, who grew up together in Coos Bay, Oregon.

In 1974, Jim and his wife Linda invested their life savings in a walnut grove on Camden Avenue in San Jose. Their original vision was to create a swim school. Jim then contacted Joe Shank, who was living in New Jersey at the time and working for a consumer products company, to help develop the idea. After visiting California and discussing the project, Joe decided to join the venture.

Joe expanded the concept beyond a swim school. As an avid tennis player, he proposed acquiring adjacent land and building tennis courts. Their goal was ambitious for the mid-1970s: create a family-oriented athletic facility where people could swim, play tennis, racquetball, and exercise together. At that time, many fitness facilities were specialized and often segregated by activity or even by gender.

The club officially opened in June 1976 on the former walnut grove site. It began primarily as a racquetball and tennis club, occupying roughly 6½ acres. Over the decades, it evolved into a full-service family athletic club with swimming, fitness, tennis, pickleball, youth programs, and community events.

A few notable facts:

• Founded: June 1976.
• Location: 5400 Camden Avenue at Kooser Road in San Jose.
• Original site: A former walnut grove.
• Original focus: Swim school, racquetball, and tennis.
• Founders: Jim and Linda Theiring, with Joe Shank playing a key role in developing and operating the club.

One reason AVAC became distinctive was that it was designed from the outset as a family fitness destination, which was relatively uncommon in the 1970s fitness industry. Joe Shank later described the vision as creating a place where families could participate in multiple activities together rather than having separate facilities for swimming, racquetball, tennis, and fitness.

The catering was prepared by the famous Le Papillon French restaurant, and it was amazing! We enjoyed all of the appetizers, snacks, beef, sole, and desserts (especially the macaroons).

There were two bands, with the Alison Sharino Band for dancing at 9:00 pm. We danced to a mix medley of popular tunes (the dance was set up on Tennis Court #1, with heaters for the evening).

Links

• AVAC
• Le Papillon
• Alison Sharino Band

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Wing Foiling Coyote Point

After checking the iwindsurf.com pro forecast, I decided to wing foil at Coyote Point in San Mateo. 

On arrival at Coyote Point (a 45-minute drive from San Jose) via US-101, the wind was showing as 15 knots. I decided to rig my brand-new Duotone Slick SLS 5.5m wing

    Wing Foiling Gear

• Board: Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra 95
• Foil: Armstrong HS Foil Kit 1250cm
• Wing: Duotone Slick SLS 5.5m
• Harness: Dakine Flywing (L)
• Wetsuit: Feral 4mm Backzip Large Wetsuit

Initially, when I sailed out, the wind was alight, and I couldn't get the foil flying. After about 20-minutes, the wind picked up, and I started to enjoy the session.

I winged for 70 minutes, reaching a maximum speed of 16.8 knots using the smaller 1,250 cm Armstrong front wing. At around 2:40 pm, the wind picked up, and I started to get overpowered. I was getting tired, so I sailed back and unrigged. It was not a bad session, but I probably should have rigged a smaller wing.

Here is a GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini recording of my session:

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Hiking Jenner Headlands Preserve

After checking out of the Airbnb house in Forestville, we drove for about 45-minutes to Jenner Headlands Preserve.

We decided to do a short, 4.5-mile loop from sea to sky. It took us about two hours, and we saw cows, horses, and many birds along the way.

For lunch, we first stopped by Cafe Aquatica, but our friends wanted more seafood choices, so we continued on to Bodega Bay, where we stopped by The Birds Cafe. We ordered the following items:

• Drinks: Apple Cider, Guava Apple Cider
• Appetizer: Clam Chowder, Green Salad with cranberries
• Alex: 3 Fish & Chips
• Boris: 3 Prawns Fish, & Chips
• Inna: Crab Roll

The Clam Chowder was excellent, as were my 3 Prawns, Fish, & Chips. Inna's Crab Roll was delicious. The Salad was ok, but nothing special (could skip it next time).

Links

• Jenner Headlands Preserve
• Cafe Aquatica,
• The Birds Cafe, Bodega Bay

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Hiking Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve

On Sunday morning, after breakfast, we decided to hike a few trails at the nearby Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve (about a 20-minute drive from our Airbnb home in Forestville).

On arrival at the park at around 10:30, we noticed a long line of cars trying to get in, with many cars parked on the road. We decided to try parking on the road and found a spot a few hundred feet away.

We decided to hike the East Ridge, Waterfall, and Pioneer Nature Trail Loop. The trail started out with a steep ascent and had many ups & downs along the way. Although it was an excellent trail for raising one's heart rate, it wasn't very scenic.

As we hiked the East Ridge Trail, we intersected with the Pioneer Nature Trail Loop and decided to switch to it, as it had many more beautiful Redwoods to admire. The Pioneer Nature Trail was extremely busy with lots of kids and families; it looked like Disneyland.

After hiking, we drove to Sebastopol for lunch at The Wild Poppy Cafe. After waiting in line to order, we sat outside to enjoy the beautiful day (though it was a bit chilly). We ordered the following items:

• Alex: Baja Fish Taco (Fried Rock Cod)
• Inna: Teller's Salad with Rock Cod
• Boris: Rock Cod Sandwich on Frittata with a small salad

My Rock Cod Sandwich was excellent, as was Teller's Salad and the Baja Fish Taco.

After lunch, we decided to explore the local artwork at the nearby Florence Avenue Art Community. Sebastopol is known for its unique and eclectic mix of art. We strolled around the avenue, taking photos of all the unique sculptures.

After enjoying the sculptures, we drove to the nearby Patisserie Angelica for delicious tea and pastries. It was open until 16:00, and we made it just in time. Alex and I selected a few cookies (delicious), and Inna selected a pastry.

We returned to our Airbnb rental for a delicious dinner, prepared by our kids. Afterwards, we enjoyed sitting by the fire.

Links

• Armstrong Redwoods State Natural Reserve
• The Wild Poppy Cafe, Sebastopol
• Patisserie Angelica

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Kayaking Russian River

For Memorial Day weekend, we decided to join our friends at a house in Forestville (on the Russian River), with a stop to kayak with Burke's Canoe Trips. I had called Burke's one day earlier to make reservations for two kayaks: one two-seater for Inna and me, and one single-seater for Alex. We were told to arrive before 11:00, as it usually took 3-3.5 hours to complete the 10-mile downstream journey to Guerneville.

We woke early - at around 07:00 - and quickly dressed, and packed our Tesla Model Y. We had a lot of items to bring, including a folding bed (for Alex), suitcases, and groceries. Being in a hurry, Inna forgot a few items (but all turned out well, as nearby Sebastopol has a Whole Foods).

Driving from San Jose to Forestville was fairly easy, taking about two hours to complete the 122 miles. On arrival at Burke's, we parked our Tesla Model Y, and I put on my water socks. We signed our waiver forms, put on the life vests, and picked up our paddles. I paid $120 for the two-seater kayak rental and $60 for the single-seater.

We kayaked for about 30 minutes, then pulled up on a nice riverbank for lunch. Inna had packed a few sandwiches  (salmon, cucumber) and we enjoyed a relaxing lunch on the river.

We continued our paddling down the river, enjoying the scenery (it was mostly cloudy). There were many large groups of rafters tied together, who were just lazily floating down.

Here is a DJI Action 5 video of our kayaking:

The paddling took 3 hours, but felt longer than expected. Inna managed to take photos of two beautiful Blue Herons.

After returning to Burke's, we changed out of our clothes and drove to Sebastopol for coffee and lunch. We first stopped at Sarmentine - Organic French Bakery. It was closing at 16:00, and we just made it there at 15:38. We purchased a couple of pastries to enjoy later with coffee. I felt that the apple chasson was below average (and wouldn't recommend it).

As we were hungry, we decided to eat pizza at the nearby Acre Pizza. We ordered the following items:

• Pizza: 1/2 Mushroom, 1/2 Pepperoni Pizza
• Salad
• 2 x Apple Cider

After pizza, we stopped by Taylor Lane Organic Coffee.

We stopped by the Tesla Supercharger in Sebastopol to charge the Tesla to 80% and then drove to the Airbnb rental at 123 Nolan Ct. in Forestville. The house was spectacular, and we enjoyed spending our time there.

Kayaking Russian River Review

Highlights

• Beautiful scenery on the Russian River
• We saw a couple of very large Blue Herons
• After landing at Guerneville, we were quickly picked up by the bus (running every 30-minutes) and taken back to Burke's - a 10-minute drive)

Lowlights

• Russian River's current was very slow, so we needed to paddle most of the way.
• Inna almost lost her iPhone; she dropped it when leaving the kayak

Links

• Forestville
• Burke's Canoe Trips
• Sebastopol
• Acre Pizza
• Taylor Lane Organic Coffee.

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Waterdrop X8 Reverse Osmosis System

I had been using the Home Master TMAFC-ERP Artesian Full Contact Reverse Osmosis System for the past 10 years. I had been very happy with the water quality and the reliability of the system, but I disliked the yearly filter changing, as it often resulted in leaks. Every time a new filter needed to be installed, the plastic piping previously used on the older filter had to be trimmed by one-quarter inch. Sometimes, even cutting the piping was insufficient to stop leaks.

I decided to upgrade to a newer generation of Reverse Osmosis system, and after some research, settled on the Waterdrop X8 Reverse Osmosis System. It had a few significant benefits over the older Home Master, with the ease of changing filters being the main benefit. 

The taste of water from Waterdrop X8 is slightly different from Home Master.

Waterdrop X8 System Review

Highlights

• Compact system without the bulky storage tank
• The three main filters (F1, F2, F3) are easily changed (without having to trim piping)
• The live TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) indicator shows the exact quality of water coming out
• Multiple indicators light up when filters need to be changed

Lowlights

• Higher initial price ($649)
• Required professional install (CK Plumbing), which cost $550
• Required changing my very wide and bulky Garbage Disposal for a narrow Moen. This cleared the way for the Waterdrop system and tidied up my undersink kitchen storage
• After using the machine, it flushes itself automatically after 10-minutes to clear itself.

Links

• Waterdrop X8 Reverse Osmosis System
• Home Master TMAFC-ERP Artesian Full Contact Reverse Osmosis System
• Moen Prep Series Disposer 1/2 HP

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Apple Watch Series 11

My current Apple Series 9 watch was starting to require frequent recharges. It's battery health was at 84% (after 2.5 years of use) and it was dying after recording a wing foiling session. Since I also used the watch to lock/unlock my Tesla during wing foiling sessions, I needed to be able to count on the watch.

Since replacing the existing Series 9 battery would cost $90, I decided to upgrade to the Apple Series 11 watch instead The Apple Watch Series 11 46mm was on sale on Amazon for $329. I could trade in my current Series 9 watch for $120.

Apple Watch Series 11 Review

Positives

• 64GB for Spotify playlist
• Snorkeling certified
• Longer battery life (24 hours)

Negatives

• Would like battery live of 48 hours or longer

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Dinner at Gary Danko

We had eaten at Gary Danko twenty years ago and decided to try again. Inna had made dinner reservations for Saturday, May 16, at 19:15 (the only time she could find, as the restaurant is extremely popular and needs to be booked in advance).

We had actually arrived earlier (at 18:00) and were hoping to get an earlier seating. Still, the restaurant was fully booked (so we decided to stroll around Ghirardelli Square, tempting ourselves with the delicious ice-cream sundaes).

After returning to Gary Danko at 19:10, we were immediately seated, offered water, and menus. There were 3,4, or 5-course tasting menus available, and we decided to order a combo of 3-course and 4-course. The 5-course menu includes a cheese course (which I didn't necessarily desire).

We ordered the following items:

• Boris: 3 Course Menu
• Seared Ahi Tuna with Avocado, Nori, Enoki Mushrooms
• Seared Scallops with Fregola, Cumin, Carrots
• Filet of Beef with Potato Gratin, King Trumpet Mushrooms, and Bone Marrow Bearnaise
• Inna: 4 Course Menu, Cosmopolitan
• Lobster Risotto with Rock Shrimp, Shimeji Mushrooms, Yellow Squash, Asparagus
• Roast Lobster with Morel Mushrooms, Potato Puree
• Herb Crusted Lamb Loin with Creamy Polenta, Roasted Red Bell Peppers
• Baked Chocolate Soufflé with Vanilla and Chocolate sauces

The Lobster Risotto, the Filet of Beef, and the Baked Chocolate Soufflé were the standout dishes. The Seared Scallops were small but delicious. The service was fast and efficient, and my water and bread were quickly refilled. 

We wondered why the restaurant had lost its Michelin star, as it seemed every bit as wonderful as our local Plumed Horse.

We enjoyed our dinner and hope to be back.

Links

• Gary Danko

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Second Day Wing Foiling at Crissy

With a strong wind forecast (20-30 kts) from iwindsurf.com, I was anticipating epic conditions at Crissy Field.

I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear and started our drive to San Francisco around 11:00, arriving at Crissy Field at 12:40.

After finding a nice place to park (with a lawn nearby for assembling the foil and wing), we strolled to Chestnut Street for lunch. We stopped by our favorite Cracked & Battered eatery, and it wasn't as busy as usual, so we only waited a few minutes to get seated.

After sitting down outside (on barstools), we ordered the following items:

• Boris: fried chicken & waffle, coffee
• Inna: 3 pieces of fried chicken, 2 eggs over easy, coffee

The chicken was amazing, and the waffle was also fantastic. Inna generously gave me an extra piece of chicken, as I was extra hungry.

After lunch, I walked back to Crissy Field, while Inna went to explore the shops around Fillmore.

I rigged the following wing foiling gear:

• Duotone Slick SLS 4.0 wing
• Armstrong 1250cm front foil
• Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra 95-liter
• Dakine harness
• GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini cam

I had a wonderful two-hour session, blasting along. The wind was up and down, quite gusty, and the ebbing tide was strong. Although I had an exciting day, I should have rigged my Duotone 5.0m wing (in retrospect)

Here is a GoPro Hero 11 Black mini video of my two-hour session:

I finished around 17:00, de-rigged, and loaded the gear back in the Tesla Model Y. I messaged Inna, who was strolling around Fillmore, and came to pick her up. We drove to Ghirardelli Square, where we spent a few hours before dining at the famous Gary Danko restaurant.

Links

• Cracked & Battered (Chestnut Street, Marina)
• Ghirardelli Square
• Gary Danko
• Crissy Field Webcam

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Mother's Day at Dio Deka

For Mother's Day, I made dinner reservations at Dio Deka, our favorite Greek restaurant in Los Gatos. It used to be a Michelin 1-Star restaurant (but not any longer).

After parking near the restaurant, we walked over and were seated outside. It was the first time we had ever sat on the patio at Dio Deka (near the fountain), and we really enjoyed it.

 We looked at the menu and ordered the following items:

• Drinks: Sparkling Water
• Appetizers: Keftedakia (4 lamb meatballs), Tzatziki, Village Horiatiki Salad
• Alex: Youvetsi (Lamb Shank)
• Boris: Youvetsi (Lamb Shank)
• Inna: Chilean Sea Bass
• Dessert: Pistachio Cheesecake

We liked the Keftedakia (4 small lamb meatballs), and the Tzatziki was wonderful. The Village Horiatiki salad was small but delicious. 

The Youvetsi (Lamb Shank) was excellent, and Inna's Chilean Sea Bass was small but delicious. The Youvesti was the main highlight of the dinner.

The Pistachio Cheesecake was too sweet (and did not feel like it had any cheese in it). It was still quite good, though I would not order it again.

Table service was prompt, but not at Michelin 1-star quality.

For Mother's Day, I purchased the following items:

• Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540

Links

• Los Gatos Michelin-Rated Restaurants
• The Bywater
• Orchard City Kitchen
• Luna Mexican Kitchen
• Plumed Horse
• Evvia (Palo Alto)

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Makarevich & Vaikule "From Me to You"

Inna purchased tickets to the “From Me to You” concert featuring Andrey Makarevich (from Mashina Vremeni) and Laima Vaikule. The concert was held at San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts at 19:00.

I was not familiar with Laima Vaikule, so I was curious about her and the combined concert with Andrey.

• Andrey Makarevich — legendary rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, known for poetic lyrics and a decades-long career.
• Laima Vaikule — major Baltic pop star known for dramatic stagecraft, jazz/pop phrasing, and polished live productions.

The concert featured the following:

• duet performances
• solo hits from both artists
• newer songs
• nostalgia favorites
• backed by Vaikule’s orchestra/live band

Opening / Shared Stage

1. Intro instrumental by the band
2. Duet opener (“From Me to You” theme number)

Makarevich Segment

4. Три окна
5. Костер
6. Однажды мир прогнется под нас

Vaikule Segment

9. 
   
10. Ещё не вечер
11. Tango
12. Вернисаж

Duets / Finale

13. Поворот

Here is a short video clip from the concert:

From Me to You Concert Review

Highlights

• Excellent selection of songs
• Excellent band

Lowlights

• Concert tickets were expensive

Links

• Andrey Makarevich
• Laima Vaikule

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First Day Wing Foiling at Crissy

I've been waiting for the right wind conditions to start my wing foiling season in San Francisco, and finally got the opportunity today. The iwindsurf.com forecast initially had very favorable winds (as reported on Friday), but showed less favorable SW winds on Saturday morning (NW winds are best).

I loaded up the Tesla Model Y with all my gear (having assembled the Foil with the Armstrong 1250cm front wing) earlier that morning. We started our drive to San Francisco at around 11:00, arriving at Crissy Field at 12:30. The skies were clear (unlike other parts of San Francisco), but the wind was light, and there were no wing foilers out. It was not exactly a favorable sign.

After finding a nice place to park (with a lawn nearby for assembling the foil and wing), we strolled to Chestnut Street for lunch. We stopped by our favorite Cracked & Battered eatery, but it was quite busy.

We asked to be put on the waiting list and were told that the wait time would be 20-30 minutes. I was hoping it would be faster (but it wasn't). At some point, I was starting to get impatient, as I was worried about missing out on wing foiling (if the promised wind came up). At some point, we decided to try another restaurant, but I thought it might take too long. We returned to Cracked & Battered and were happy to learn that we would be seated next.

After sitting down outside (on barstools), we ordered the following items:

• Boris: fried chicken & waffle, coffee
• Inna: 3 pieces of fried chicken, 2 eggs over easy, coffee

The chicken was amazing, and the waffle was also fantastic. Inna generously gave me an extra piece of chicken, as I was extra hungry.

After lunch, I walked back to Crissy Field, while Inna waited for my message. If the wind was unfavorable, I would return to Chestnut Street, and we would continue exploring San Francisco together.

When I arrived at Crissy, I saw a few wing foilers on the water doing well, and felt the wing picking up. I decided to rig up and messaged Inna that I would try winging today.

I rigged the following wing foiling gear:

• Duotone Slick SLS 5.0 wing
• Armstrong 1250cm front foil
• Naish Hover LE Carbon Ultra 95-liter
• Dakine harness
• GoPro Hero 11 Black Mini cam

I had a wonderful one-hour session, blasting along. The wind was up and down, quite gusty, and the flooding tide was strong. I had a fantastic opening day of the season, though I felt a bit rusty.

Here is a GoPro Hero 11 Black mini video of my session:

I finished around 16:00, de-rigged, and loaded the gear back in the Tesla Model Y. I messaged Inna, who was strolling around Fillmore, and we decided to meet up at the Milos Meze Restaurant on Chestnut Street, where we had made dinner reservations for 17:00.

I met up with Inna at Milos Meze, and we sat down indoors and ordered and shared the following items:

• Garides Feta (Prawns with feta)
• Horiatiki Salata  (Village Salad)
• Lamb Souvlaki

The Horiatiki salad was small, but delicious. The Lamb Souvlaki was fantastic!

Links

• Cracked & Battered (Chestnut Street, Marina)
• Milos Meze (Chestnut Street, Marina
• Crissy Field Webcam

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