Saturday, October 29, 2016

Bowling at Bel Mateo Bowl

We decided to try bowling with our friends at Bel Mateo Bowl after our hike to Huddart County Park. It was almost Halloween time, and the Bel Mateo bowl had many Halloween decorations. Some staff were also dressed in Ghoulish costumes to frighten us all. We settled into our chosen lane once we got the obligatory bowling shoes (my size 11 was too big!). We decided to play in two teams: Men vs Women. Yeah! The men were going to win for sure! We had...

Hiking in Huddart County Park

Today, we decided (despite the slightly drizzly weather) to hike in the beautiful Huddart County Park in San Mateo / Woodside, CA. Based on recommendations in Alltrails.com, we initially tried to follow the Crystal Springs Trail. The Crystal Springs Trail is a single track trail that runs down the northern section of the park and connects to several trails in the park. This trail can be accessed at the Zwierlein Trailhead. There are...

Wednesday, October 26, 2016

Halloween Concert at Dartmouth Middle School

Today, we saw a once-in-a-blue-moon Halloween Concert at Dartmouth Middle School. Most of the Concert and Symphonic Band were dressed in black, and some choir participants wore Halloween-themed costumes and make-up. Alex wore all black (as expected). The music program started out with the following compositions by the Concert and Symphonic Bands: "Grim Grinning Ghosts," arranged by Douglas E. Wagner (Symphonic & Concert) "Revenge...

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA with the East Bay Meetup

Since I have been chiefly dirt biking alone, I joined the East Bay Dirt Bike group. The group usually rides at Carnegie SVRA. However, the group decided to ride at the Hollister Hills SVRA today. I arrived at 9:15 am, though the meetup was supposed to start at 9:00 am ( I had to stop at Whole Foods for a sandwich!). At first, I could not find anyone (and with the non-existent cell phone reception), I decided that I would never find anyone...

Saturday, October 22, 2016

Biking Russian Ridge OSP

I plan to ride the Russian Ridge OSP with the South Bay Mountain Biking meetup for about a week. I have been to other South Bay mountain bike riders, and this was a chance to ride some new trails that I have not previously ridden. Despite early morning fog in Los Gatos, the weather was fantastic at Russian Ridge OSP, and we had a group of 10 mountain bikers riding along (1 person did not show up). Renata did a great job organizing the ride and ensuring...

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Review: "The Hard Problem" (Geary Theater)

We have not been to San Francisco's Geary Theater in a while - as nothing recently playing really excited us. However, Inna was intrigued by the concept behind "The Hard Problem" - a relatively recent (2015) play by Sir Tom Stoppard  (screenwriter for Shakespeare in Love) on the subject of consciousness. How does consciousness come about? Is our identity the product of what Francis Crick calls "a vast assembly of nerve cells"? How much...

Enjoying Cafe Claude in San Francisco

Before seeing "The Hard Problem" at the Geary Theater, we stopped by for dinner at the well-recommended Cafe Claude in San Francisco, conveniently near the Sutter-Stockton garage. We made reservations in advance, but Cafe Claude was not very busy Wednesday evening. Cafe Clause serves a limited number of French dishes in a casual setting. Our waitress recommended the "Brandade de Morue" - a French country dish of  "Salt cod, Yukon gold...

Saturday, October 15, 2016

Muddy Day at Hollister SVRA

Today was my third day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA. It had rained the day before, and I was eager to explore all the muddy trails at Hollister Hills. Many usual trails were closed (like the TT Track and Four Corners), but some re-opened later in the day (TT Track). I first warmed up on the nearby Classic/Vintage track, followed by a ride to Harmony Gate Road. The fall colors were lovely, and many...

Sunday, October 9, 2016

Hiking Lookout Trail at Villa Montalvo

Because of the unusually sizzling California weather (90+ Fahrenheit in October!), we decided to hike at the nearby Villa Montalvo, with significant tree cover on most trails. Villa Montalvo is located in Los Gatos and usually hosts many arts & theater productions. We used Google Maps to provide driving directions. When we arrived, a production of Romeo & Juliet was in progress. Unlike most productions of this Shakespeare drama, this...

Saturday, October 8, 2016

Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA

Today was my second day riding my Red Sticker Honda CRF250R dirt bike at Hollister Hills SVRA. I was eager to explore all of the trails at Hollister Hills to see which suits my riding skill level and which is a bit of a stretch. I first warmed up on the nearby Classic/Vintage Track, followed by multiple rides around the TT (Time Trials) Track. This was a good warm-up in the morning, as these tracks were not too busy, with few riders. Once warmed...

Friday, October 7, 2016

Review: "Outside Mullingar", TheatreWorks

The rain pours down in steady streams, shrouding in the gloom the Irish countryside of "Outside Mullingar," a recent play by John Patrick Shanley that opened on October 5, 2016, at the Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts. The play premiered at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on January 23, 2014, and closed on March 16, 2014. This was my first time seeing the play on Friday, October 7, at the Mountain View Center for...

Sunday, October 2, 2016

Campo di Bocce, Los Gatos

For our family day, we decided to try playing Bocce Ball at the local Campo di Bocce restaurant and Bocce ball game center. I made reservations for 1:30pm (90 minutes of playtime) on Sunday, October 2nd. While playing Bocce Ball, we ordered a few appetizers and entrees from the restaurant. Alex selected the following dishes for himself: Garlic Bread Caesar Salad Medium Margherita Pizza For Inna and I, we selected to share the following...

Saturday, October 1, 2016

Dirt Biking at Hollister Hills SVRA

Since October 1 started the "Red Sticker" riding season in California, I was eager for a ride on my Honda CRF250R offroad motorcycle. The CRF250R is a "Red Sticker" bike by California standards, so I can only ride from October 1 to May 30 in most local SVRA areas. It was getting very crowded when I arrived at Hollister Hills SVRA on Saturday, October 1, 2016. It looked like a lot of other riders had the same idea. Once I unloaded my bike,...