I woke up around 08:00 and walked to Crissy Field for my morning exercise and stretching routine. When I returned home, Inna was ready to take a shower and did a bit of coding.
I planned to meet with Ekansh at noon and eat out nearby; Ekansh was running late and arrived at 12:15. We decided to try eating lunch at Cracked & Battered (as he was interested in fried chicken), but it was mobbed by people. Instead, we stopped by Napizza and ordered a few pizzas:
At around 13:30, I drove to Crissy Field with Ekansh, with the hope of either wing foiling or windsurfing. It was hectic in the parking lot, and it took me some time to find an appropriate parking space with grassy rigging.
The forecast called for 20 knots of wind at Anita Rock, but the current wind speed showed only 14 knots. I rigged my Duotone SLS Slick 5.0m wing and attached the Armstrong foil to my Naish 110 Hover GS board.
I went wing foiling at around 14:00 and immediately noticed heavy winds. On the way back, I somehow fell and ripped a hole in my precious Duotone SLS Slick Wing.
At about 15:00, I returned to windsurfing, rigging a 4.5m Ezzy Elite sail with my Fanatic 105 STB FSW board. When I sailed out, I was amazed by the power and gusts of the wind. I was barely hanging on and jumping larger rollers.
I battled the heavy winds for two hours and had a fantastic time windsurfing.
I really enjoyed the Classic Burger and the delicious Kombucha. The Zucchini was delicious too.
In the evening, Inna was hanging out with the girls and must be picked up at Alla's house. I drove to pick her up and returned home. We drank some green tea.
I was exhausted from the previous day's windsurfing session and woke up late, around 09:00. While Inna slept, I worked on my work's Python script.
After finishing our hot drinks, we walked over to the nearby Farmer's Market to purchase a few pastries to take home for tea with Ira and Sasha (planned for later in the evening). We ended up buying a few pastries, including Kouign Amann.
After finishing our quick bites, we walked around downtown San Francisco, left-right but generally southerly toward Pacific Heights, enjoying some of the beautiful San Francisco homes.
We hoped that Ira and Sasha would have tea with us, but as the evening approached, they decided to skip tea and drive back to Palo Alto to spend some time with Liza.
Inna and I took a short walk to Crissy Field and then enjoyed our favorite Jasmine Dragon Peals tea with a few pastries from the Farmer's Market.
Monday, August 15, 2022
In the morning, I woke early, at 07:00, started laundry, worked on my Python script for work, and answered a few pending working emails.
At around 07:50, I strolled to Crissy Field, hoping to do some stretching, but a guy was there, making a nuisance of himself (yelling loudly). I decided to postpone my stretching to another time.
I found a local Wing Repair specialist named Josh Waldman (415)-350-5524 on Craigslist and emailed him about my Duotone SLS 5.0. He offered to repair the wing within 24 hours, and I dropped it off at his address (2930 Lyon Street, San Francisco), 15 minutes away on foot from our home rental on Scott Ave.
I dropped off the broken wing at 09:00, and Josh fixed it by 10:00 using a black Dacron. The wing repair looks very professional and costs $75 (paid by Venmo).
After picking up the wing at noon, I went grocery shopping with Inna at Whole Foods. At Whole Foods, I returned a couple of items I recently purchased from Amazon, including:
- ASIC Men's Gel-Venture 7 Running shoes (too small)
- O'Neil Men's Epic 4/3mm back zip wetsuit (low quality)
- Terro T300B Liquid Ant Killer (no longer needed)
Inna and I shopped around for our usual groceries, including:
- Organic Lady Alice Apples
- Organic Boneless Skinless chicken thighs
- Organic Eggs (dozen)
- Roast Beef cold cuts
- Peppered Turkey
- Dill Havarti Cheese
- Whole Foods Sourdough Boule bread
- Organic Tomatoes
- Organic Cucumbers
- Organic Basmati Rice
After returning home, I made a small sandwich, using the Whole Foods Boule sourdough bread, Turkey, and Dill Havarti with mayonnaise. It was delicious!
Inna and I were curious about the nearby coffee shop - Cafe Revelle - on Chestnut Street, near our favorite local Mediterranean Souvla restaurant. We stopped by for a mocha and a latte. The hot drinks were delicious, and the pastries looked fresh too!
At around 15:00, after all my work meetings were finished, I drove to Crissy Field, anticipating the daily wind. I offered Alex wing foil first, but he felt tired and did not come along. Perhaps working out at the YMCA tired him out.
I was satisfied with the wind. Though the iwindsurf.com forecast called for 19-20 knots winds, actual winds were more moderate: 15- 20 knots. At first, I thought of rigging my Ezzy Elite 5.0m windsurfing sail, but I am happy that I chose to stick with wing foiling for this session at Crissy.
I rigged my repaired Duotone SLS Slick 5.0m wing and attached the Armstrong 1850 foil to my Naish 110 Hover GS board. I sailed out to Anita Rock and was pleasantly surprised by the wind. It was not overly weak or strong, and I had many long, foiling sessions.
As I foiled, I noticed many tourist boats and provided entertaining crashes for them to watch. I had a fantastic time and even managed not to put another hole in my wing!
After I returned home, at around 18:00, Inna started baking organic boneless, skinless chicken thighs for dinner, and I started the rice cooker.
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
I woke at 07:30 and walked to Crissy Field for my daily walking and exercise routine. The Golden Gate Bridge was highly enveloped by thin layers of fog.
I was finishing my audiobook, Three Men on the Bummel, by Jerome K. Jerome, about a cycling tour of Germany, and the story was quite amusing.
I had many meetings in the afternoon and could not come with Inna for our usual afternoon coffee. After work meetings ended, I made a deli sandwich consisting of peppered deli turkey meat, Havarti cheese, and mayonnaise on a sourdough boule slice with a few potato chips. It was delicious!
At around 15:05, after all my work meetings were finished, I drove to Crissy Field in anticipation of the daily wind. I offered Alex wing foil first, but he felt tired and did not come along.
I was satisfied with the wind. Though the iwindsurf.com forecast called for 19-20 knots winds, actual winds were more moderate: 17- 19 knots. Unlike Saturday, the parking lot was mostly empty, and I found a nice parking space for my van.
I rigged my repaired Duotone SLS Slick 5.0m wing and attached the Armstrong foil to my Naish 110 Hover GS board. I sailed out to Anita Rock and was pleasantly surprised by the wind. It was not overly weak or strong, and I had many long, foiling sessions. It was so much fun!
Wednesday, August 17, 2022
I woke at 07:30 and walked to Crissy Field for my daily walking and exercise routine. I was listening to my Spotify music list on my walk to Crissy.
At noon, I took Alex to Wing Foil at Crissy Field, setting up the wing and the Naish GS110 board. The wind was lighter than expected, but Alex stood up several times.
At 12:30, Inna and I decided to try eating lunch at one of the eateries on Chestnut Street. At first, we stopped at Squat & Gobble, but the fast-food menu did not whet our appetites. We walked next door to Bonita Taqueria & Rotisserie and ordered the following:
- Boris: Quesadilla with Chicken
- Inna: Quesadilla with Steak
The Quesadilla portions were enormous! Inna and I could only eat two of the four quesadillas provided. Inna thought it odd to have corn in the Quesadilla. We took our unfinished Quesdillas home, and Alex ate them both afterward.
We also stopped by for a quick mocha and latte at the Cafe Reveille on Chestnut Street. Inna and I enjoyed the delicious latte and mocha with a small pastry.
When I returned for Alex at 14:10, he was done and changed out of his wetsuit. The wind was moderately light (10-12 knots), and I waited for it to pick up. It never strengthened, and I returned home without wing foiling.
At home, I worked on my scripts and discussed our dinner plans. We would like to purchase a few freshly made ravioli from Lucca Delicatessen. When we walked there at 17:30, Lucca was closed due to electrical issues.
We considered purchasing some Chinese food at Dragon Well, but I was not impressed with the menu, so we decided to order two pizzas from Napizza:
We bought the following pizzas:
- Alex: Mortaza Pizza
- Boris & Inna: Prosciutto Pizza
The pizzas were fantastic, and I enjoyed them a lot. We only managed to finish 1/2 of the pizzas.
We walked to Crissy Field in the evening and noticed the heavy fog rolling in. We could not see Alcatraz or the Golden Gate Bridge.
Thursday, August 18, 2022
I woke at 07:30 and walked to Crissy Field for my daily walking and exercise routine. It was foggy, and I could not see the Golden Gate Bridge.
I was listening to my Spotify music list on my walk to Crissy.
When I returned home, I joined multiple business meetings. At around 11:00, Inna and I decided to walk to the nearby Beck's Shoes to purchase new running sneakers for me. My current ASICs Gel7 were falling apart (and were hurting my feet).
I selected a Hoka brand running shoe, and it seemed very comfortable. How long they will last (not very long, as it turns out). After stopping at home, Alex, Inna, and I decided to walk to Cafe Reveille for our usual coffee drinks. I ordered a mocha, and Inna ordered a latte.
Later, Inna decided to walk to Lucca Delicatessen to purchase ravioli for dinner.
At around 13:30, I decided to try wing foiling at Crissy Field. The iwindsurf.com called for SW winds from 17-21 knots from 14:00 - 18:00, and I was eager to fly the foil again. When I arrived at Crissy, the parking lot was empty.
I rigged my usual Duotone SLS Slick 5.0m wing with my Naish Hover 110GS foil board and Armstrong 1850 foil.
Alex decided to try wing foiling again, but the wind was too light, and he did a lot of paddling.
After Alex finished, I changed into the wetsuit and tried wing-foiling myself. The wind was gusty on the water, with periods of calm and brute strength. I had many excellent flights and surprisingly few wipeouts. I must be progressing (or the wind was lighter than usual).
I had an excellent session and look forward to foiling again.
During de-rigging, I ran into a Lehigh graduate (class of 1990 in Economics) but did not see him. He was also rigging to foil out.
After returning home, I called into many business meetings and continued working until dinner, when Inna cooked the freshly made ravioli from Lucca Deli. They were so delicious!
After dinner, Inna and I strolled to the Palace of Fine Arts and then to Crissy Field, where we observed many pelicans and other birds flying in formation over the water. Some pelicans flew very low (taking advantage of the ground effect), while others soared above in V formation.
Friday, August 19, 2022
I woke at 07:30 and walked to Crissy Field for my daily walking and exercise routine. It was foggy, and I could not see the Golden Gate Bridge.
I had a hectic work morning, with multiple back-to-back Teams meetings. At noon, Inna and I managed to sneak out to Cafe Reveille on Chestnut Street for a mocha, and a latte (plus a sticky bun to share). The mocha and latte were late in coming (and turned out to be lost by the new personnel). Eventually, we received our drinks.
When we returned home, I made a Whole Foods Sourdough Boule sandwich with mayonnaise and roast beef (the Havarti cheese was long gone).
After several more meetings, I was finally free to do other things.
At around 15:00, I decided to go wing foiling to Crissy Field. I loaded up my van and drove over. Fortunately, the parking lot was relatively empty, and I quickly parked my van and inflated my Duotone SLS Slick 5.0m wing. I attached the Armstrong 1850cm foil to my Naish Hover 110 GS board and walked to the beach.
The wind on the water looked light, with only a few other wing foilers out. I decided to sail out anyway. It turned out to be an excellent day overall. Initially, the wind was light, but it picked up later, and I was overpowered most of the time.
I could fly over the water for a long time and enjoyed the lively rides. It felt like being on a skateboard.
While the wing was foiling, Inna came by with the Nikon P900 zoom camera and took a few photos of me. She was not feeling well, and after I finished at 17:00, she sat in the van while I derigged the board.
After we drove home, I rested and did some programming.
We decided to try the Turkish Lokma Restaurant in the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco for dinner. We drove there around 19:00, arriving at 19:15, but I needed help finding parking. After parking far away on Geary Ave, I returned to Lokma and sat at an indoor table.
After looking at the online dinner menu, we ordered the following items:
- Appetizer: Tzatziki Spreads, Watermelon Salad
- Alex: Manti (Turkish Pastries), lemonade, Black Tea
- Boris: Grilled Chicken, Black Tea
- Inna: Manti, Black Tea
- Dessert: Revani (authentic Middle-Eastern dessert)
Inna raved about her Turkish Dumplings (Manti), and I liked the Grilled Chicken. I also really liked the Watermelon Salad. However, the Revani dessert was nothing special.
San Francisco Workation Week 4 Review
Highlights
Lowlights
- Putting a hole in my brand new Duotone Slick SLS 5.0m wing
- Fighting ants in our kitchen and bathroom (in our Vrbo home at 3526 Scott Street)
