Review: Puddles & Big Bad Voodoo Daddy at Mountain Winery

For the past 30 years, I have been a big fan of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy ( a swing band), and I thought that Inna and I would enjoy seeing them play their set at Mountain Winery in Saratoga, CA.

The show was scheduled to start at 19:30, with Puddles Pity Party starting it first.

 

 Puddles Set List

• Mad World (Demi Lovato)
  
• Chandelier (Sia)
  
• Royals  (Lorde)
• Pinball Prison
  
• Dancing Queen (Abba)
• I Started a Joke
• Estoy Sentado Aqui
  
• Stairway to Heaven/Gilligan's Island Theme Medley (Led Zeppelin)
  

 Puddles was quite amusing and had a great voice.

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Review: Cirque du Soleil Corteo

Since Inna purchased tickets to the new Cirque du Soleil Corteo show at Chase Center in San Francisco, we decided to spend the whole day there.

With a favorable wind forecast at Crissy Field, I brought my wing foiling gear to Crissy Field so I could wing foil if the opportunity presented itself.

After loading up my 2008 Toyota Sienna, we drove to San Francisco at 09:40, arriving at Crissy Field around 11:10. We parked at the East Beach parking lot. We walked to our favorite Chestnut Street to explore the scene and check out newly opened restaurants.

We planned to stop by Cracked & Battered for a Crispy Chicken and Waffles lunch. It was open when we arrived, and we sat down for lunch. We ordered the following items from the online menu:

• Boris: Chicken & Waffles with extra chicken, Drop Coffee
• Inna: Fried Chicken, Scrambled Eggs, Tea

I enjoyed the waffles and the chicken, but our outdoor table was quite loud, and I didn't enjoy the loud conversations. (I wish I had earplugs!)

After lunch, we walked to Fort Mason, stopping by Equator Coffee for a drink. Inna ordered a cold brew while I just enjoyed the scenery.

We noticed loud music from Radhaus restaurant; it was an Asian wedding. We returned to Crissy Field's East Beach. I was hoping the wind would pick up, and I noticed that one wing foiler was out, but he was not doing well.

Inna continued her walk while I returned to the van and assembled my wing-foiling gear. I attached the Armstrong foil to my Naish Hover LE 95-liter board and inflated the Duotone 5.0m Slick SLS wing.

At 14:00, I wore my wetsuit, booties, and helmet and headed for the water. As soon as I launched, I was foiling! I expected to have a challenging start. I had a fantastic time for about 2 hours. At 15:00, the wind increased slightly, with white caps on the water. I was having a great time, though the flooding tide was quite strong, and I found it difficult to stay upwind.

At 15:45, I returned to the minivan and disassembled my gear. I took a quick shower and put all of my gear away. I drove to pick up Inna, who was busy at Browser Books, and then we continued to Chase Center. 

On the way to Chase Center, we parked at the UCSF Medical Center parking garage ($40 parking) and walked to Dumpling Time Restaurant at Chase Center.

We met our friends there and sat down to order the following items:

• Garlicky Green
• Shrimp & Pork Siu Mai
• Lamp Dumpling
• Chili Pok
• Seafood Gyoza
• Tie Guan Yin
• Sticky Rice Lotus Leaf Wrap
  
• Oolong Tea 

Although we enjoyed the dumplings, they could have been more outstanding.

Since we had some time left before the 19:30 show, we decided to walk around, stopping by  Somisomi Ice Cream, where I ordered a soft-serve ice cream (Matcha with Nutella). It was alright.

• "Ah-Boong," a fish-shaped waffle cone with Matcha and Nutella

  We also stopped by for some fresh Bobba Tea.

We returned to Chase Center and found our seats. The show started around 19:40 and lasted 2 hours with a 20-minute intermission.

It was interesting and a bit whimsical, with some exciting acrobatic routines but not much of a story.

Cirque du Soleil Corteo Review

Highlights

• Excellent acrobatics
  

Lowlights

• Weak story
  

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A Weekend in Arnold

On Friday, August 11, 2023, we started our long drive to Arnold, California, where we planned to spend two nights. We were hoping to enjoy the scenic beauty of the Calaveras Big Trees State Park and paddleboard on White Pines Lake.

Inna made Airbnb reservations at 2560 Chamonix Dr., Arnold, CA, and we shared the large home with 2 other families.

We arrived around 21:00 due to heavy San Francisco Bay area traffic. After arrival, we unloaded our 2008 Toyota Sienna minivan and joined our friends by the outdoor fire (in a fire pit). It was refreshing to be outdoors, enjoying the quiet of the forest.

Saturday, August 12, 2023

We woke a bit later in the morning, and Dima cooked sunny-side eggs with coffee. We also made sandwiches to take along on the upcoming hike.

After a long breakfast, we biked at Calaveras Big Trees State Park. I was worried about our late start (as there is minimal parking). We found parking spots when we arrived, but the main trail was blocked.

We drove a bit further north, about 15 minutes to the South Grove Trailhead. After parking our vehicles there, we followed the directions to South Grove Trailhead. After crossing the bridge, we decided to follow the stream (instead of the South Grove trail), as it seemed shorter (and was a scorching day). The trail followed Beaver Creek northward. After about 2.5 miles of hiking, we ate sandwiches and returned to the trailhead.

After lunch, we drove to the nearby White Pines Lake. After parking, I unloaded my Fanatic Allwave SUP and decided to paddle around the lake.

The lake was extremely calm, so paddling my board was straightforward. I only followed once!
 

After spending a few hours at the lake, we returned to our bungalow at 2560 Chamonix Dr. It took a bit longer to return since we had no cell phone reception on our Google FI cellphone service (and forgot to download Google Maps). We found a hotel nearby with free WiFi, and then we could see the complex route to our Airbnb rental.

The girls helped make a large salad, fried potatoes, and other favorites for dinner.

After dinner, we relaxed, and many friends walked downstairs to sit beside the fire pit. I decided to relax on the couch.

Sunday, August 13, 2023

After waking up and eating eggs and potatoes (from the day before), we packed all our suitcases and loaded our van. We had to check out by 11:00.

At first, we had the idea of hiking nearby. 

We stopped by Moaning Caverns, but the tours had a maximum limit of 5 people (and we had 6 in our party). After some discussion, we decided to drive to San Francisco and spend the rest of our day there.

The drive to San Francisco took about 3 hours. We decided to grab lunch at The Mill in San Francisco. We ordered the following:

• Boris: Egg-in-a-Hole, Drip Coffee
• Inna: Smoked Trout, Ricotta + Jam Bread

Inna really liked her Smoked Trout. I was neutral about the Egg-in-a-Hole.

We had a nice time in San Francisco with friends and returned home in the late afternoon.

Arnold Trip Review

Highlights

• Hiking at South Grove Trailhead of Calaveras Big Trees Park
• Paddleboarding on White Pines Lake

Lowlights

• Poor cellphone reception for Google Fi (my phones did not work in Arnold at all)
• Not being able to visit Moaning Caverns due to group limit.

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