Woke up a 6:45am because I wanted to experience skiing on freshly groomed snow. The drive from the hotel to Kirkwood took about an hour, but surprisingly, there were already cars in the parking lot when we arrived!
We quickly got ready and waited by the lifts. But, the lift operator that stopped us. "Lift opens at 9am!" he shouted. Since that was 15 more minutes of waiting, we went into the cafe to sit it out.
At 9am sharp, we hit the slope again. I went back to lift #9 and hit those three green slopes. Freshly groom snow was not what it was made up to be:( It was warm enough on Saturday that some surface snow had melted and froze overnight. The slope was icy and the only Funny Bunny had some powder on it.
H came to check on me right before lunch. She mentioned my turns were perfectly parallel now, but the inner ski was forced by conscious leg motion. I was not letting my turns developed enough because I didn't want too much speed. But, more speed was actually the key to finding the edge!
We had a quick lunch and I went back to the green slopes to continue practising with my new found knowledge. I gained a little confidence and went back on Squirrel Ridge to try out my new found skills. But on the initial steep section, my right turn involuntarily revert back to wedge:(
Feeling frustrated, I did a few more runs on Funny Bunny. This pattern continued for the rest of the afternoon.
It was a rather cold day for spring skiing. In fact, light snow flurries fell most of the afternoon. The slope was really icy and the new layer of snow was too light to hide the ice.
We stopped skiing at about 4pm when the lift stopped operation and headed back to the Bay area.
My skiing skills are slowly improving and I can begin to appreciate why some people are addicted to skiing.
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Ski Kirkwood
Spring skiing season officially arrived at Kirkwood on April 1st. Sensing ski season was coming to an end, I decided to go skiing once more with H.
H is a much better skier than me. She was kind enough to share with me her secret: "Breakthrough on skis" by Lito Tejada-Flores. We watched the first DVD together the night before and I took mental note of the exercises I should be working on.
Since this was a 2 day ski trip, we left the Bay area at 6am. The drive via route 88 took a little more than 3 and a half hour, as there was some light snow on the ground.
We started skiing at about 10am. H accompanied me on Squirrel Ridge, a green slope at lift #7 to start the day. The first section of the slope was a quite steep and I instinctively reverted to wedging. Sensing my discomfort on that slope, we went skiing on lift #9 instead. The three green slopes: Funny Bunny, School Run and Graduation were more appropriate for me:)
I was mainly working on skiing on one leg. Of the three slopes, Graduation was less crowded and had more powder, so I skied that slope most of the time.
After lunch, H skied with me on Funny Bunny. She noticed I had made some improvement and suggested we go up on lift #5 and try Mokelumme, a blue slope. I was able to come down with mostly parallel skiing. We also tried Lower Monte Wolfe, which had more powder and less slope. These are probably the steepest slopes I had ever skied, and I am happy to report I am making small improvements.
At about 4pm, we headed out of Kirkwood towards Carson city, where we checked into City Center Motel. After a quick shower, we headed out the door. Since both of us are not the gambling type, we decided to get dinner at JT Basque Dining room in Gardnerville.
There was a 40min wait for table. We strolled around Gardnerville while waiting, but most shops were closed. It was also getting cold. JT was buzzing with people and H was bothered by the noise. We were ready to leave and have dinner at another restaurant when our table was ready.
The food made the wait worthwhile. JT offered "all you can eat" side dishes with one main entree per person. I would classified the cuisine as comfort food. We started with a simple tomato based vegetable soup with orzo, served with bread and butter. Next up, a simple tossed green salad dressed with oil and vinegar that was more tasty than it should. There was also sides of baked beans, beef stew and fries, sprinkled with paprika. Finally, the best part, was the free refills on red wine. The wine itself was sweeter than what we preferred, but still quite good.
We chose the Basque scampi and Basque chicken as our entrees. The Basque scampi was a stir- fried onion and green pepper shrimp sitting in a tomato-based broth. It was delicious! The Basque chicken was similarly prepared, using boneless, skinless chicken breast steak instead of shrimp. The chicken was cooked just right, but this entree paled in comparison to the shrimp.
After dinner, vanilla ice cream and almond chocolate ice cream was served. It was a satisfying end to dinner. Read more about this restaurant on Yelp!
We decided to call it a night after the meal, since I had wanted to wake up early and experience freshly groom snow.
H is a much better skier than me. She was kind enough to share with me her secret: "Breakthrough on skis" by Lito Tejada-Flores. We watched the first DVD together the night before and I took mental note of the exercises I should be working on.
Since this was a 2 day ski trip, we left the Bay area at 6am. The drive via route 88 took a little more than 3 and a half hour, as there was some light snow on the ground.
We started skiing at about 10am. H accompanied me on Squirrel Ridge, a green slope at lift #7 to start the day. The first section of the slope was a quite steep and I instinctively reverted to wedging. Sensing my discomfort on that slope, we went skiing on lift #9 instead. The three green slopes: Funny Bunny, School Run and Graduation were more appropriate for me:)
I was mainly working on skiing on one leg. Of the three slopes, Graduation was less crowded and had more powder, so I skied that slope most of the time.
After lunch, H skied with me on Funny Bunny. She noticed I had made some improvement and suggested we go up on lift #5 and try Mokelumme, a blue slope. I was able to come down with mostly parallel skiing. We also tried Lower Monte Wolfe, which had more powder and less slope. These are probably the steepest slopes I had ever skied, and I am happy to report I am making small improvements.
At about 4pm, we headed out of Kirkwood towards Carson city, where we checked into City Center Motel. After a quick shower, we headed out the door. Since both of us are not the gambling type, we decided to get dinner at JT Basque Dining room in Gardnerville.
There was a 40min wait for table. We strolled around Gardnerville while waiting, but most shops were closed. It was also getting cold. JT was buzzing with people and H was bothered by the noise. We were ready to leave and have dinner at another restaurant when our table was ready.
The food made the wait worthwhile. JT offered "all you can eat" side dishes with one main entree per person. I would classified the cuisine as comfort food. We started with a simple tomato based vegetable soup with orzo, served with bread and butter. Next up, a simple tossed green salad dressed with oil and vinegar that was more tasty than it should. There was also sides of baked beans, beef stew and fries, sprinkled with paprika. Finally, the best part, was the free refills on red wine. The wine itself was sweeter than what we preferred, but still quite good.
We chose the Basque scampi and Basque chicken as our entrees. The Basque scampi was a stir- fried onion and green pepper shrimp sitting in a tomato-based broth. It was delicious! The Basque chicken was similarly prepared, using boneless, skinless chicken breast steak instead of shrimp. The chicken was cooked just right, but this entree paled in comparison to the shrimp.
After dinner, vanilla ice cream and almond chocolate ice cream was served. It was a satisfying end to dinner. Read more about this restaurant on Yelp!
We decided to call it a night after the meal, since I had wanted to wake up early and experience freshly groom snow.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Mission Peak
I am almost ashamed to admit this...all these years in the Bay area, and I had never hiked Mission Peak. Many of my more outdoorsy friend talked about Mission Peak being the most strenuous trail in the Bay area and they use this trail to train for hiking to Half Dome, Grand Canyon etc.
H used Mission Peak almost as a "ruler". Several times, I would enquire about how difficult a certain hike would be and she would reply: imaging hiking up and down Mission Peak "X" number of times.
It was after one of these conversations that she suggested hiking Mission Peak. I was a little hesitant at first, worried that I would not be mental strong enough to finish hiking all the way to the top, but H promised she will be there to support me. So, I figured, why not...
We met up after work at the trail head. Started our hike at about 7:40pm. H brought along hiking poles(okay, really ski poles, but they worked!) and a head lamp to make the trip easier for me:)
This is actually our second trip to Mission Peak. The first time was on Dec 31st 2007, but the wind so blowing so strong that day, we felt uncomfortable and decided to turn back early.
This time, the weather was more pleasant. The air was slightly cool, but I had a fleece jacket and a windbreaker on, so temperature was not a concern. The lower 2/3 of the trail was challenging, but manageable for me. All those hours on a StairMaster in the gym sure helps!
The final stretch was fairly steep and rocky. H hiked Mission Peak almost on a weekly basis, so it did not bother her the least bit. However, for someone who is less accustom to hiking, I had to look carefully at the ground to find my footing. The head lamp really helped, since it was fairly dark and there wasn't too much moonlight. The poles were more important than I had imagined too. I was able to find my balance easier with the poles and push off a little on the poles to help get up the steep slope.
We reached the summit at 8:44pm. H turned off the head lamp and I was able to see the city lights from below the peak as well as part of the bay. It was a rather spectacular view! I had only seen this view while flying into San Jose or San Francisco. Seeing it while standing on land felt a little surreal:)
We rested a little atop Mission Peak for me to catch my breath and started heading down. Almost immediately, I got myself into trouble by walking to a stretch of trail where I had very little footing. Sensing I was in trouble, H took the lead and choose a more rocky part of the trail to hike down. That path was more rocky, but had better footing. Chalk one up for her experience!
The walk down the steep stretch of the trail was quite challenging for me too. Again, I took my time looking for good footing before taking each step. Despite my best effort, I still slipped and fell once. Even after coming down the steep summit climb, the next stretch of trail where I did not feel was all that steep while walking up, was making me walked carefully coming down:(
I was somewhat relieved when the steep trail ended and we were back on dirt path. There are many loose gravel on the path and footing can still be suspect when one is not careful, but overall it was much more pleasant going down on the dirt path compared to the steep ascent to the summit.
We walked at a brisk pace and reached the trail head fairly quickly. At about 10pm, we drove away from the parking lot.
I am grateful to H for leading the way on this hike and bringing along hiking pole/head lamp to make the hike easier for me. It was a good workout and I am happy to say I had finally done Mission Peak!
Now, I can tell newcomer to the Bay area: Mission Peak is a great hike, and do not need to add the disclaimer, "but I have never done it myself":)
H used Mission Peak almost as a "ruler". Several times, I would enquire about how difficult a certain hike would be and she would reply: imaging hiking up and down Mission Peak "X" number of times.
It was after one of these conversations that she suggested hiking Mission Peak. I was a little hesitant at first, worried that I would not be mental strong enough to finish hiking all the way to the top, but H promised she will be there to support me. So, I figured, why not...
We met up after work at the trail head. Started our hike at about 7:40pm. H brought along hiking poles(okay, really ski poles, but they worked!) and a head lamp to make the trip easier for me:)
This is actually our second trip to Mission Peak. The first time was on Dec 31st 2007, but the wind so blowing so strong that day, we felt uncomfortable and decided to turn back early.
This time, the weather was more pleasant. The air was slightly cool, but I had a fleece jacket and a windbreaker on, so temperature was not a concern. The lower 2/3 of the trail was challenging, but manageable for me. All those hours on a StairMaster in the gym sure helps!
The final stretch was fairly steep and rocky. H hiked Mission Peak almost on a weekly basis, so it did not bother her the least bit. However, for someone who is less accustom to hiking, I had to look carefully at the ground to find my footing. The head lamp really helped, since it was fairly dark and there wasn't too much moonlight. The poles were more important than I had imagined too. I was able to find my balance easier with the poles and push off a little on the poles to help get up the steep slope.
We reached the summit at 8:44pm. H turned off the head lamp and I was able to see the city lights from below the peak as well as part of the bay. It was a rather spectacular view! I had only seen this view while flying into San Jose or San Francisco. Seeing it while standing on land felt a little surreal:)
We rested a little atop Mission Peak for me to catch my breath and started heading down. Almost immediately, I got myself into trouble by walking to a stretch of trail where I had very little footing. Sensing I was in trouble, H took the lead and choose a more rocky part of the trail to hike down. That path was more rocky, but had better footing. Chalk one up for her experience!
The walk down the steep stretch of the trail was quite challenging for me too. Again, I took my time looking for good footing before taking each step. Despite my best effort, I still slipped and fell once. Even after coming down the steep summit climb, the next stretch of trail where I did not feel was all that steep while walking up, was making me walked carefully coming down:(
I was somewhat relieved when the steep trail ended and we were back on dirt path. There are many loose gravel on the path and footing can still be suspect when one is not careful, but overall it was much more pleasant going down on the dirt path compared to the steep ascent to the summit.
We walked at a brisk pace and reached the trail head fairly quickly. At about 10pm, we drove away from the parking lot.
I am grateful to H for leading the way on this hike and bringing along hiking pole/head lamp to make the hike easier for me. It was a good workout and I am happy to say I had finally done Mission Peak!
Now, I can tell newcomer to the Bay area: Mission Peak is a great hike, and do not need to add the disclaimer, "but I have never done it myself":)
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Napa Day Trip
We had such great fun viewing the California poppies 2 weeks ago that when H suggest going to Napa Valley for Mustard festival, I agreed.
Along the way to Napa, we saw patches of yellow mustard flowers blooming along the freeway and we got quite excited. But our excitement soon faded when we drove on Highway 29. There were no mustard flowers in any of the vineyard!
We were somewhat disappointed, but figured since we were in Napa Valley, we would drive around and do some wine tasting instead. We stopped by St. Supery and found it was closed. Then it dawn on us it was Easter Sunday! Most of the smaller winery were closed.
We stopped by V. Sattui but none of their wine offering seem exciting. Finally, we went to Beringer Brothers and did tasting there. Beringer Brothers offered 3 glasses of wine for $10, which included a free wine glass.
We shared 2 white, 2 red and 2 sweet wines. I did not take note of what we were drinking, so could not describe the wines in any detail. Beringer Brothers had thoughtfully setup an outside tasting area. It was cool but sunny, which made for perfect weather to soak in that laid-back wine country feeling.
For lunch, we decided to try Rutherford grill(menu). We shared a cream of wild mushroom soup, Grilled "Hacked" chicken salad and grilled Ostrich with broccoli and mashed potatoes. I especially enjoy the grill Ostrich and the broccoli. Please see my review on Yelp! for more details.
After lunch, we stopped by St Helena Olive Oil Company, located just across the street from Rutherford grill to taste their flavored mustrad, olive oil and vinegar. H enjoys spicy food and bot of us liked the jalapeno flavored olive oil:)
Our next stop was at Mumm. The mustard festival photography contest was being judge at Mumm and I had wanted to look at pictures. I usually do not go to Silverado trail on my visit to Napa, so I especially enjoyed the drive. Mumm had a small but lovely collection of Ansel Adam's photograph on displayed when we visited and the entries for the Mustard festival were placed on the ground, waiting to be judged.
The final stop of the day was at Copia. When we reach the museum at 4pm, most of the events had concluded. This was H's first visit to Copia, so we went to look at Forks in the Road. I enjoyed this exhibit the most on my last visit, but they had taken out some of the new world vs old world food section of the exhibit which I enjoyed the most. We browsed through the exhibit quickly and headed out to the garden to look at herbs and fruits. In my opinion, Copia is less exciting now compare to my previous visit 2 years ago. I will not be back.
We headed back towards San Jose after visiting Copia because I had a prior commitment.
We were both a little disappointed we did not see mustard flowers at Napa. But the weather was great and we had fun doing various tasting.
Along the way to Napa, we saw patches of yellow mustard flowers blooming along the freeway and we got quite excited. But our excitement soon faded when we drove on Highway 29. There were no mustard flowers in any of the vineyard!
We were somewhat disappointed, but figured since we were in Napa Valley, we would drive around and do some wine tasting instead. We stopped by St. Supery and found it was closed. Then it dawn on us it was Easter Sunday! Most of the smaller winery were closed.
We stopped by V. Sattui but none of their wine offering seem exciting. Finally, we went to Beringer Brothers and did tasting there. Beringer Brothers offered 3 glasses of wine for $10, which included a free wine glass.
We shared 2 white, 2 red and 2 sweet wines. I did not take note of what we were drinking, so could not describe the wines in any detail. Beringer Brothers had thoughtfully setup an outside tasting area. It was cool but sunny, which made for perfect weather to soak in that laid-back wine country feeling.
For lunch, we decided to try Rutherford grill(menu). We shared a cream of wild mushroom soup, Grilled "Hacked" chicken salad and grilled Ostrich with broccoli and mashed potatoes. I especially enjoy the grill Ostrich and the broccoli. Please see my review on Yelp! for more details.
After lunch, we stopped by St Helena Olive Oil Company, located just across the street from Rutherford grill to taste their flavored mustrad, olive oil and vinegar. H enjoys spicy food and bot of us liked the jalapeno flavored olive oil:)
Our next stop was at Mumm. The mustard festival photography contest was being judge at Mumm and I had wanted to look at pictures. I usually do not go to Silverado trail on my visit to Napa, so I especially enjoyed the drive. Mumm had a small but lovely collection of Ansel Adam's photograph on displayed when we visited and the entries for the Mustard festival were placed on the ground, waiting to be judged.
The final stop of the day was at Copia. When we reach the museum at 4pm, most of the events had concluded. This was H's first visit to Copia, so we went to look at Forks in the Road. I enjoyed this exhibit the most on my last visit, but they had taken out some of the new world vs old world food section of the exhibit which I enjoyed the most. We browsed through the exhibit quickly and headed out to the garden to look at herbs and fruits. In my opinion, Copia is less exciting now compare to my previous visit 2 years ago. I will not be back.
We headed back towards San Jose after visiting Copia because I had a prior commitment.
We were both a little disappointed we did not see mustard flowers at Napa. But the weather was great and we had fun doing various tasting.
Monday, March 17, 2008
Happy St Paddy's Day!
I called my Irish American friend Gary over the weekend to wish him Happy St Patrick's Day. Turned out he was in Wuxi, on a business trip. I jokingly asked if there is an Irish pub nearby. His answer was, unfortunately no.Gary used to buy us beer at Connor O'Neills while we were both going to grad school, so we were really closed:) We moved to different cities after graduation, but I still seeked his advice from time to time.
At the end of our conversation, Gary asked me to have a pint on his behalf on St. Patrick's Day. I am only too happy to oblige. I drove to the King's Head Pub on my way home for a green beer, but saw a long line of people waiting to get in. Not wanting to wait, I decided to have a black and tan at home instead.
This one's for you, Gary!
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Santa Cruz Surf Kayak Festival
Readers of my blog knows that I have kayaked several times with Dave Johnston. In this Metro interview with Dave, there was some mentioning of Santa Cruz Surf Kayaking Competition. I found out this event after its completion last year, so had waited a year for this year's event. You can read more about it in this Wave Magazine article as well.I reached Santa Cruz at about 1:30pm. The event was held in Steamer Lane, but parking was limited around the Santa Cruz Surf Museum. I had to park in some residential neighborhood and took a short walk to the cliff.
The first event I saw was stand up paddling. I had not even heard of this sport, so this event was quite exciting for me. The board seems incredibly stable and the competitors were moving smoothly on the water. Some competitors were even able to ride the wave! This is something I like to try.After the stand up paddling demo, there was a surf kayaking heat. Dave was among one competitor in the heat, so I had someone to root for:)
For surf kayaking, short kayaks were used instead of the longer sea kayak that I am more familiar with. This gave the competitor much more control of the boat. And they needed every bit of control! The competitor paddled much further towards the ocean compare to surfers, and then waited for a good wave. When a good wave comes along, they turn their back towards the wave and paddle quickly in an attempt to ride it. With simple paddle stroke, they were able to control their kayak to go either parallel to the wavefront or perpendicular to it. When perpendicular to the wavefront, they received a lot of push from the wave and could ride it. However, the wave would push them too much after a while, and the competitor would turn their kayak into the wave for a second ride.The following is a video posted by Dave that illustrate what I was talking about.
Dave had some good rides, but so did some of his competitors. After about 10mins, the heat was over. There was another stand up paddling demo, followed by the finals for surf kayaking.
The other spectators seem to know all the competitors and every time a competitor caught a good wave and began their surf, the spectators would yell out encouragement. I doubt any of the kayakers could hear us high up on the cliff, but the sport had a nice cosy feeling to it where everyone was cheering for everyone.
I saw several good runs, including on by Rusty where he was tossed into the air for what felt like a couple of seconds, then landed safely and continued to paddle and surf! I have not done surf kayaking, so am unable to determine how difficult those moves are, but am fairly sure beginners do not stand a chance:)
I was at the event for a total of 3 hours. The weather had cleared up nicely for Sunday and I had a great time watching the competition.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Fresno County Blossom Trail
H suggested going to Fresno County Blossom Trail to look at the spring blossoms. I was not previously aware of this attraction and eagerly agreed.A few days before the trip, H received a tip about California poppies blooming in nearby Lake Kaweah. We decided to add poppies viewing to our itinerary.
The trail is about 2 1/2 hours drive from Bay area. Since we switched to DST on Sunday, we left Bay Area at 9am and reach Fresno at about 11:30am.
Our first stop was Simonian farm . According to a Via magazine article, Simonian farm offers a Blossom Trail Mix. The store does have a good selection of dried and fresh fruits, but we were a little disappointed when we did not see the trail mix as described in the article. H bought some dried apples for the trip and I bought dried persimmons. The dried apples tasted like they had been artificially sweeten:(
We drove further along the blossom trail and stopped along a peach farm. From her previous experience, H felt we were about a week late. The almond blossoms were mostly gone. The peach blossoms were not as closely packed as she had remembered.
Near the junction of Academy and Belmont, diagonally across the street from Blossom Trail Cafe, we found a patch of land, offering 3 orchards in one...plums, peaches and oranges. We walked a little in the each orchard, enjoying the flowers. The blossoms here were a little fuller compared to the first orchard. I really like the feeling of walking between 2 rows of trees. The orchard was big enough and for parts of the walk, we could not see where either ends of the rows of trees ended. It was like walking forever between the flowers.
It was almost 12:30pm when left the 3 orchard area and headed to our next destination: Cedar View Winery. According to the Via magazine article, the winery has a patio with good view and I had prepared sandwiches and salad for a simple picnic lunch.
And what a view it is! We were looking at the Serria, near Kings Canyon. There were 2 lusciously green hill in the foreground, and snow peaked mountain in the background. We ordered 2 glasses of chilled Viognier, which has a sweet nose and dry finish, to compliment our lunch. The weather was perfect and as the wind chime gently rings in the background, we thought we were in heaven.
After a leisure lunch, we tasted a lovely Alicante Bouschet. According to the winery, Alicante Bouschet is one of the few grapes whose juice is red. It tasted bold, but was not overly oaky. We enjoyed it very much. The tasting room was offering local brie cheese, which we enjoyed with crackers and pomegranate jelly. The brie and jelly was an excellent combination!
The winery is also a bed and breakfast whose guest can enjoy complimentary wine tasting. H suggested next year, we would go hiking in Kings Canyon on Saturday, then spend the night in the bed and breakfast, doing complimentary tasting wine. On Sunday, we would drive along the blossom trail for a fun-filled 2 day weekend:)
It was about 2:45pm when we set off from the winery. Since we had wanted to go to Lake Kaweah for poppies, we did not visit any more orchard. Near Reedley, there were more beautiful orchards with more dense pack flowers which we did not stop. On future visits, I would focus more on this part of the blossom trail.
From Reedley, it was another 45min drive to Lemon Cove near Lake Kaweah. As we drove along SR 198, we saw patches of orange on the side of the hill along the freeway. That's where we pulled over. The poppy patches were about 3/4 of the way up the hill. Feeling adventurous, we decided to hike up hill to the poppy patch.
It was a great decision! From far, the poppies patch look like a sea of orange, but their beauty really showed as we approached the flowers. The pedals were almost silk like in texture and sparkle like silk in the sun light. There were also beautiful lupines among the poppies, providing purple highlights amongst the orange poppies.
H took this picture of me 3/4 of the way up the hill. We were resting on a rock and playing with our camera when we found this wonderful photo angle with poppies in the foreground and lake Kaweah in the background. I have been showing off this pictures to all my friends:)
As we hike further and further up hill to step more deeply in the sea of poppies, we notice the hill top was not too far away. We decided to summit. The hill was fairly steep at this point and we had to climbed a small rock formation to reach the top. Doing indoor climbing really helped prepared me for this unscheduled hike.
Satisfied, we descended from the hill top and drove a little further along SR 198. Since most stores/resorts were not yet open for the season, so we decided to stop and turn around. Along the way, we stopped at Three River to wash our hands. Watching the river flow is one of my favorite outdoor activities:P
As the sun began to set, we headed back towards Fresno. Feeling a little hungry, I suggested stopping at Kingsburg for dinner. Kingsbury has a Swedish village and I thought we could get some Swedish food.
Turns out both Swedish restaurant in town serves mainly breakfast and lunch, and were not opened for dinner. My next choice was a Basque restaurant in Fresno. When we arrived at the restaurant, the kitchen had closed! It was only 8pm, but since we had 3 more hours of driving ahead of us, we simply ate some leftover sandwich and salad from lunch and called it dinner.
We reached Bay Area at ~11pm after an uneventful drive.
It was an awesome trip and I am glad H told me about it.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Cinequest 18: High Ambition in the Himalaya
I played tennis with A in the morning and invited him to watch a Cinequest movie with me. A and I "discovered" Cinequest together in 2004 and since then, we had watched many indie film together.
The movie we watched was "High Ambition in the Himalaya". It won Vuze.com Audience Favorite Award, received good reviews in Metro and the Mercury News ran a story about the film maker, so I was very much looking forward to the show.
The movie is about climbers attempting to summit Mount Cho Oyu. According to the movie, it is the 6th highest peak in the world. Of the 14 mountains with >8000m peak, Mount Cho Oyu is considered to be the easiest to climb.
****************** Warning: Spoiler**************************************
The climbers all have good credentials. One had survived the "Into Thin Air" episode atop Everest, one is an Ironman, one had complete 7 summit. But even before attempting to summit, a few had to drop out due to physical problem! During the actual summit push, all the climbers were pushed back due to weather. The climbers were philosophical about it, saying the mountain will be there next year, but I can imagine after spending so much time, money and effort training for the climb, it was very disappointing.
****************** Warning: Spoiler**************************************
The movie was simply made...consisting mainly of interviews with the climbers and shepas to tell the story. There were several deaths and injuries told through the interviews which sent chills down my spine. The only eye candies were shots of the wonderful high mountain scenery.
Despite its simplicity, the movie touches me deeply. H is very much into mountaineering and through the film, I was able to appreciate a little of the difficulty and danger of her endeavors.
A liked the film, though was not as moved as I was:( However, both of us were glad we kept the tradition of going to Cinequest.
The movie we watched was "High Ambition in the Himalaya". It won Vuze.com Audience Favorite Award, received good reviews in Metro and the Mercury News ran a story about the film maker, so I was very much looking forward to the show.
The movie is about climbers attempting to summit Mount Cho Oyu. According to the movie, it is the 6th highest peak in the world. Of the 14 mountains with >8000m peak, Mount Cho Oyu is considered to be the easiest to climb.
****************** Warning: Spoiler**************************************
The climbers all have good credentials. One had survived the "Into Thin Air" episode atop Everest, one is an Ironman, one had complete 7 summit. But even before attempting to summit, a few had to drop out due to physical problem! During the actual summit push, all the climbers were pushed back due to weather. The climbers were philosophical about it, saying the mountain will be there next year, but I can imagine after spending so much time, money and effort training for the climb, it was very disappointing.
****************** Warning: Spoiler**************************************
The movie was simply made...consisting mainly of interviews with the climbers and shepas to tell the story. There were several deaths and injuries told through the interviews which sent chills down my spine. The only eye candies were shots of the wonderful high mountain scenery.
Despite its simplicity, the movie touches me deeply. H is very much into mountaineering and through the film, I was able to appreciate a little of the difficulty and danger of her endeavors.
A liked the film, though was not as moved as I was:( However, both of us were glad we kept the tradition of going to Cinequest.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Cinequest 18: Dot.com
Cinequest is an independent film festival held in San Jose, typically with movies showing in Camera Cinemas, among other downtown locations. Since 2004, when I first found out about Cinequest, I always tried to attend at least one movie at Cinequest.
In general, movies at film festival can be hit or miss. Indie movies are not well reviewed and Cinequest tends to choose rather "unique films". Based on our schedule, H and I decided to watch "Dot.com", which had received decent review in Metro.
The movie is a fictional tale about a small village in Portugal which had registered its village name as an website. A multinational Spanish beverage company wanted the same website to promote its new mineral water product. There were some conflicts but, in the end, a happy ending was achieved.
The movies is quite funny, and enjoyable that way. Some details were not clearly handled, but, unlike some indie film, the overall story were coherent. I felt that the movie could have explored globalization and its impact/conflict on local culture more. But given globalization and its impact is such a serious topic, I doubt any movie could do the discussion justice while keeping the movie light and enjoyable.
It was H's first time at Cinequest and she liked the movie. I was relieved since I enjoy going to Film Festivals.
After the movie, we checked out A Perfect Finish wine bar in downtown San Jose. Unlike some other wine bar, A Perfect Finish serves tapas and dessert. I like the concept, since it is nice to be able to get a little food and drink after watching a performance/movie, in the downtown San Jose area.
On the night we visited, the bar were full, but most of the table were opened. I hoped this place does well, so I can come back for future visits.
In general, movies at film festival can be hit or miss. Indie movies are not well reviewed and Cinequest tends to choose rather "unique films". Based on our schedule, H and I decided to watch "Dot.com", which had received decent review in Metro.
The movie is a fictional tale about a small village in Portugal which had registered its village name as an website. A multinational Spanish beverage company wanted the same website to promote its new mineral water product. There were some conflicts but, in the end, a happy ending was achieved.
The movies is quite funny, and enjoyable that way. Some details were not clearly handled, but, unlike some indie film, the overall story were coherent. I felt that the movie could have explored globalization and its impact/conflict on local culture more. But given globalization and its impact is such a serious topic, I doubt any movie could do the discussion justice while keeping the movie light and enjoyable.
It was H's first time at Cinequest and she liked the movie. I was relieved since I enjoy going to Film Festivals.
After the movie, we checked out A Perfect Finish wine bar in downtown San Jose. Unlike some other wine bar, A Perfect Finish serves tapas and dessert. I like the concept, since it is nice to be able to get a little food and drink after watching a performance/movie, in the downtown San Jose area.
On the night we visited, the bar were full, but most of the table were opened. I hoped this place does well, so I can come back for future visits.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
5.9!
Went climbing with H after work. This is my first climb after getting belay certified, and I was concerned I had forgotten everything already:)
I did my usual warm up on an easy 5.8 wall, then belayed H up a easier 5.9. After her descent, she asked if I want to try the same wall. "It felt quite easy," she said...
I saw her went up with relative ease, so figure I would give it a shot. I had to take several breaks along the way, and struggled on some rocks, but finally managed to reach the top. H was very encouraging, letting me rest as I requested and not letting me give up. I greatly appreciate that.
I must admit I was only able to do that specific 5.9 wall, and I couldn't even get more than 5 feet off the ground on another 5.9 wall:( Overall though, I was happy I am making small improvements.
Now, to conquer that one 5.8 wall with overhang consistently, without taking breaks!
I did my usual warm up on an easy 5.8 wall, then belayed H up a easier 5.9. After her descent, she asked if I want to try the same wall. "It felt quite easy," she said...
I saw her went up with relative ease, so figure I would give it a shot. I had to take several breaks along the way, and struggled on some rocks, but finally managed to reach the top. H was very encouraging, letting me rest as I requested and not letting me give up. I greatly appreciate that.
I must admit I was only able to do that specific 5.9 wall, and I couldn't even get more than 5 feet off the ground on another 5.9 wall:( Overall though, I was happy I am making small improvements.
Now, to conquer that one 5.8 wall with overhang consistently, without taking breaks!
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Dinner with A and S
A IM'ed me at work last week, asking me if I am free for dinner on Saturday evening. I told him sure...
A's SO, S, is a good friend of mine from undergrad. We don't meet very often because we stayed in different part of the bay area. One event we have done regularly together is the San Francisco Dine About Town (DAT) promotion in January every year. We are both a little bit of a foodie:)
However, DAT(Dine About Town) changed its format this year. Instead of offering the promotion the entire month of January, as in previous years, this year, DAT promotion is been offered during the last 2 weeks of January and the first 2 weeks of June.
I was sick on the the weekend in January where we were supposed to meet, so this is like a make up dinner:)
We met for Little Lamb Mongolian Hot Pot in Union City. I have heard positive reviews about the food there and eagerly went. Turns out A and S loved the place and have been there several times already. They did most of the ordering. I posted a review on Yelp about the restaurant.
Good food, great company...After a somewhat busy week at work, I was glad to unwind a little and enjoy myself.
With this new format for DAT, we will definitely try to do dinner in San Francisco during the first 2 weeks of June.
A's SO, S, is a good friend of mine from undergrad. We don't meet very often because we stayed in different part of the bay area. One event we have done regularly together is the San Francisco Dine About Town (DAT) promotion in January every year. We are both a little bit of a foodie:)
However, DAT(Dine About Town) changed its format this year. Instead of offering the promotion the entire month of January, as in previous years, this year, DAT promotion is been offered during the last 2 weeks of January and the first 2 weeks of June.
I was sick on the the weekend in January where we were supposed to meet, so this is like a make up dinner:)
We met for Little Lamb Mongolian Hot Pot in Union City. I have heard positive reviews about the food there and eagerly went. Turns out A and S loved the place and have been there several times already. They did most of the ordering. I posted a review on Yelp about the restaurant.
Good food, great company...After a somewhat busy week at work, I was glad to unwind a little and enjoy myself.
With this new format for DAT, we will definitely try to do dinner in San Francisco during the first 2 weeks of June.
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