Happy Valentines Day!!

Yes, this is a commercial holiday where companies bank on the fact that we will go out and buy things (chocolate, cards, jewelry, flowers, etc) for our loved ones. We can all look at it that way and shrug at the fact that this is a made up holiday. Or... we can look at it as a day to celebrate our LOVE. Love for our loved ones (family, friends, animals or our life in general.) I consider myself a romantic and I definitely believe in love. So, no matter how much I try not to care about the commercial Valentines, I still care about the fact that this is the day to celebrate love. I hope that everyone has a very Happy Valentines Day and is able to spend some part of the day with someone or something that they love.

Nana, I had a wonderful time with you yesterday and I was so happy I could spend some time with you. That was a great Valentines Day gift. 

Oregon Friends come to Tahoe

What an incredible weekend. Nik's friends from Portland came down to Tahoe for some good ole' winter skiing. We had a great time skiing at Heavenly on Saturday and Sunday, then heading over to Squaw Valley on Monday to finish off the trip. On Saturday, it dumped all day. We were getting fresh tracks every run, so we skipped lunch and skied the entire day without a break. We were pretty tired and wet by the time we finished. Heavenly was great though, they had FREE hot chocolate and cookies for everyone getting off the hill. It really made for a perfect ending to an epic day. They are all very good skiers, so I had only one option this weekend with my skiing skills and that was to get good quickly. I really feel I improved exponentially. 

We all stayed at Nik's cabin in South Lake. It was a little tight with six people, but we all got along great and had many laughs. For the Super Bowl, we got back in time from skiing to make our bets at the casinos (no winners), throw together chili on the crock-pot, make some appetizers and crack some beers. Later on that night we made a shotski out of an old ski and six shot glasses (it is a necessity to have at any ski cabin) and we played card games. 

It was an incredible weekend with great people and great snow. One I will not soon forget!

Prep for The Great Race

Viewpoint on the trail of Lake Tahoe

One month and counting before the annual Great Race. The Great Race is a skate ski race that runs from Tahoe City to Truckee (30 km a little over 18 miles). It will be held on March 7th.  Last year I did the race with only skate skiing 3 times ever before and I was on rental equipment. This year I am a little more experienced (I still consider myself a beginner), but I have my own gear. Today I went about 25 km at Tahoe XC and did pretty well. Although very tired from the hard work, I am confident I will do better than last year. Also, this year I will not be alone. Sarah, Zach and a few of their Idaho friends (Jenna, Willie and maybe some others) will be joining me on this adventure. 

Skate skiing is such an amazing sport. Every part of your body is used, meaning it is an incredible workout. You have two little toothpicks (skis) attached at your feet and exceptionally long poles to help you along. The sport is more about technique and form than anything else. The point is to skate along using your legs and arms (with poles) to push. The skis don't have edges, which makes downhill a whole different type of challenge. Today, I had to mentally remind myself I could make it up the large hills, even though my heart was pounding out of my chest from being so tired. Then, going downhill I had to hold tight and try to keep as much control as I could. Like I said before, there are no edges. 

Thanks Mom for going with me, I look forward to this challenge!

Back to the Snow!!

The tan has faded, I am finally back on the right sleep pattern and it officially is winter again. We have spent the last 5 out of 6 days skiing/snowboarding. Nik's family has a cabin South Lake Tahoe and we each have a pass to Heavenly, so we have been spending our time up here. Last weekend, his brother, Steve, and his friends, Joe and April, came up and we had a great time. Friday night was spent making up new card games and drinks. We came up with an amazing drink that had cream soda, Seagrams and SNOW. It was like a spiked snow cone. Can you say delicious!!

Ali, my sister, was nice enough to lend me a pair of her skis. Thanks Ali!! So, yesterday Nik gave me some lessons on the mountain. I feel like I improved so much and we had a fantastic day of skiing. I was beat at the end of the day, but it was well worth it. Wanda, my dog, has been with us the entire time. She has gotten very good at pouncing through the deep snow. She stays and guards the cabin while we ski, but gets to go out multiple times a day to chase snowballs. 

Hot to cold

Well, we officially made it to SFO last night, with a great warm welcome by Nik's parents. We stayed the night in the city with his brother and sister in-law because we were in no shape to drive to Reno. This morning we decided to head over the pass even though both of us were wide awake by 4 am. We got about 5 hours sleep. Jetlag has hit us a bit and our bodies are confused of what time it is. Regardless, I really wanted to get home. Unfortunately the Sierra's are getting hit with a heavy winter storm, so we have been making the slow trek over the pass. It is weird thinking we were in the jungle a few days ago and now we are in the snow. Can't wait to go ski!!!

Map of our loop

Headed home!!

Well... we are on our way home. It is hard to believe this trip has
come to an end. It has been such an amazing experience. So many great
memories, pictures, videos that we can't wait to go through and
organize. Sitting in the Bangkok airport I can't help but think of the
huge loop Nik and I did around thailand. Starting in Bangkok, flying
down to Phuket, taking a ferrie to Ko Phi Phi, then another ferrie to
Krabi, a bus to Surat Thani, another ferrie to Ko Phangnan, then to Ko
Tao, one last ferrie to Chumphon, and a bus back up to Bangkok. Talk
about planes, trains and automobiles except we did planes, ferries and
buses. I have no idea how many miles we clocked, but I do know we did
it about 9000 miles from home. Basically the complete other side of
the earth and a day ahead. Yet, we were able to communicate with
everyone when well timed. We leave Bangkok at 5:30 on Monday and
arrive in San Francisco on Monday at 6:30. Because of the time change,
it seems like a short trip, when actually it is about 23 hours of
travel. Yuck!! The price we must pay for seeing some sights of the
world.