Over the weekend, I followed the uni's Campus Life to Lake Tahoe. You could go there in Summer for hiking, or in Winter for skiing. It's early Spring now, but there's still snow.

First sight of snow from the bus! The air surprisingly isn't that cold until sundown.
I think it would be a pretty fun place to live if you have kids. Bring them skiing or hiking over the weekend, I wouldn't complain about the lack of shopping malls.
Being in the city so much it's easy to forget how awesome America's nature looks like in real life.
Where we were staying was very conveniently right next to the ski lifts.
The shopping square. We arrived here in the evening, so it was just time to wander around for the rest of the day. Hoards of tourists and overpriced merchandise, but there's a fun relaxed atmosphere in the air.
Someone said on the other bus that there was supposed to be a storm forecasted for the evening, which I thought would be really fun and a guarantee for fresh snow the next day, but the sky was completely cloudless. Sunset on the mountains still looks good though.
Where we stayed was a group of 2 bedroom cabins, pretty well equipped.
The kitchen literally has everything except a chopping board, so us girls who were shopping together earlier decided not to eat out but instead buy some ready meals at the supermarket and have it at home.
Which is much more fun, a more private place to exchange gossip all we want(wine helps to loosen tongues, yes it does), plus it was much cheaper than eating out, of course.
Originally I was signed up to share a cabin with 3 other guys so I thought it would be a little less awkward for me if I bunked in with these 2 girls. The other room in the cabin is supposed to house 2 other guys, which was still ok. 1 room for 3 people is a little crammed, but it's just temporary.
So, ok, the next day, and we are all equipped with our ski or snowboarding stuff and on the gondola.
Lake Tahoe is best appreciated at a height. Look at that blue colour! In the summer you could go boating on it. Perhaps I should return then.
Boards go outside the gondolas. I've tried skiing before, so it's boarding for me today. Most of the uni folk took the boarding option as well, so you can see there's a definite trend going on.
Boarding lessons. Ok, not quite, we're just hanging around and introducing ourselves here, but it's a good photo opportunity when everyone's sitting still.
Allentine's going to be my boarding buddy today.
On top of that beginner's slope and ready to go down.
At the end of the day I managed to get down the slope pretty well, but for sure there are lots of bruises from earlier on. Kind of makes you want to keep going for more lessons. Man, there's something really masochistic about learning a new sport.
There's Jane in the ski class. As she pointed out, it's not as easy to carry around so many separate items of equipment; 4 compared to just that 1 board if you are snowboarding.
Back in the resort's lounge. Looks so cosy. But we're not done yet, time to go over to the lake before the sun sets.
I think most of the uni folk forgot about the lake, what with being tired out by skiing all day and being occupied by the pizza party after that, but it was worth it to go down to the lakeside in the increasingly cold weather to see the view.
The resort had a game room, which made us very happy. Too bad we had to pay to use it, but that was alright. None of us were very good players, but on the other hand our lack of skill made for plenty of laughs.
Angel giving it some style.
And so is Lokesh.
There was a foosball table as well, a treat for me.
Later on some other people who were staying at the resort decided to join in. But other than them, I suppose the rest of the uni were having fun at the swimming pool, so we pretty much had the game room to ourselves.

Some retro arcade games as well.
Another pic of the lounge, All we need is a snowstorm outside, some jazz music and hot tea.
The next morning I decided I could not miss going to the heated pool, so I sneaked out while everyone else were still passed out from all the activities yesterday. Look at the steam! There's snow on the ground. Too bad not everyone knew about the pools so they didn't bring their swimming gear.
And now it's time to get back to SF. That was a really short trip on hindsight, traveling 2 days and only staying for 1. That's a really nice board in the lobby though. If only I was a better boarder. And had frequent access to ski slopes.
One last parting picture, the container lifting mechanisms at the SF port. This is back in the city and you can see it anytime you pass by the Bay Bridge. But I still find them endearing, they look like a herd of deer coming down to the water for a drink.