Ramen Halu.

After snowboarding, we went to Ramen Halu in San Jose for supper. Not bad, not bad.

Thick chewy ramen in a rich savoury broth.

Snowboarding @ Heavenly.

I went snowboarding last Saturday at Heavenly, another ski resort in Lake Tahoe. It's ranked #1 and has the most gorgeous view of all the resorts! Inches of fresh powder made for a smoother and more forgiving ride.

Nel, Linda & Me.

Hmmm... Maybe not.

The Board.

This is the board I rented this time. It's a 159cm state-of-the-art Rossignol Premier board! I decided to upsize to get more stability and speed. Boy is this board fasssssst!! It just pulls you straight down the slope! On my 2nd run I managed to set a new personal speed record again, beating the previous one by a considerable margin! However, the ending was not-so-glamorous. When I tried to stop... the next thing I knew I had my face buried in the snow, totally winded, lip bleeding, goggles and even mouth filled with powder!

Was it worth it? OH YEAH.

Car.

This is the car I've been driving around in. It's an old Toyota Previa that I'm borrowing from my hosts. I'm about 8 miles from my workplace, which is not too bad. takes me about 20min to get in to the office.

La Jolla Video!

San Diego Zoo Video!

SeaWorld Video!

San Diego

I just got back from San Diego! It was an incredible weekend.

I bunked at a UCSD (University of California San Diego) College. Rowdyyyy!!! Those guys are into drinking, weed, frat parties and the like. Cool bunch of people though. Quite an experience.

This is the bed I borrowed. Check out the mess!



Day #1: UCSD & La Jolla
This is me and Denise, having breakfast on campus.


UCSD is a nice campus. Look, a giant teddy bear!


I went to La Jolla in the afternoon. What a beauty! Beats Cottesloe.




Seals visit the shore to bask in the sun every now and then.


Look what I stumbled upon, engraved in stone! Haha.


Day #2: San Diego Zoo & Gaslamp Quarter



I got to meet Bai Yun, Gao Gao and Zhen Zhen! Those are the names of 3 of the pandas on exhibit at the San Diego Zoo's Giant Panda Research Station. You can watch the pandas live on Panda Cam.


Check out this shot from the Sealion Show!


At night I went to Gaslamp Quarter, the Orchard Road of San Diego. Unfortunately, I was unable to hit the pubs cos the legal drinking age is 21. The night really got interesting when I met this 50+ year old singer-cum-guitarist busker at the bus stop. We started talking and I was intrigued by his sharing. Just a while ago he had been living on the streets. He had recently got over drugs and alcohol after 35 years of addiction and was trying to start afresh. We happened to be taking the same bus and I ended up walking him home. I even went in for a bit, we talked some more and I got a chance to lay hands on him and pray. He gave me his phone number, I'll be calling to check up on him when I get back to Australia!

Day #3: SeaWorld

I got soaked. The shows and rides were splashing wet! Plus it was raining on and off. I was blown away by some of the exhibits; especially the hybrid roller-coaster-log-ride Lost in Atlantis, the dolphin show, Shamu's Believe show and Wild Arctic's belarus whale and walrus.

Guess who!

Snowboarding Video.

Lunch Time Chronicles.

Pan-Seared Ahi Tuna Sashimi & Prime Cut Steak 8oz.

Best steak texture ever!

Monday Again.

Back to work. Oh well.

Order of the day: Clam chowder and sea bass.


I just booked my flight to San Diego. I'll be spending the upcoming long weekend there. San Diego Zoo, Seaworld, La Jolla, here I come!

Snowboarding at Northstar.

It was a long drive to the region of Tahoe. We set out at 4am, while it was still dark, arriving about 5 hours later. To our surprise, the resort was already pretty crowded! My camera and I braved subzero temperatures to bring you the following collage.






I was exhausted by the end of the first run... Then I did 10 more. A new speed record, the landing of my first jump and some breathtaking views from the summit made for a great day of snowboarding!

At least 2 more snowboarding trips in the pipeline. Watch out Lake Tahoe! I'll be back.