Picture time!

From rock climbing in the Colorado Springs in the Garden of the Gods. It was so pretty!!! :)

Got to hang out with my old NI bud Will at the Broadmoor.

The view from our condo in Tahoe. And an attempt at bailing out the sinking kayak.

Fun weekends!

This past weekend I continued my streak of fun weekends by going to Tahoe. Tahoe is further than I thought - it's longer than Austin to Dallas! So after a long drive and arriving in Tahoe around midnight, I was happily surprised by our lodging. A classmate on the trip has a friend who agreed to let us stay at his condo. It just so happens the condo is right on Lake Tahoe, nicely furnished with plenty of beds, and with kayaks and a tennis court. It was awesome how nice this place was.

After getting 9 hours of sleep (that's a record for me!), I woke up and got ready to go mountain biking. Unfortunately, the altitude hit me, and I got light-headed early on in the ride. So our sub-group took it a little easier but still did a lot of biking. Then after a very Californian healthy and yummy lunch, I went swimming in the lake (cold) and then warmed up in the complex swimming pool. Afterwards, it was time for tennis and then we made dinner. It was delicious with steak, burgers, grilled veggies and corn, salad, watermelon, and dessert.

Sunday morning we went kayaking and almost sunk a kayak. How that's possible, I don't really know. Thankfully, we had a canoe too so we were able to use that to help empty the water from the kayak. I got a good workout and was happy when I was sore the next day. Then it was another swim before I headed back home. So relaxing!

Now this coming weekend, the plan is to go to Napa. Yay! :D

The Broadmoor

As part of my summer internship, they hold a Summer Associate Conference in Colorado Springs at this resort called The Broadmoor. It was amazing! It's a beautiful resort right in the mountains; it's a very large and extensive resort so we were definitely pampered. I arrived on Wednesday and left on Sunday morning. Part of the conference had to be professional program, but I also got to go river rafting (but it was only a Class 3) as well as go outdoor rock climbing in the Garden of the Gods. I already went to Maui as part of the job which was cool, but I think I'd have to say this trip was better. The spacing between the professional programs and fun things was more even, and the resort itself was really fun. There was a cool pool with 2 big water slides, and the firm had a cabana available for us to hang out at. I know - I'm pretty spoiled. There was even a night where we ate dinner at this lodge where they had different birds and wolves for us to look at. We also saw a bear hanging out near a golf course while at the lodge.

The rock climbing was the big highlight for me. After climbing a few times on the easier rocks, I went to the big leagues where they had some climbs set up in the Garden of the Gods. It's this beautiful park in Colorado Springs. It was definitely difficult, and the guide helped me here and there (including, kind of pulling me up to help me reach), but it was great to reach the top and enjoy the view. I scratched up my hand and leg in the process, but now I can say I have battle wounds. So fun!!

A Z-elightful Day

On Monday, I was back in my typical routine, flying out to Seattle. This time I got to take the 9:00 am flight instead of the 6:30 am, so the week was already off to a better start. Then, I got another little surprise. I usually don't rent a car because I carpool during the week with another person, but since I was the only one from my office this week, I headed over to the Hertz counter. The woman at the counter was super chipper and really nice. Surprised by her cheerfulness, I reciprocated even though I was a little groggy from my flight. After I had told her I was the only one in the car for the week, she smiled and said she had a suprise for me. When I got to the lot, I found a pretty, silver 350Z coupe. I don't think I've even driven a 2-door before other than a little hatchback. It's been fun to drive it around Seattle since it's a lot more zippy then any other rental car I've gotten. It's also funny to me because all the guys are jealous since their free upgrades usually end up being mini-vans.

Then the nice day was capped off by dinner. Last week I had noticed that there was a Z Tejas right across from my hotel. So on Monday, I got a to-go order of the crispy salmon, a side caesar salad, and the mud pie. They even gave me cornbread! Obviously by the ordering, it was a case of the eyes being bigger than the stomach, but I was so happy to be reunited with yummy Z Tejas food. mmm