Travel Blog cont... Day 2 - Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley

.......continuing the 2nd part of this travel blog...

enroute Lake Tahoe
The journey to Lake Tahoe was uneventful except for the pit stop at the Petrol Pump. Here we met a couple of Biker Dudes, we were checking out their bikes. Up until then I had never seen a Harley Davidson this close. The sheer size of these machines is HUGE. Upon seeing our excitement, they were generous enough to let us use their bikes for taking snaps. The California Sun had finally decided to bless us with its gracious presence, and we were thankful for that...

Beautiful Blue Lake Tahoe
Located on the border of California and Nevada this beautiful lake is nestled in mountains. It has the bluest water I have ever seen. The mountains surrounding it give it a majestic aura. During winter the mountain tips are covered in snow.
The bright sun leaves a silver shimmer on the water and the blue backdrop makes it a sight to behold. The city too is very laid back and not crowded, in spite of it being one of the most visited places in US. If you are planning to visit SFO, make sure you have this place marked in your trip planner.
Me and Harsha just could not resist the temptation of having a dip in it. ;)... Its a "Chair and Book" kinda place, where you spend 3-4 days just sitting by the shoreline and reading a nice book. Unfortunately... due to time constraints we had to move on…

Squaw Valley Ski Resort
The 1960 Winter Olympics were held here. On our way there we had to pass a bridge. Due to repair work only one lane was open. At a time traffic could move in one direction only ("Alternate Stop/GO"). It was a pleasant surprise to find no one tailgating. Couldn't imagine the chaos a similar instance would have caused in India.
At the resort a room sized lift (I am not kidding, this elevator was huge) took us to the cable car. The ride way up gave a nice view of the valley. Once on top you get a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe.
After having a chocolate frosted vanilla ice-cream we decided to be a bit more adventurous and try ice skating. The last time I had touched skates was way back in 6th grade (those were roller not even in-line). Though I was not able to skate smoothly I was actually able to circle the skating rink 4-5 times. And no, the skating rink was not the size of boxing ring... remember 1960 OLYMPICS.. duhh :)..After a few slips and lots of falls, I was able to get off the rink with all of my 350 bones intact. (stats courtesy munnabhai)...

.....Way back
.......Harsha over came his speeding ticket fear and broke the 65mph barrier :)
.. CALLED UP ONE OF MY BEST FRIEND SURAJ, made plans to meet the next day, the thought of seeing him after such a long time brought a smile to my face.... remembered the dialogue Sid says to Sameer in Dil Chahta Hai....
"Sid: Dekh raha hu wo jahaz, jo zara der baad dikhai nahi dega. Jante ho hum tino us jahaz ki tarah hai, jo aaj nahi to kal apni apni manzilon ko dhundte hue niklenge. Aur ho sakta hai, hamari manzilein alag alag ho Sameer: Tu ye sab kyun keh raha hai meri samaj me nahi aa raha. Hum dost hai, zindagi bhar ke liye.Sid : Sid: Ofcourse hai!! Lekin kiski zindagi kise kahan le jaati hai kya pata? Kabhi socha hai?? Har saal yahaan aana to ek taraf, 10 saalon me milna bhi mushkil ho jayega!!"...........maan in miss my College Days...


Photo Link http://new.photos.yahoo.com/sfx_mayuresh/album
PS: Harsha brought it to my notice, that i met my friend on the 3rd day and not the 2nd. On replaying the sequence of events if think its correct... For the sake of cronological scantity i have made correction to the 2 blogs :)

Day 3 to follow...