Reno, Tahoe, California and all that jazz

When I was first about to move to California, it was as if I was moving to a second home and I really planned on making it there. Unfortunately, it didnt turn out to be the case. The best part about living in the SF Bay area was that you dont need to really plan your weekends, just hit the streets around 8 Am and you would be sucked into something lively and fun. I know people do complain about higher price of living, but they would unanimously agree that the weather pays for itself. The economy was a bitch and here I ended up in Austin (which IMO is a close replacement, only in terms of social life). You can never ever make me speak great about Texan weather because I despise heat or really bright sun, so do take anything I say with a pinch of salt. Also, the lack of great hiking spots is such a bummer, but I guess if you arent in the habit of doing a thing, you wont really miss it much. I missed not being able to hike initially, but now since that is a distant thought, it has becoming a thing in the past. The Yosemite trips, big sur drives, Pacific trails, Muir woods, Purisima Creeks - they all give me goose bumps and I'd get these with-drawl symptoms.

It was great fun when I hike up the steep slope atop of Mission peak and run down the longer trails (with less grade), not once, but twice before the sun peaks; thats exhilarating. Then there was half dome, Mt. Dana, one can go on and on about this.

Here, I present a cool video clip (photo slides) of a tour taken by few Texans (without accents, as they claim), 178 mile expedition run. The background song was apt and quite endearing. Hope you enjoy it.