~ Armand Gutierrez ~

Last month’s Post-Season Picnic at Las Palmas Park in Sunnyvale was a great event. About 30 members convened at the designated picnic area, which was next door to last year’s picnic spot, with plenty of food for everyone. Looks like Las Palmas Park is a popular venue for picnics so perhaps NSC can start a tradition by having Pre- and Post-Season picnics here every year. Besides the variety of food, Karen Soo had us all gather ‘round for her popular dice game. Would you believe that the winner is related to last year’s winner? I won’t reveal her name because she’ll have her own write-up in the newsletter. See Amy’s report here: << Picnic Report >>

The Mountain View Obon Festival is July 20-21 and if you’re interested in volunteering for the beer booth (or other booths), then please contact Karen Soo ( tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org ) and let her know. They also could use help in several other areas: pre-construction and post-destruction staging (this sounds like fun), manju making, strawberry shortcake booth (is sampling allowed?), and other food booths. So what are you waiting for?

Next year’s FWSA International trip is to Zermatt, Switzerland and a second week in Spain. It’s been 30 years since the last time I was in Zermatt so I just had to sign up for this trip. Yes, it’s a little pricey (more than the Chamonix and Innsbruck trips), but viewing and skiing next to the Matterhorn is priceless. Zermatt is a quaint little town that does not allow automobiles on the streets. Yes, you walk everywhere: to the restaurants, shopping, and the ski lifts. There are horse-drawn carriages for those that would like to see the town the old fashioned way. I’m looking forward to skiing Zermatt and possibly some side trips to various nearby Italian ski resorts (Monte Cervinia is on the other side of the Matterhorn). If you have any questions about the Zermatt trip then contact me at president@niseiskiclub.org.
(FWSA Website: http://www.fwsa.org/Travel/InternationalSki/2014-FWSA-Zermatt/2014-FWSA-Zermatt.html)

The Sun Peaks ski week trip already has seven signups and I’m sure there’ll be more. If you haven’t signed up then now is the time to do so. Normally final payments aren’t due ‘till November or December, but Alaska Airlines is requiring final payments by October. So get your check outs, fill out the sign-up forms and be part of what should be a great trip.

~ Armand Gutierrez ~

1.      Membership Activity

The month of June was a repeat of May with 18 members joining, which gives us a total of 36 members (about the same as last year).  We need to double our membership to ensure there will be enough signups for the weekend ski trip for next year. This is where we need your help in ensuring our weekend bus trips actually take place by talking to former members that haven’t joined yet and getting them to join. The board can only do some much by hosting social events and planning trips, so now is the time to recruit some members. NSC is not only a ski & snowboard club but also a “social” club where we get together for a variety of events. With that in mind don’t forget to invite “non-skiers” that would enjoy our social events.

2.      Sun Peaks Ski Week – Feb 8-15, 2014

Currently we have seven members signed up for the Sun Peaks ski week trip. If you’re thinking of going then now is the time to sign up and send in your deposits. Although there are reservations for 32 (I’m very optimistic) we do need a minimum of 20 in order to take advantage of group discounts.  By September, which seems months away, flight reservations will have to be released for unfilled seats. So, if you’ve never been to Sun Peaks don’t miss out on this opportunity to ski someplace different.

Info & sign up form here =>SUN PEAKS

By Amy Tsuhako

Saturday June 22 was picnic perfect weather at Sunnyvale’s Las Palmas Park. As we circled the parking lot looking for an empty stall, kids were running around tossing water balloons; and adults were stringing up piñatas and firing up grills. We spotted NSC’ers already noshing on food and knew we were at the right spot! As with NSC tradition, food was plentiful as the four picnic tables were covered with buckets of fried chicken, chili, BBQ ribs, chicken wings, maki sushi, California rolls, dumplings, egg rolls, lettuce wraps, sausage and peppers, somen salad, cabbage salad, quinoa salad, fruit salads, chocolate strawberries, an assortment of cookies, brownies, homemade toffee brittles and cheese cakes.

It was so hard to decide what to load up on my plate, as the creativity of some of the dishes rivaled those of Master/ Iron Chef creations. David and I sampled Karen’s roasted beet quinoa salad, Hoyt’s homemade chili, Greg’s pork and green bean lettuce wrap, David Tom’s “not your grandma’s BBQ’ed ribs”, and Liz’s cabbage salad. Even though we were stuffed, we could not resist Haruko’s berry cobbler and Wes’s homemade toffee. Absolutely scrumptious! And no picnic is complete without a slice of watermelon –seedless, super-sweet and handpicked by Debbie. YUM just about sums up the food coma I was in at the end of the picnic.

As we ate and chatted, we felt really grateful that the NSC board of volunteers took the time to organize this picnic so that we could catch up with our friends old and new. We met up with people that we had not seen in a while such as Frank and Wendy, Jackie, Liz (and her mom, a former NSC member!), Melissa, Desmond, and Brian. And it was really heartwarming to see that NSC friendships span not just years, but decades.

We also learned a few tips that afternoon. It was amusing to learn from Carol that being a sushi chef is not that easy. And we discovered from David M. that discounted, usable postal stamps are available online. And from, Frank, we learned that you can make money off of interest free credit card loans—whoa… I usually throw away those mailers—that’s why he’s our treasurer! But most importantly, we learned that our resident ski instructor, Randy, will be sporting a new orange “easy-to-follow” Arcteryx jacket! –Although whether I will really follow him down the hill is still debatable…

And to round off the entertainment for the event, Karen organized the now NSC traditional dice game of Left,  Center, Right. I really didn’t want to win, I swear!!! But, as the dice rolled, and excitement ramped up, screams of “Left, Left, Left”, or “Right, Right, Right” could be heard clear across the park. In the end, it came down to Bill and me with a single dollar each left in our hands. With just a flick of the wrist, Bill rolled the die, and we held our breaths as we watched the outcome—Center. And just like that, the pot of dollar bills ended in my hands—all 66 of ‘em. One couple winning two years in a row is I believe grounds for exclusion from the game next year…