~ by Freeman Wong ~
(with a few edits by Hoyt)

Sacramento Group

We five from Sacramento met Hoyt and about 15 other Nisei Ski Club members and friends at the Sutro Baths Visitor Center in San Francisco. We planned to hike to the old Sutro mansion site across the road, but since the fog was too thick for good views, we hiked down to the bath ruins before starting the headlands hike.  The weather was cool and the fog layer was just high enough to reveal most of the views along the headlands – perfect weather for a hike.

We took a spur off the main trail down to a labyrinth for some fun. Some of us tried to follow the large labyrinth. I heard one person say she got dizzy
trying to get to the center but was very excited to get there.

We also hiked along El Camino Del Mar in the Sea Cliff district where we saw many multi-million dollar homes with views of the Golden gate Bridge from their backyards. We saw Robin Williams’ old home where fans had left flowers and candles in his memory.  As we stopped at the Palace of the Legion of Honor*  on the way back, we were lucky enough to see 60 plus vintage motor scooters drive up and park for a meeting to display their scooters in front of the museum.
(* editor’s note- did you know that the Palace of Legion of Honor is modeled after the  Musée National de la Légion d’honneur in Paris?)

Just before ending our four hour hike, we stopped at the USS San Francisco Naval Memorial where we saw part of a damaged warship and signs about its history in WW II.

Thanks to Hoyt Nelson for leading us on another scenic and informative hike. Looking forward to another one soon!

Welcome to the End of Summer / Back to School edition of the NSC monthly newsletter!

Lots in store this month for your reading pleasure.

From the President’s Desk

First off, we have our club president, Armand’s President’s Message and for an update on our current membership and the Jackson Hole trip. Speaking of the Jackson Hole trip, don’t forget to send you your final payments by September 15!!

Jackson Hole

For those of you whom have not been to Jackson Hole before, the town will offer lots of non-snow attractions.  I have fond memories of my two trips to Jackson Hole.  One of the attractions are the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar with its bar with embedded silver dollars! Here are a couple of pictures of the bar.  There’s no time like the present to brush up on your line dancing steps!

Another memorable attraction is the arch of antlers at the Jackson Hole town square.

~

Annual Picnic

We had another successful annal picnic and BBQ!  Melissa Wong (a.k.a. Fanatic A’s Fan) desribes the picnic and her fortuitous luck at the Left/Right/Center game that netted her almost $100!!!  Our ever present paparazzo, Bill Pseudonym, has supplied a plethora of pictures and a video of the Left/Right/Center game.  Read Melissa’s recounting and see Bill’s photographic oeuvre here: NSC Annual Picnic August 2014.

~

SJ SHARKS vs VANCOUVER CANUCKS

The first ever Bay Area Snow Sports Concil’s (BAC) San Jose Sharks Hockey night is coming up!!!

When : Thursday, November 6, 2014
Game Time : 7:30 pm
Where : San Hose Shark Tank,, AKA SAP Center , 525 W. Santa Clara St San Jose, Ca
Cost : $43 / ticket

Ticket Ordering DEADLINE : October 9, 2014

Details in the BAC Flyer:  2014 BAC Sharks Game FLyer 

For more info, contact Dennis Heffley (bac.president@skibac.org) or 925-998-4415

Sharks Home page: http://sharks.nhl.com/index.html

~Nota Bene – this is NOT an NSC event~

~

Far West Ski Association Whistler 2015 Trip

Just in case you didn’t get onto Armand’s Jackson Hole trip, here’s an invite from the Far West Ski Association (FWSA) to go to Whistler, British Columbia.

~Nota Bene – this is NOT an NSC event~

Hello Fellow BAC Skiers!

The FWSA Ski Week to Whistler BC is coming up next year, and it is going to be an AWESOME trip.  Whistler is the largest ski resort in North America with the longest runs, and a new “Peak to Peak” gondola connecting the twin peaks.  It is consistently rated the #1 Ski Resort in North American by Ski Magazine, so this will be a trip you do not want to miss.

We already have over 70 people from 8 different ski clubs in the BAC signed up, but we couldn’t help but notice that no one from your club is signed up!  We have attached the announcement flyer and a trip preference form here.  Could you please circulate these to your members and put them in your newsletter?  Thanks for helping get the word out.

~

49ers Levi’s Stadium Visit – Assessment of Interest~

Any one intersested in visitiong the new 49ers Levi’s stadium? Trip director, Karen Soo, would like to know.  If there is enough interest, she wll pusue the next steps for a visit.

If you are interested, let her know by dropping her an email at: tripdirector@niseiskiclub.org

That that that’s All Folks – until next month…

~ Armand Gutierrez, President ~

Are You Ready for Winter?

Now that Labor Day has passed, summer is giving way to fall and the next thing we know it will be winter. Are you ready for the upcoming snow season? I’ve got a new pair of skis/bindings and boots that I picked up at the end of last season. So, yes, I am ready. Well, almost ready. The bindings still need to be mounted on the skis and the boots adjusted to the bindings. Then, I’ll be ready.

If you need new equipment then starting in October is when the ski shops start having some sales for last year’s inventory. And then, in November, there are the annual Snow Bomb shows in San Francisco and San Jose. These events offer great deals on ski and snowboard equipment, clothing and accessories, plus it’s like attending a great big party. There will be more details on the Snow Bomb shows in future newsletters.

NSC Picnic

Was that a great picnic we had last month? There must have been at least 50 people wandering around sampling a variety of foods, talking with old friends, and enjoying what turned out to be a beautiful, sunny afternoon in Sunnyvale. Many thanks to Karen Soo for organizing the event and to Curtis Otaguro as chef extraordinaire on the BBQ. And a special Thank You for all of the members that attended and made this a great event.

~ President Armand Gutierrez ~

Membership Activity

As expected, membership in August dropped off quite a bit as most members joined in the previous months. However, there were two returning members who signed up for the Jackson Hole trip. Currently, we have 88 members.

I would like to welcome the following returning members:

• Elizabeth Slocum Jensen
• David Jensen

Jackson Hole Ski Week (24-31 January 2-15)

Is everyone excited about Jackson Hole? We’re up to 70 people and I’m expecting a few more signups before the end of the month. This has turned out to be a very popular trip and let’s hope Mother Nature does her part.

Some members have inquired about trip insurance and it is available through Sports America. Download the Travel Guard Flyer : TravelGuard_flyer_2014  and the Travel Guard sign-up form : Travel Insurance Signup and submit them to Sports America. Since there was very little interest in the SJC departure, those seats have been released.

Please be sure to make your final payments by September 15th.

Karen Soo is still working on the souvenir gifts, so be sure to make your selection as soon as possible to ensure that you get your preferred color/size.

~ By : Melissa Wong aka Fanatic Oakland A’s fan ~

On a mildly warm day on August 9th, about 50 NSC members and their families and friends gathered in Sunnyvale’s Las Palmas Park for the annual NSC picnic.

Immediately upon arrival, Karen got the setup crew (Wes, Armand, Frank, Curtis) going with assignments.  After setup, Head Chef Curtis started the grill and his rotation of sous chefs kept the mostly prompt arrivals fed with hot dogs, hamburgers and ribs.  I was given the task of greeting each attendee with a personalized name tag and a raffle ticket for wonderful prizes.  Attendees generously provided a variety of salads and chips/dips, fried chicken, egg rolls, tamales, sushi and lots of sweets.  An adequate amount of adult beverages were also consumed.

In the second half of the party, Karen drew the winning raffle tickets.  The lucky winners were given items from Trader Joes (Cookie butter, Jo Jo Cookies and Chocolate Bars). Soon after, the final anticipation of the afternoon came  – the popular dollar dice game (LEFT/ RIGHT / CENTER) .  Every adult was encouraged to participate.  Some appeared eagerly awaiting this game all day long while others who were unfamiliar needed encouragement.  As the inaugural and 2nd year champions, Amy and David T excused themselves from this year’s contest.  Amy was later seen being a babysitter to little Kai while Mommy Michelle played on.

As many rounds of rolling took place and $1 bills were slowly thrown onto the center bin, Joe, Armand’s nephew from L-o-n-g Island, needed a couple of timeouts and dipped into the beer cooler.  We witnessed the quick timeouts since the beer cooler was also used as a leg to elevate the bin.  As the contest finally came down to four and then two gamers, Melissa (that’s me again!) was the last person standing, holding TWO $1 bills in hand.  I became the champion of the 3rd annual dice game of the NSC picnic.  My winning tally was $96.00!  I also have the pleasure of writing this lovely article for the monthly newsletter.

I hope everyone had an awesome time.  Obviously, I did!

More pictures & videos, courtesy of Bill “Pseudonym” (what a nom de plume!) –