Four NSC’ers braved the regional heat advisory to hike to Picchetti Ranch in Cupertino on Sunday, Sept. 20^th.  Debbie Fong (who was the last to arrive at last October’s hike)  drove all the way from Concord and was the first this time at the meeting place.  Debbie and Dick waited for Freeman Wong and Ray Tateyama who drove two hours from Sacramento and arrived a half hour late after missing a turn. This was their first hike in the South Bay.

Despite the weather warnings, the temperature at the start was cool since the elevation was 800 ft.  The biggest issue was the attacking flies.  Debbie shared her can of bug repellent spray. The climb to the Ranch was shaded for over two-thirds of the time and we had a few spectacular views of the valley below –  particularly a view of the Stevens Creek Reservoir.   Those who were on the hike last October remembered the Reservoir being almost empty,  thanks to the continuing drought.  This time, the Reservoir was three-quarters full.  We saw a kayaker and a canoe paddling in the Reservoir.

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Planning has begun for our Pre-Season Party for Saturday, November 14. It will be a pot luck (and therefore inexpensive for you). NSC will supply drinks, snacks, utensils, music, trivia quiz and bunco setup with prizes and more (you all remember how much fun we had at last year’s bunco party). It will be at the Mt. View Buddhist Temple from 5:30 to 10:30. Anyone wanting to volunteer their help can contact me at newsletter@NiseiSkiClub.org (until we get a new alias).

Now that I am receiving signup forms and checks for our Whistler trip, I thought I would spend some space here discussing required travel documentation (TD) for this trip. If travelers do not possess applicable TD to enter Canada, those unfortunate souls will not be allowed into that country. That nightmare scenario will definitely ruin your trip! Also, it is required to have such TD to re-enter the United States! As we have 4+ months before this trip, NOW is an extremely prudent time to take care of these TD matters.

The information contained her is a starting point. Please note that the complete accuracy of the TD requirements information contained in this article is NOT guaranteed by the Nisei Ski Club or its Officers or the author of this article. All responsibility for applicable TD for the NSC Whistler-2010 trip or any other trip is solely the responsibility of the traveler. Read the rest of this entry »

A roguish bookworm finds himself in a library looking with hunger at a 3 volume set of books with (what he perceives will be) particularly tasty pages. He’s a little short of time however (since he has a date with his girlfriend, who gets off work in 2 hours) so he tries to calculate if he will make his date. He wants to start chewing at page 1 of volume 1 and not stop until he gets to the last page of volume 3. He quickly estimates it will take him 15 minutes to chew through each cover (front or back) and that it will take him 30 minutes to chew through the pages of each book (they conveniently all have the same number of pages). How long will it take him and will he make it to his date?

The answer will be in next month’s letter along with as many names who get the correct answer as will fit. Think you know the answer? Email newsletter@NiseiSkiClub.org

Antelope: A herd of antelope

Ape: A shrewdness of apes

Baboons: A troop of baboons

Badger: A cete of badgers

Bass: A shoal of bass

Bear: A sleuth or sloth of bears

Beaver: A colony of beavers

Boar: A sounder of boars

Would you like to see more puzzles or trivia in future newsletters (when we have room for them)? Let us know. Do you have a ski-related story—perhaps about the “good old days”? How about sending it in for the rest of the club to enjoy? Have you discovered an easier way to do something the club might be interested in? Did you go anywhere unusual that we might be interested in? Write in to newsletter@NiseiSkiClub.org and get your name in print.