Chasing the sun

...and just like that, I find myself sitting on the balcony of Niko's house in beautiful Berkeley. Its as though over 2 months of touring the continent has passed in a nanosecond as Ihave come full circle on this journey. And what better place to be but here on this gloriously sunny December afternoon. The days of wearing 7 layers to fight off the icy Chicago winds are already fading memories. The Indian summer I experienced in Austin suddenly gave way to a sub-zero frosty morning today, which makes me feel even more smug that I got out of there and arrived to this. I'm finally chasing the sun! Not easy over here either right now as most of the country is being deluged with snow and subjected to a more seasonal brand of weather.

Speaking of snow, its very good news that said deluge has occurred as I intend to get away for a spot of skiing fun this week. Niko and his pals have taken over a ski lodge in the Lake Tahoe region for the season, so we're all off there this weekend to check out the first powder of the season. I think its going to ruin all the hard work I've put in over the whole trip on economising and budgeting, but I can't resist the lure of the slopes. I'll just have to cross a few more people off my Christmas present list.

That was a joke by the way.

Niko should be arriving home from his classes any minute, so I'll sign off now in anticipation of an evening spent playing with his new toy (a full DJ setup and from first glance a LOT of records). Happy days!