I didn’t realize how much the cold weather was getting me down until I ventured out to Auburn this past weekend. With 3 big snow storms in April this year, Lake Tahoe seems to be on an extended winter plan. All around the country, spring has sprung. Snow has melted, flowers bloom, and temperatures approach the mid 80′s. While it was really fun to ski 18” of powder last week, I’m ready to move on to spring.
I tried to force the change of the season by highlighting my hair in an attempt to pretend that I, too, had been out by the pool or beach and my hair was in fact “sun-kissed.” Unfortunately, you can’t induce face serotonin absorption. The only measurable result was when my boyfriend asked me how I got zebra stripes in my hair.
In Auburn, I set off on my mountain bike sporting a tank top, shorts, and the whitest legs I’ve ever seen. Hours, miles, and miles later, I found myself floating. I could almost feel toxins seeping out of my body as sweat dripped down my face. After riding, I went to the grocery store still covered in mud and with a perma-grin. My blood seemed to circulate in a more vibrant fashion. My veins were pumping away at full force. I’m sure that the excellent biking accounted for some of my bliss, but the fact that it really was t-shirt weather, made it all that much sweeter.
Driving back to Tahoe, both my dog and I had our heads out the window as we wound our way up and down curvy hills. On one section of Hwy 49 the trees formed a canopy and I realized that I hadn’t seen so much green foliage in months and months. I passed vineyards and houses on hills with beautiful grassy yards. I couldn’t resist the strawberry stand on the side of the road.
As we approached the final destination, the windows seemed to inch themselves up a little more every few miles. Finally arriving at 7500 feet, I put on a long sleeve shirt while still glowing and then I began to wonder- where to next weekend?
