IT’s better to teach your kids early to learn how to ski. Spring break is the best time to teach your eight-year-old how to ski because it’s vacation time here in the United States. For me, the most beautiful place in the country which is conducive to learning skating is Lake Tahoe because it offers the most spectacular view not just of the lake but of the evergreens, firs and the snowy countryside. After all, there is still snow left in Lake Tahoe Mountains at this time of the year because we are still transitioning from winter to summer. And don’t worry, Lake Tahoe skiing schools are equipped with all the safety gadgets and materials that you can think of and all instructors are experts and have even become skiing champions in the past.

There’s one point that one must instill upon skiing in Lake Tahoe, whether you’re still an amateur or an experienced skier. Never ever attempt to ski or drive a snowmobile when drunk. Always don the appropriate gear. If you want to avail of humongous discounts into your vacation here in Lake Tahoe, just do a Google search on the Internet. Another alternative is to call your favorite online travel agency Expedia or Travelocity. If you are the executive assistant of a company CEO, then you can suggest to your boss to have the annual spring planning of your company at Lake Tahoe for three days. This is a good plan especially if your company has raked in huge earnings and revenues last year. Giving back vacation bonuses to your employees can make the company reap more revenues for the succeeding year.

For North Lake Tahoe, you can actually book a condo suite at only $150 a night. Any hotel or condo suite here in North Lake Tahoe is just an eight-minute hike to the best skiing schools, casinos, restaurants, basketball courts and tennis courts here. Aside from the skiing, what I like most about Lake Tahoe is the food. Since Lake Tahoe is also home to dozens of freshwater species like opossum shrimp, Kokanee salmon, cladocerans, cui-ui sucker fish and Lahontan cutthroat trout, there are lots of seafood restaurants here. Some of the gastronomic stuff that you can dig into includes fried crabcakes, steamed shellfish, grilled prawns, calamari, seafood chowder and lobster tail. But the one that I like best is the one with the Mediterranean twist - scallops and tiger prawns made into pasta Provencal style.

AS we speak, Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are clinging toe-to-toe to achieve the Democratic nomination as far as California and Nevada (where Lake Tahoe is located) are concerned. California of course has the largest number of delegates both for the Democrats and the GOP. For Mitt Romney, he is not calling it quits yet. But let’s talk about the general election ten months from now. California is still a Republican country with no less than the governor as a very loyal Republican dating the times of Ronald Reagan. The state’s first lady, Maria Shriver-Schwarzenegger, is the niece of President John F. Kennedy and as such is a hardline Democrat. But she has never mix partisan politics in her official capacity as California’s First Lady and so she endorses Obama on the sidelines during personal and not official engagements.

Not all of California is Republican however. They are only confined in such places as the state’s capital Sacramento as well as San Francisco. But Hollywood itself is heavily populated with Democrats. In Nevada, it’s an entirely different picture. The Sin City is slowly transforming itself into a Democratic haven. That’s because there are lots of Latinos there already. There are 5,000 new residents each month in the state alone. And it’s not just the Hispanics. Many Asian-Americans have joined in the melee and most of them are Democrats. However, certain parts of Nevada are still Republican strongholds such as the capital itself, Carson City. Reno, another popular tourist destination, is Republican as well as our very own Lake Tahoe (the Nevada side).

Right now, winter is slowly fading away in Lake Tahoe because it is the beginning of spring and Roman Catholics all around the world start Lenten commemorations today. Yet snowstorms are threatening Lake Tahoe and a few states in the union. It is just like winter’s uneasy farewell before it cycles back a year from now. So what to do in the middle of a snowstorm in Lake Tahoe? The following are just a few reminders on how to survive here.

Number one, never underestimate nature. Always carry everything that is necessary when you are mountaineering in Lake Tahoe in the middle of winter. Do not undermine weather forecasts for they are just forecasts. If the weather forecaster says for example that a snowstorm will hit the Lake Tahoe Mountains three days from now, it may hit a day earlier. Even if you are wearing layers and layers of clothing, it will just defeat the purpose if you are using cottony fiber because cotton tends to absorb moisture. Always bring your mobile phone with you because you are not sure if the mountains do have a network signal. And above all, be optimistic. Do not be negative-minded because once your psyche wears down, you will not be able to make coherent decisions when faced by challenges. Reflex can only do as much. So there you have it, have a happy Valentines skiing in Lake Tahoe.

AS 2008 begins to unfold, Lake Tahoe which encompasses Nevada and California still remains to be the favorite winter sports destination in North America. One of the activities that you may be interested in joining is the SnowFest photo contest organized by Tahoe World. The contest runs for almost two weeks from February 29 to March 9. But this is a unique photo contest though. You don’t need to get to Lake Tahoe to shoot winter sports photos because the older the photos, the better. Lake Tahoe has long been a winter destination after World War II and if you have black and white photos of the area circa the 1950s, you’ll have better chances of winning.

Elsewhere, Diamond Peak Ski Resort will have skiing lessons at Lake Tahoe this Friday for just $25. Remember that if you want your child to learn skiing, teach him or her early. And don’t just rely on any skiing instructor. Leave your child to those you can rely – the skiing champions. Diamond Peak Ski Resort and the dozens of other resorts in Lake Tahoe employ full-time skiing instructors which have been previous skiing champions. Your child will not just learn the basics of skiing, you and your family will also be introduced to the thrills of sled racing. But because skiing at the peak of this winter in Lake Tahoe may be too cold for you, and then you must don yourself with lots of clothing. Your usual outerwear will then become your underwear. Just make sure not to wear something cottony because cotton tends to absorb moisture and you will get colder as a result. Another thing that I admire at the resorts in Lake Tahoe is that they are staffed with people who are all Swiss hotel school graduates. Swiss hotel schools as we know are the best in the world.

But it’s not just skiing that you will enjoy in Lake Tahoe. It is also a haven for various activities such as cruising and fishing in the lake in a yacht, having some game of golf or playing baccarat and poker in its casinos or even enjoying seeing a painting gallery. In fact, artist Natalie Rishe will have her exhibit going on at the Prim Gallery in Lake Tahoe until February 8. Of course, Natalie will be on hand to guide the tourists in her painting gallery and she will also have free lectures on the basics of painting as well as her inspirations.

Speaking of lectures, Lake Tahoe is also a haven for intellectuals such as a lecture organized by the University of California this Thursday at the Tahoe Center for the Environmental Sciences on the potentials of tap water around the Lake Tahoe area. Chemists from the University of California are exploring whether tap water around the Lake Tahoe area are really fit for human consumption. This piece of news eerily brings me recalling the movie starring John Travolta, A Civil Action.