Lake Tahoe

Classically Lake Tahoe

Summer 2018

          Exciting news: Matt was selected as a percussionist for “Classical Tahoe” at Lake Tahoe! In its 7^th season, the Classical Tahoe Orchestra has been expanded this year, mostly adding percussion & brass. The orchestra brings together “virtuoso musicians [that’s our boy!] from ensembles such as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, San Francisco Symphony, Seattle Symphony and the LA Philharmonic” for a three-week festival and institute on the campus of Sierra Nevada College off the lake in Incline Village NV. Interestingly, clicking on “orchestra” at the CT website yields a large (and very handsome!) photo of Matt right at the top. My travel juices started flowing since we’ve never been there. Sitting on the California-Nevada border, Lake Tahoe is America’s largest “alpine lake” and the 3^rd deepest lake in North America: 22 miles long, 12 miles wide, and 1,645’ at its deepest; 6,225’ above sea level; surrounded by Sierra Nevada Mountains including the Squaw Valley 1960 Olympics site. The 72-mile shoreline drive is billed as “The Most Beautiful Drive in America.” Plus Reno, Carson City, & Virginia City are nearby. We’ve been elsewhere in Northern California, including Yosemite and Sequoia Nat’l Parks (our “2^nd honeymoon” in 1972) and several times in the San Francisco area for vacations and conventions, but not this region. So we’ll stalk him, as we did when Matt was at the “Music Academy of the West” in Santa Barbara (1998). Why should he have all the fun?

This will entail some family reunions: Marjorie’s cousin Jim, wife Susan, and Susan’s sister Ann will join us (reprising their participation in our 2015 Andalucia trip); Jim & Susan’s  daughter Katherine, husband Mike, and children Cooper & Kexel live in Walnut Creek CA, not too far away, so we’ll see them; plus daughter-in-law Anthea and grandsons William & Miles are flying out toward the end of our stay. This evolved into a longer stay than originally anticipated, but Marjorie pointed out that some people actually “relax” on vacation  ̶  imagine that!

Not able to arrange free flights with our United credit-card miles, so instead we’ll fly United (arranged via expedia.com) to accumulate more miles. Sacramento seemed the best airport for proximity to both Walnut Creek & Lake Tahoe. Matt’s staying in Vacation Station in Incline Village, Nevada; the concert hall is nearby. After first finding what seemed a good price on booking.com, Marjorie suggested looking at airbnb, which yielded a surprising (to me) and significant improvement! Our 2^nd airbnb this year. We’ll be staying at “Sunny room in beautiful Lake Tahoe” in Incline Village with hostess Louise. Jim, Susan, and Ann will be in Truckee, not far away and near the site of the infamous “Donner Party.”

Some pretrip activities on Tuesday. After almost no rain or lawnmowing in July, serious downpours have led to a growth spurt ˗ lawnmowing Sunday is followed by more today! But we should need only one cutting by neighbor Lucas while we’re gone. Marjorie sets up for an art show at Glen Eddy senior residence. Then off to the Pruyn House for a reception to meet & greet the new Executive Director of the Irish American Heritage Museum, Elizabeth Stack. Back home to finish packing for our early flight tomorrow.

Wed., 8/1: “Go West!” 

          It’s a treat to fly out of Albany; our long-distance travels almost always entail schlepping to JFK. And we get to park free in the airport employee lot thanks to Marjorie’s work at the “Departures” museum shop. We bypass a long security line via the TSA “Pre” line, probably again thanks to Marjorie’s airport work and related security clearance. Pretty airport art installations and sunrise before our 7:20am flight  ̶  it’s always good to get off to an early photo start! 

Early to O’Hare, we use our United Club passes to relax and take some nourishment. On-time 12:45 arrival to Sacramento, coming in over very arid looking farmland. 

 Interesting sculptures at baggage claim of piles of luggage (lost?); thankfully, ours have arrived OK. Other pretty bird sculptures outside the terminal. A shuttle to the rental car area to pick up our Payless car: a black Hyundai Accent with 38K miles.

          We have an 80-mile drive to Walnut Creek. First past miles of fruit trees & farms. Very flat, hot & hazy (from wildfires), then beautiful hills and clearer as we head toward San Francisco & Walnut Creek. An unexpected sight: a large body of water with navy ships  ̶  Lake Herman, used to “retire” reserve ships. Neighbor Barb calls with intriguing news: looking for family & friends on a NYS site for “unclaimed funds” she found a listing for Marjorie! Barb says if it’s more than $1 million she’d like to be taken out for lunch. Marjorie agrees. 
            Mike greets us in their very “California” house in a beautiful neighborhood. I haven’t seen Katherine & Mike since their wedding in 2007. Marjorie visited them when Cooper was very young, but neither of us has met his sister Kexel. 

Mike goes to pick up the kids at their camps, Katherine gets home, then we enjoy time with Cooper & Kexel while Katherine & Mike go to an appointment. Cooper and I are mostly successful putting things together for “Mousetrap,” there are other games, time on the swings, and storytime with Aunt Marjorie. When we’re all together again, Greek food is delivered for dinner.

Thurs., 8/2: “Mountains and Dragons” 

          Everybody up and out for their activities, we’ll get breakfast along the way. A cool clear AM for our 180-mile drive to South Lake Tahoe, then up the west shore to Incline Village at the northern end of the lake. Again pretty hills, lovely oleander flowers in the median of the freeway. Breakfast at Black Bear Diner in Vacaville. Signs along the road for local produce; “Great prices!” says Marjorie. A change to thickly forested tall pines as we elevate (to 4000’, then 5000’) into the mountains on a pretty drive. Our first views of common signs on mountain roads: “Snow tires or chains required” and “Runaway truck ramp.” A stop for gas  ̶  $4.19 a gallon!

         Our 1^st “tourist” stop is Tallac Historic Site, several estates of shipping & lumber magnates surrounded by beautiful tall pines along the incredibly blue lake. A perfect summer day: low 80s, a little breeze, and staff says it’s the 1^st clear blue sky in several weeks without haze from wildfires (more on that to come). We watch a dog use a step stool to exit a car, and see 2 large Great Danes. 

We stroll around, peeking into the estates and outbuildings for servants, giving “a glimpse into the luxurious lifestyle of wealthy society people who summered at Lake Tahoe” and “played host to the business and cultural elite of 1920s America.” Pretty flowers, a butterfly garden, bird house sculpture, a bowl for “Fido H₂O” under a drinking fountain. 

Continuing on as the road rises to views over the lake above fittingly-named Emerald Bay. But it’s very busy, no place to park, Marjorie tries to grab some photos from the car. We pass a burned-out area from a previous fire. Traffic backs up at a couple of 1-lane road construction sites. But always the beautiful lake to our right!

           To our B&B mid-PM. Set in a complex of cabins/condos in a forested area less than 2 miles from Lake Tahoe, centrally located for easy access around Incline Village and to areas of interest around and near the lake. 

Our large bedroom (private bath across the hall) is in a cabin, with fully-equipped kitchen, dining nook, and flat-screen TV in the living room. 

Lovely flowers and colorful doo-dads decorate the deck and quiet backyard, complete with babbling brook.

 

Lots of noisy (and noxious, according to locals) Stellar Jays, plus many chipmunks skittering about. 

The area also has very large pinecones. Walls decorated with lots of rock festival posters (Louise tells us later “Widespread Panic” is “my band”). Our room contains a “Calvin & Hobbes” collection. Louise seems a kindred spirit. Marjorie says this is the first time she feels like we’re staying in someone’s house; Louise lives upstairs and we share the downstairs. Nearby Country Club Drive has cross streets with names like Birdie St., Divot Ct., and Golfer Way; do you sense a theme? This borders a pretty golf course carved out of the forest; it looks quite challenging. But no #X&@% Street to reflect common golfer exclamations.

Tonight’s activity will take us to Reno. Unfortunately, Susan has needed some unexpected dental work and they’ve had to deal with lots of traffic, so the 3 of them opt out; we’ll rendezvous tomorrow. We head off up and over the mountain (7000’, 8000’), stopping for panoramic views at Mt. Rose Overlook. Arid desert country on the other side. 

 We’re going to “Dragon Lights”: hundreds of larger-than-life illuminated displays crafted by Chinese artisans, spread around the Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden at Rancho San Rafael Regional Park outside Reno. Parking and ticketing seem confused when we arrive, and one of the 2 Asian food trucks has to shut down due to a faulty fan over the grill . . . but we get the last Thai dinner! And it’s a wonderful evening. Like a similar Chinese lantern festival in Montreal, we enjoy seeing the colorful dragons (and lots more: Panda bears, snails, flowers, horses, etc.) first in daylight and then illuminated after sunset.
Wow! There are way more than we expected. 

 

Plus performances by Chinese acrobats. We drive out thru downtown, passing some of the casinos; but Reno seems much less enticing than Las Vegas. Back “home,” I have a nose bleed, apparently common from the altitude & dry air.

Friday, 8/3: “Into the Old West” 

           Up early on a nice cool (55) AM. We meet Louise, who among other activities is a piano teacher and nanny. She recommends Tunnel Creek Station for breakfast, but it’s not open early enough. We encounter another 1-lane backup. Plenty of pretty lake views tho as we head down the east shore, then over to Carson City for our next adventure. 

But first: breakfast at “Mom and Pop’s Diner,” waited on by friendly “Pop” in an incongruous island-themed setting. 

Time to wander a bit. Into the capitol with friendly staff. The Old Assembly being prepped for graduation of new state troopers.

      

            We head into desert areas outside the city to meet up with Susan, Jim, & Ann at Eastgate Depot for a 24-mile roundtrip excursion with a 3½-hour stopover in Virginia City on the Virginia & Truckee RR, built in 1870 to carry silver & gold ore from mines in Virginia City to mills along the Carson River. The “Sisters in History Route” allows us to “rediscover Nevada’s rich history in mining and mills as you meander through tunnels, canyons and mining towns aboard a restored 1914 Pullman coach led by a 1916 steam locomotive.” Greeted by costumed ladies and a gunslinger. People take note of my “Smoky Mountains RR” t-shirt. Some orientation while we wait: the linguistic origins of “Mark Twain” and “shot of whiskey,” and we’re told to watch for wild horses. 

Off we go, past a gypsum mine, old racetrack and cemetery. Narration about train operation, also silver & gold mining history and operations. A first view of wild horses, including 2 stallions battling for dominance. Jackrabbits hopping about.

Thru 2 tunnels and on to Virginia City. There’s a colorful classic car show spread along the main drag, so it doesn’t seem so “Old West,” and we’re disappointed that trolley tours aren’t running. 

 Following a “saloon” lunch, a tour of MacKay Mansion, financed by the riches of the Comstock Lode (gold & silver), which also funded the Hearst Castle. 

 A very excited docent  ̶  “How cool is that!” is her favorite phrase. Some touches include a diamond dust mirror and $10K toilet “throne.” Very opulent, but none of us is eager to live here; too hot & dry! 

A short walk to St. Mary’s in the Mountains, the “Mother of all Catholic churches in Nevada,” built by a priest who “ministered to the hard-working Irish-Catholic miners.” Beautiful interior and windows. 

More views of wild horses on the way back. Driving out of Carson City we can see interesting sculptures along the road (a train, sheep, fish) and on overpasses (cattle drive, wagon train). Back at the lake it’s much hazier now from wildfires; you can hardly see the mountains or other side of the lake.

We’re back in time for Matt’s orchestra concert. He’s very excited about playing with a “world-class orchestra,” in a handsome white dinner jacket. Concerts are held in a large tent on the beautiful forested campus of Sierra Nevada College. 

But first Marjorie & Susan go hunting for food, returning with calamari and egg rolls for a quick picnic. Tonight’s concert, “From the Opera House to the Concert Hall,” begins with the “William Tell Overture.” We’re blown away from the first note! It’s followed by more Rossini and a Brahms symphony. Bravo! Baritone Lucas Meachem is a highlight after being added only 2 days ago when the scheduled soprano had an injury; and the orchestra had to rehearse different music for him! Meachem’s encore is a wonderful performance of “Soliloquy” from “Carousel,” one of my favorites.

Saturday, 8/4: “Smoky Mountains” 

          I’m up early and out to look for sunrise photos, but the lake is mostly hidden by smoky haze. The haze comes & goes during our stay, depending on wind currents and new wildfires (the new so-called “Holy Fire” to our south may be a culprit today). I explore a bit, down to Incline Beach with a pretty biking & walking path; but gates are locked, entry for residents only. A stop at Raley’s grocery for coffee & muffins. Weather news: still very rainy in the East, storms & flooding, even in Boston. Quite a contrast to here. 

 Back to Raley’s to get some breakfast things to take to Jim, Susan, and Ann at The Village at Northstar outside Truckee. From there to Donner Memorial State Park, where my reference to “finger food” for lunch is received with groans. 

Pioneer Monument outside and the Visitor Center has nice exhibits. An interesting video about the terrible winter conditions and confusion experienced by the Donner Party, leading to some apparent (tho not entirely proven) cannibalism. Also exhibits on the mistreatment of the Washoe tribe, and about the building of the transcontinental railroad by Chinese workers (“Army of Canton”), who were then poorly treated leading to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act.

         On to Historic Downtown Truckee, established in 1868 as a RR community and lumber town. It’s noted for an “Old West mountain feel.” Other tourists have also heard that: it’s very busy and takes a while to find parking across RR tracks from the town. 

Undaunted, we find food at Smart’s Wagon Train Coffee Shop: born in 1947 (like us!), a model train running along the ceiling (after my request, they were very nice to start it up), many deer, moose, etc. lining the walls. We join lots of people on the main street to poke into shops (finding a t-shirt for me, a poster for us), several buskers of uneven quality.

          Back to Lake Tahoe, a pleasant evening (75-80) quite a bit clearer  ̶  the lake is blue again! Matt joins us for dinner at T’s Mesquite Rotisserie. Good and filling food; Marjorie is especially taken with the cucumber salad with radishes & vinegar and thinks she can duplicate it at home. More on the festival: some 20 Manhattan School of Music alums (as is Matt, plus he’s now the MSM Percussion Operations Manager) are in the orchestra (photo on right), and the 3 main percussionists are all MSM students of Duncan Patton (we’re happy to reconnect with Matt’s long-time friend Aaron). There are trading cards for sale, but only of principals & soloists. 

Tonight’s concert, “Russian and French Nights,” includes pieces by Gounod & Tchaikovsky, with Lucas M. again (and a repeat of his “Soliloquy” encore). We have the most comfortable seats way up in the back, where Marjorie makes friends with lighting/sound guy Steve. Clear & cool after the concert; we can even see stars! A brief chat with the conductor and his wife, who did a wonderful job introducing the music. Then we bid adieu to Jim, Susan, and Ann, who return home tomorrow.

Sunday, 8/5: “Lake and Mountain Strolls” 

          A gorgeous AM: cool (45) and clear. I’m out early as usual for sunrise views. 

We go to Mass at nearby St. Francis of Assisi, a panorama of trees, lake, and mountains behind the altar, a favorite choir hymn “Rain Down” starts things off. Back to the concert venue to meet Steve’s family. Marjorie bonds with Steve’s mother Noel, who is undergoing cancer treatment. 

Then to a nearby Visitor Center, a friendly staffer helps us arrange an interesting house tour later in the week with William & Miles. A small museum here includes memorabilia on TV show “Bonanza,” set and partly filmed in this area.

          A short drive to Tahoe City. Lots of traffic, but we find parking by the marina and a nice walk along the lakefront. Haze is coming up from the south. 

 Up to the main road: briefly into Watson Cabin, 

 interesting sculptures (including one giant bear with cubs and 2 small ones climbing on a building). 

To Rosie’s Café, lured by promise of Grandma Rosie’s Strawberry Shortcake; but lunch is so hearty that I don’t have room for the shortcake. We instead come away with a loaf of yummy zucchini bread. Into a couple of thrift shops here and back in Incline Village. Marjorie reminds me of all the antique shops we don’t stop for (foreshadowing more thrifty shopping in our future).

           It’s become a bit more hazy, but a warm & beautiful PM. We go up the mountain road to Tahoe Meadows, part of the Tahoe Rim Trail (at 8740’). A boardwalk thru alpine meadows with pretty vegetation & unusual flowers (e.g., white Rangers Buttons). 

No wildlife, but an overly friendly dog and several others apparently unable to read the sign: “ATTENTION DOGS: Don’t disturb the wildlife. Stay on the trail. That’s a good dog.” Mt. Rose looms above, and maybe Matt is looking down on us  ̶  he’s hiking it and should be reaching the summit (10,770’) about now (he later shows us a video to prove it!).

          Back down to pick up some supplies at good-for-all-our-needs Raley’s. The Thai restaurant is too busy, so back to T’s for their yummy “tri-tips” (a cut of beef we can't get back home). Afterward we meet Louise’s boyfriend Mike and his pretty dog Remi. 

A pretty evening, mid-60s, back up the mountain road for a hazy sunset.

Monday, 8/6: “Moving Day”

          Another cool, pretty AM. We chat with Louise and get a movie tip: “The Music Never Stops.” This AM we help Matt move from a shared place by the college campus to one a bit further away that’s large enough for the family. William & Miles will love it: set in a forested area, nice kitchen, living room & deck, bedroom for Matt & Anthea plus a bedroom loft for the boys. Then we help Matt do more exploring of things to do with the family.         

          Lunch at Tunnel Creek Station. Good food and very friendly staff; one likes my Jasper “Take a hike” t-shirt. It’s a little hazy but pretty on the lake: kayaks, paddle boards, parasailing, etc. 

We squeeze into a parking place along the road near Chimney Beach. A bit of a hike down to the water. 

 Beautiful views and such beautiful colors in the incredibly clear water! And there’s even a sandy beach and an actual chimney. This gets a thumbs-up. 

We continue down the east shore to a loop trail at Spooner Lake. Another thumbs-up: beautiful meadows & lake, a gaggle of geese, some people fishing, interesting trees & weeds.

Back to Incline Village, a drive along Lakeshore Blvd. to gawk at fancy houses. A stop at Raley’s to get food to add to Matt’s leftovers for a picnic dinner at his new digs. We use his laptop to catch up on e-mail. Some local news: Today is the first day of school!! Humidity is only 9%, but smoke from a fire to the south is causing air quality alerts. Reno is headed to the 100s. To the town beach (nonresidents have access after 8), but too hazy for much of a sunset.

Tuesday, 8/7: “Storms, Bears, and Lake Monsters, Oh My!” 

          Hazy & cool (50s) AM. I go looking for another sunrise, and also find an interesting sculpture of the lake. Seems like bad weather news all around: Hurricane nearing Hawaii. A “violent” hailstorm in Colorado. Severe storms in the MidWest heading to the NorthEast. And “California is burning”: 16 active wildfires! The Redding fire is north of us. South is the Mendocino fire, the largest in California history, consuming more than 283K acres so far. The U.S. as a whole is approaching a wildfire record, with over 5 million acres burned. On a happier note: a neighbor brings Louise a beautiful bouquet of pink “naked ladies” lilies

          Driving back toward Tahoe City we pass bears (well, sculptures) climbing mailboxes, roofs, etc. Marjorie covets a tiny bear for her miniature collection. We stop at the Gatekeeper’s and Steinbach Indian Basket Museums at the Truckee River headwaters. Pretty plants & flowers, Fanny (covered) Bridge (so-named because people lean over to look at trout).

 The friendly museum staffer tells about a tourist who was “angry” that the smoky haze was ruining the view. Really, that’s what’s important? What about the firefighters & homeowners? A nice little museum. Marjorie is entranced by a video about a mother bear and her cubs. Local memorabilia and beautiful basketry. Sierra ski history, including the Squaw Valley Olympics.

  

           A bit further to the Tahoe Maritime Museum, another lovely small place. “The Search for Tessie” tells about an alleged local lake monster and many others around the world, from “Nessie” in Scotland to “Champ” near us in Lake Champlain. Who knew they are so common? 

A snowy lake scene made from strips of sheet music. Maybe an idea for the decades of sheet music in my Mendelssohn Club’s archives? 

 We poke around some shops; one especially beautiful with Polish ceramics & Austrian blown glass. M enjoys another stop in a thrift shop . . . but no bears. Lunch at Rosie’s . . . but no shortcake.

          Back to our B&B to relax. It’s pretty hot for here, high 80s. We head to the library to check e-mail. A pretty sculpture outside of children playing. 

Then to Village Hardware, where M finds some favorite glue as a “hostess gift” to help with Louise’s decorating projects. Lots of bears even here, but no miniatures.

          We pick up Matt at Chimney Beach, with it's pretty vegetation, and head to Reno to get his rental car before Anthea and the boys fly in tonight. 

But first to satisfy Matt’s hankerin’ for dinner at California icon In-N-Out Burger: classic cheeseburgers, shakes, and fries. A big orange sunset thru the haze. 

Shopping at Target for some things to help with family beach activities. After dropping Matt at the airport we traverse the winding mountain road 30 miles back to the lake; the 2^nd time we’ve done this at night. There are places for “slower” vehicles to move over; I use them a few times.

Wednesday, 8/8: “Thrifty Mining” 

          It continues to be “A Tale of Two Tahoes” weatherwise. Clear brilliant colors sometimes (tho locals say we still aren’t seeing LT at its best), smoky haze (a bit or a lot) at others (see the 2 photos here of the same area, different days). A cool AM (45-55) with bright sun, but hazy & hotter in the forecast today. 

The family arrived OK but very late. They’ll be rafting on the Truckee River this PM with a bunch of people from the orchestra. We drive over to Carson City where it’s very hazy and headed toward 100 (Reno hits 101 today with air quality “unhealthy for sensitive groups”).

          We park near Cactus Jack’s Casino and Nugget Casino (touting “Extremely Loose Slots”). Other little casinos scattered here & there. Into the Nevada State Museum. An interesting walk-thru underground mine replica, entered thru a ghost town. 

The museum is partly housed in the former Mint building, which processed bullion from the Comstock Lode. Samuel Clemens took the name “Mark Twain” when he worked for a newspaper in the area as a young man. Other interesting exhibits on breweries, saloons & gambling, geology & natural history (including a mastodon skeleton), and Native American heritage. 

Nearby was the Stewart Indian School which, like the Carlyle School in PA, was used by the army to “acculturate” Indian prisoners and was “harsh on children.”

          It’s too hot to follow a walking tour thru the historic district. Into a casino, Marjorie with a roll of quarters at the ready, but only poker machines take them; she’s not interested. But despite Penelope’s (our GPS persona) apparent confusion in the heat (car gauge reads 106!), we’re able to locate a number of thrift shops, from Goodwill to Daisy’s to Classy Seconds. Some success: a number of small frames for M’s artwork . . . but still no bears! It’s becoming unbearable!

          The temp drops as we go back up and over the mountain, 84 at the lake. To Thai Recipe for lunch. Back at the B&B, Louise gives a piano lesson while we relax. We pick up snack dinner items at Raley’s, including unusual “teardrop” grapes. Over to say a quick hello to the family. They had a great time rafting. Back to bed, down to 64 now.

Thursday, 8/9: “Eccentric Conservation” 

 

          A cool (55) AM with hazy sun. I’m out early again for a short drive: Crystal Bay (with the Tahoe Biltmore Casino), Kings Beach, Carnelian Bay. Some sunrise photos 

 and a pretty recreated wetland area. 

 Then it’s our turn to have fun with William & Miles while Matt & Anthea are off to his rehearsal. To the local Visitor Center again, walking about the pretty grounds before the shuttle for our tour. “Bear Logic: No Garbage/No Food/No Bears.”

          We’re off to tour Thunderbird Lodge, the “Castle in the Sky,” another fabulous estate by an eccentric rich guy. A group of 21 for the 20-minute ride with recorded narration. The estate was built in 1938-40 by George Whittier, Jr., a bon vivant who inherited a fortune and vowed to “never work a day in his life” (and was apparently successful). He bought 27 miles of shoreline, almost the entire eastern shore, plus nearly 40K acres into the mountains. Described as an “accidental conservationist,” he “liked not having neighbors” and didn’t pursue development; so now the eastern shore is largely public access, unlike the resort-heavy western shore. When he died the estate was purchased by investor Jack Dreyfus to entertain potential investors; he later sold it to the state and US Forest Service.

          We drive past pretty Sand Harbor and pass thru a locked gate to an area that was the summer home of the migratory Washoe tribe. Past several outbuildings that look like elf houses 

to the “magical” main house set among waterfalls, fountains, rock gardens, and winding pathways. A very interesting 1½-hour tour. 

Obsessed with security & privacy, the house includes hidden panels and vaults, various sensors inside & out to alert to intruders, a loud siren to scare away any boaters who got too near (Miles gets to set it off as a demo). Whittier had a pet lion “Bill” and elephant “Mingo.” The house included an opium den and a card house for poker parties. 

A 600-yard tunnel thru granite leads to a boathouse which contains a beautiful wooden “yacht” powered by airplane engines. Quite a place!

          Back to Incline Village for leftovers lunch with Matt & Anthea. The family then goes swimming while we go to the library to check e-mail and print our boarding passes for tomorrow’s flights home. After relaxing at our B&B and Marjorie helping Louise with a fix-it project, we pick up the boys for a drive to Tahoe City. They pose with the giant bear with cubs sculpture, Miles noticing it’s made out of pennies! (Note: We later learn the 12’ mama bear, “Ursa Mater,” made from 200,000 pennies, was just unveiled here August 2^nd). A nice evening for dinner on the porch at Rosie’s (still no shortcake!). William & Miles try (without success) to explain Instagram & Twitter to the “old folks.” 

Back to Incline Village to meet up with Matt & Anthea at Susie Scoops Ice Cream. Good-bye hugs all around.

Friday, 8/10: “Back to the Soggy Northeast” 

          Another cool, sunny but a bit hazy AM. A 120-mile drive to the Sacramento airport. Past Truckee, some last meadows & mountains photos. Mostly interstate up and over rugged mountains, by Donner Summit & Donner Pass Road. We return the car (drove 1071 miles); it was nothing fancy but managed the mountain roads just fine. Flights uneventful out of Sacramento at 2:00 and Chicago a little after 9:00, home after midnight. It’s clear from our lawn that there’s been plenty of rain while we were away.

It was a great week and a half. Lots of beautiful scenery and things to do around the lake and nearby, plus wonderful music and family gatherings. Comfy B&B, Louise a friendly and hospitable hostess. A great vacation spot for Matt & family: rafting, hiking, swimming, playing with Aaron’s daughters. Matt hopes this becomes a regular gig. Can’t complain about the weather. Cool mornings & evenings, no rain or even many clouds  ̶  tho that’s a mixed blessing considering the wildfires and smoky haze. Some high temps away from the lake, but “dry heat,” as they say. Regrets? Well, no miniature bear, no shortcake. But nonetheless a wonderful time!