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!

Oregon & Washington

Oregon & Washington

August 2013

Thoughts of a trip to Salem Oregon to visit niece Annie & family  plus friends in Seattle had sort of fallen by the wayside, but Marjorie happened to talk w/ Noah (son of her cousin Jim & Susan), whose job travels have accumulated many more frequent-flyer miles than he can use, in particular soon-to-expire cash vouchers. Noah generously arranged flights to cover most of our traveling. We owed him some cash for what wasn’t covered by vouchers, used our American Airlines miles (thanks to R’s South American flights in June) for car rental in Oregon, and our United miles for M’s return from Minneapolis. Whew!! Very complicated, but we were able to patch it all together in a short time for a very economical cash outlay. Many thanks to Noah!

          We’ve been to the Pacific NW several times, but it’s so beautiful we don’t mind repeating some of those experiences, plus seeing family & friends. Down to Queens Friday PM for overnight w/ the Queens Wards. Son Matt’s Taxi and Carpark Service will take us to LaGuardia for early Sat. AM departure, watch over our car, and pick Dad up when he returns. We also have special airline treatment: Boarding Group 1 and “Economy Plus” extra leg room courtesy of Noah’s “Premier Access” status. But OOPS #1: We forgot to bring our courtesy United Lounge passes from out frequent-flyer credit card; I’ll have to mail that to Marjorie for a long layover on her return from Minneapolis. Flights to Chicago and then to Portland both ahead of schedule, easy pickup of our Alamo car: a cute little bright blue Chevy Spark w/ only about 1700 miles on it. Penelope (as we call our Brit-voiced GPS) says the drive to Salem will be 2,972 miles and take 46 hours! Poor dear, she thinks we’re still in Latham. We get her oriented for a much more agreeable 1-hour, 50-mile drive south. 

          We’re greeted by Annie, Lillian (3½, who Uncle Russ has never met), Cora (1½, who neither of us has met), and cat Norman. Garrick has left early to take photos for a friend’s wedding. Annie heads off for the wedding, we enjoy time w/ the grandnieces; Auntie Marjorie gives baths and bedtime stories. But OOPS #2: Marjorie left glasses on the plane; she works the phones to learn where they are in the United lost-and-found.

Alaska

Alaska

May/June 2001

Tues., May 22:

          We awake to a drizzly day after a very dry spell.  We've put together our own "cruisetour": independent for the land portion of Anchorage, Seward, and Denali, with a rental car to get around; a Princess "Inside Passage" cruise from Seward to Vancouver; then an add-on visit with friends Stew & Patty in Seattle. I feel prepared from reading Michener’s Alaska for background.  Now it’s off to our Alaska adventure . . . eventually.  We finish cleaning up for friends, Marlene & Frank, who’ll be here a couple of nights while we’re gone.  We should have houseguests every time we travel so we’ll come back to a neat, clean house.  Packing not as efficient as for Europe, but we’ll need only 3 of the 6 luggage tags sent by Princess.  Unlike our usual crack of dawn starts, we leave Albany at the civilized time of 11.  But the trip takes 16 hours, 3 flights (Albany to Chicago to Seattle to Anchorage): 9½ hours flying, the rest “lounging” in airports.  At least the flights are free, thanks to our credit-card miles.    

To Marjorie’s disdain, I loosen up my shutter finger with shots of Chicago skyline and concourse with flags at O’Hare.  A beautiful view of Mt. Ranier coming into Seattle and sun setting on Olympic Mts. after takeoff.  In a seat ahead of us a young mother clutches her own teddy bear; doesn’t mind being in the air, but needs comforting for takeoffs & landings.  On time into Anchorage at 11pm (3am Albany time!).  We pick up our Alamo Buick Century, very comfortable w/ power everything, and head to Parkwood Inn, at the edge of the city convenient to the main north-south road.  Inexpensive and not fancy, but very roomy  w/ sofa, walk-in closet, full kitchen, and what Marjorie deems “the best shower in the world.”  Not very dark yet, even at midnight.  Sunrise here at about 4am, sunset 10:30pm.  Both quite gradual, with 20+ hours of “functional daylight,” as a guidebook puts it.  Temps our first few days in the 40s & 50s, a little cooler than typical.

Wed., May 23: 

          Sunny AM, a nice way to start.  We pull out of the motel to see snow-capped Chugach Mts. looming ahead.  There’s hardly any time on the whole trip we can’t see snowy mountains.  120 miles south to Seward, following a beautiful drive around Turnagain Arm.  Various sights, including effects of tides (37’ here, 2^nd in N. America to Bay of Fundy) and tsunami from 1964 earthquake (stands of trees killed by saltwater and remains of the town of Portage that was flooded).  Our 1^st moose-crossing sign, and a very friendly dog at one turnout we think might have been abandoned.  Lots of snow along the road inland.   

A stop at Exit Glacier outside of Seward; you can walk right up to it on a trail still snow-covered.  It’s still early spring he

re w/ buds on trees (and very large dandelions here and in Anchorage).  Rangers point out local birds: magpies, stellar jays, ravens (Marjorie learns a joke later about the difference between ravens and crows, but can’t remember it).