A really awesome time was had with Jennifer and Samantha on our short vacation up to Lake Tahoe this week. The amount of snow in the Sierra is at record levels for this early in the season and we really enjoyed the "Winter Wonderland" that is the Lake Tahoe area right now. Darla likes to take pictures of people and not of landscapes. Jennifer got a bunch of great shots of the icicles up at the Lake which have many extending all the way from the roof to the ground. I pulled off the road a couple of times to let her get pictures as the icicles are almost unbelievable, the sheer size and length of them. Jennifer has promised to forward me some of her shots and I will add them to the blog when we get them. You can get a good feeling for the extent of the snowfall in the last picture of Jennifer at the top of a snow run up at Boreal Ridge where we stopped on the way up to do some sledding.
Unfortunately, Samantha was not in the mood to put on her snow bib, mittens, boots and Winter coat when we stopped and I stayed in the car while Darla and Jennifer climbed up to the snow hill. We bought a day pass for the snow parks of California which are plowed and parking provided with restrooms and areas to eat. They played for awhile while Sam fussed. I suggested that we drive over the summit and down to Truckee and we could have lunch at Jax at the Tracks, a diner with great comfort food. We brought Samantha's snow pants into the restaurant and got her ready for our next stop. Lunch was awesome and Sam had a white cheddar macaroni that each of us tried and wished that we had ordered. Next time for sure. Dad and Shirley, you need to make a drive into Truckee on your trip and visit the small town and definitely eat at Jax. An Amtrak train came by as we were seated eating and Sam was mesmerized by the size and sound of the train as it passed by.
From there we drove Highway 89 into Tahoe City and stopped at the fish hatchery and got some pictures. Sam was a little fussy, but finally came out to see the wintery scenes of the Truckee river and a large group of geese and ducks that were along the river bed.
We drove up to the snow park on Highway 89 near Emerald Bay and finally coaxed Sam out of the car and onto the mountain. Darla and Jennifer took her sledding, while Jennifer and I helped her build a snowman. She really enjoyed herself and the snow bib and pants kept her warm and dry. Jennifer seemed to enjoy the sledding as much or more than Samantha as she took run after run, once banging into our snowman, but not knocking it over. We had hot chocolate and made a few more runs down the hill before packing up and heading to the hotel.
We stayed at the 3 Peaks Resort, a find for $79 on hotels.com. Our cost was $117 for 4 people and the room was great for Darla and I. We got a movie and all sat on the King sized bed in our room and watched "Despicable Me", an animated movie that we only made it about half way through. Sam was bushed after a full day and went to bed with Mom in the living room of the small suite on a fold out sofa bed. Jennifer later said the bed was the most uncomfortable she's ever slept on.
That night we had dinner at Tep's Villa Roma Italian restaurant. I didn't know how we have missed this restaurant over the years of us staying up at Tahoe. It is 100% authentic Italian cuisine with an anti pasta and salad bar that is second to none. It even included pasta and Italian peppers of various types, a huge salad bar with everything from bacon to grated Parmesan cheese and a soup station. The highlight of the restaurant for Samantha was the big fish tank near the entrance that had a Dori fish (from Finding Nemo), Samantha noticed and said something about Dori as we walked in and the maitre'd thought she said "How are you doing?" He was quite impressed with her great manners. Darla and I walked ahead of the kids from the car to make sure the restaurant was kid appropriate and left poor Jennifer stuck in the back with the kid locks on. She had to climb over the seat to get out of the car. The fish tank is two-sided as you can tell from the picture of "Dori" above. We had great meals with Darla's pesto ravioli a big hit. Jennifer had Penni pasta with sliced slivers of garlic in the sauce. It was fantastic (I had her leftovers for lunch on Thursday).
Wednesday morning Samantha and I took a walk down to the office and turned in the keys. We walked out and looked at the two level hot tub that has a waterfall cascading down from the top level into the bottom. Very nice. We brought Jennifer a cup of coffee and Darla a cup of hot cocoa. We packed up the car and headed over to our favorite breakfast restaurant, "Heidi's". That is the picture of Samantha with the wood from the booth behind her. From there we drove back through Highway 89 and stopped at the lookout over Vikingholm, the castle on shore near the island in Emerald Bay. Jennifer was able to take her camera and get a picture of the building on the island through the binoculars that are at the overlook. Again, Dad and Shirley, this is a MUST STOP for you while you are in Tahoe. The views are incredible and made even more beautiful this time of year by the snow. We had to hike in and hike out as the lot is not serviced in the Winter.
We bought Samantha a Leap Frog learning computer. It is a game station with learning games that you can insert and they teach her numbers, colors, sounds, etc. Really ingenious and she played the games non stop on our trip.
We got home about 2:30 and I decided to wash Darla's Explorer because it was filthy from the snow and road salts. Sam did not sleep on the way home (playing her Leap Frog) and was cranky. I wanted to take her over to the park across the street from our house and let her use the slides and swings. Darla and Jennifer wanted her to get a nap. I promised her if she behaved and wasn't crabby with Mommy that I'd take her to the park when I finished with the car. Darla looked at me sideways. We packed up some Teddy Grahams and some water and headed over to the park. It was a nice sunny afternoon and there were a lot of kids out playing and Sam fell right in with all of them. One family brought two dogs, one of them a puppy and Samantha asked to pet the dog. The guy gave her the leash and the little puppy dragged Samantha all over the park and she was laughing and running with him. We had company coming at 4 PM (Baby Lucas) and I tried to get Sam ready to go. She said, "No, I'm playing". I said, "Sam, Baby Lucas is coming, we have to leave." She stopped, crossed her arms and said, "No!" That didn't go over big with Papa and I scooped her up and we headed back to the house. Sam had a full on fit, kicking and yelling. I looked like a dirty old man abducting a three year old from the park. It turns out Jennifer and Darla were right, she needed a nap and got a "Time out" in her room when we got home.
We had a great time with Darla's folks, Lucas and Alicia , but they all packed up and were gone by 6 PM. Jennifer's friend Jason came by and Sara was supposed to join us, but got into an accident on her way over. Her boot got stuck under the brake and she rear ended a Volvo. Her Nissan Murrano was totaled and the Volvo barely looked like it got hit. Jason and Jennifer joined her over at the accident site and picked her up while we watched Samantha. Jennifer and I ordered pizza and gave Sam a bath and got her down at 8 PM. Jennifer, Jason and Sara went out and Jennifer came home with a new nose post. Sara talked Jennifer into it and all that I can say is it was Jennifer being Jennifer. They went to Wild Bill's Tattoo in Roseville and met Bill and he enjoyed the girls so much he gave them each an extra stud for their new nose holes. They met Sara's boyfriend later and Sara got a ride home.
Darla and I took them to the airport the next morning and we had a short, but GREAT trip with the kids. Jennifer's job is going really good and they both think they will get offered a position with the company they are temping for. Here is a picture of the huge circuit board they are working on daily:
Well, I will have a mid week update when I get the icicle pictures from Jennifer. I hope you are all doing great and enjoying the New Year. I've lost two pounds so far this year on my way to 50 pounds. eh? Ciao.
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