North Shore - Tahoe

Tahoe City, California - We are just about to head back down to Sacramento. Our time here in Tahoe has been absolutely fantastic. It was a relaxing four days of outdoor activities and communing with nature - kayaking, BBQing, hiking, biking, and just relaxing.

Today we made sure to get as much in as we could before this afternoon. After yesterday's late movie night we allowed ourselves a little sleep in, with the intent of grabbing breakfast in Tahoe City. We arrived at Rosie's Cafe just in time to miss the morning breakfast rush - I suggest getting there no later than 1015am when people start pouring in on Friday morning. Rosie's Cafe is a fun environment with an interesting history one can read on their laminated menus. Its history includes, owner changes, general stores, fires, bars, and cutting down of historic trees (parts of which can been seen in the rafters of the current cafe). The food is hearty and delicious. Mike enjoyed the steak and eggs, while I enjoyed the 2x2x2 (pancakes, eggs, and bacon).

Afterward we made our way across the street to the local park and vista point. After exploring we headed back to the 'G' to get ready for some bike exploration. We took a trip south on the Lake Blvd. bike path towards and past Sunnyside and almost getting to Tahoe Pines. We made a pit stop to enjoy a pebbled beach and to skip some stones across the glassy water (just remember, aim AWAY from the anchored boats).

People walking on water at Common Beach

Then we headed back north to meet up with Ishti at William Kent for lunch. We arrived and then decided instead to head all the way to Common Beach in Tahoe City located behind the Firehouse to enjoy our meal. It was a fun decision, we were able to enjoy the view of the lake during our ride and the beach was lovely with lots of activity (both human and animal alike). I'll just post the pictures and let you decide.

Toni, Ishti, and Mike enjoying the fresh air. (ps: no clue as to why this is a link)

Squirrels & Seagulls

The water in Tahoe is so clear!

It was a rejuvenating visit and I plan to return. Until my next adventure, travel on.

Lake Tahoe - North Shore

Tahoe City, California - We are now on the North Shore, staying at the Ski Resort Granlibakken, which is absolutely fantastic. It is conveniently located within walking or biking distance of Tahoe City, William Kent Park, and the Truckee River, which is a must considering that traffic going through Tahoe City makes LA traffic look tame. With a lovely heated pool, large (and I mean LARGE) hot tub, various tennis courts, and it's own hill to enjoy during the snowing months - it's the perfect getaway. You can enjoy a room, a town house, a cabin, or even a small lodge. I will definitely be revisiting come snowboarding time.

Yesterday, after arriving at Granlibakken and making a quick supermarket stop, we headed to William Kent Park - a campground just off of 89 and next to Sunnyside. At the private beach just next to the public access, we settled in for some fine BBQing. Pork, steak, corn, potatoes, shrimp, beverages, and plenty of tasty fresh salad made for an exquisite yet affordable meal. The view of the shore as the moon hit the glassy water was the perfect ending to an exciting day.

Today was full of excitement as well. After having an excellent breakfast at Granlibakken, known to the locals as the 'G,' we took a nice stroll around the property as we followed one of many private trails at the resort. It was a nice way to start the morning. For some highlights of what you can do while you are staying at the G, check out the Granlibakken Blog.

Our plans to go rafting were thwarted by the weather and instead we hopped in the car and took a short drive south on 89 and just before getting to Tahoe Pines parked at a opening in the shoulder. We took the trail up to Eagle Rock for some amazing views of the lake. It was breathtaking to be up there. A short, but fairly difficult hike up, but completely worth it.

Afterwards we headed back down for lunch, exploring the various restaurants in Tahoe City. After a delicious Chinese meal and with the weather looking cloudier, we decided to go north this time on 89 towards Squaw Valley. We decided on a whim to visit Squaw Village for some shopping and some coffee, instead I found a gem. The Gallery Keoki.

The Gallery Keoki is a small, but fun gallery that I would recommend to anyone - art lover or not. Inside you will find a plethora of various contemporary art. And not what you would think to find in the Tahoe area. No there is much Native American art or craft, but instead a few original Dali's, amazing work by Mark Campbell, and exciting photography by Keoki Flagg, the owner of the gallery.

We just returned from Chambers Landing, just south of Homewood, and home of the infamous Chambers Punch. Head down to the beach at Chambers Landing to the small bar at the end of the pier for a delicious (yet somewhat pricey) cup of Lake Tahoe goodness. Enjoy responsibly and is usually best enjoyed out in the sun looking at from the pier onto the water.

We're about to head to the hot tub and heated pool before dinner for our movie night in.

While I watch the boys cook food, travel on.

Pazzo ma contenta

What a busy weekend! But what fun weekend. Had the chance to head up to Tahoe and visit my friend Cristiana, which as I mentioned before was pretty awesome. It was nice to go rafting and just hang out - just the relaxing couple days I needed. That's not to say that I've been extremely busy, I just haven't had the chance to truly relax since I've returned from Italy.

It was a bit of a slap in the face to have to drive back for work. But I can't complain, I have the sweetest job ever. I get paid to play soccer, it doesn't get much better than that. It was nice playing, but I'm starting to realize that I really need to keep myself in check. There are times when my patience runs thin with the girls - and I really think I need to plan out a talk with them about there lack of focus during practice.

Today was pretty hectic. Helped my mom clean out her classroom for the first half of the day. Moving all the books and boxes from classroom to classroom made me realize that my arms were still tired from rafting yesterday.

Arrived home and started on the project that is organizing my room. I realized after many failed attempts at organizing my books that I needed more shelf-space. Lugged some bookshelves from one of the storage closets and proceeded to play musical-furniture in my room. It's probably a good thing that the satellite cables restrict the movement of my TV, otherwise I would have spent a good 5 hours moving my bed, sound system, desk, tv, and three bookshelves around. Sigh, I really wish I could though - it'd be a sweet set up. Heh.

Organized the majority of my books though, with a good deal of shelf space left for more books - can you say book shopping? I just needed to organize my art supplies now, which will be interesting; I'm having trouble finding space for my easel. Once that's done all that will be left is to reorganize my entertainment area and sell off all my gaming equipment that I don't use (DDR sounds fun right now - huh).

Took a break around 7 to ride my bike to the store. Picked up a few things I needed before doing some computer updating. I've Italian-fied my entire laptop. It's actually pretty cool. I'm definitely brushing up on my computer vocabulary. And then being the nerd I am I started changing all my preferences - so now I have a nice pink desktop with a groovy matching pink Trillian skin. Then I started thinking about Italy and lo and behold I'm browsing Google Earth and marking points all over Viareggio and the rest of Tuscany.

Tomorrow should prove just as busy as today. Another day filled with doing grunt work for my mother followed by gelato and then work.

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am. Hah.