Beach Party

Notes from a trip to Lake Tahoe.

The photo at the top of the post was taken last Friday, when we were en route from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe. It’s an eight hour drive through desolate desert, abandoned towns, and incredible mountains. We parked by the banks of a river in the mountains of California. My husband wanted to climb down a steep, rocky embankment to the water below. I didn’t.

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Bloggers are concerned about friends and loved ones in the South Lake Tahoe area.

2 sq miles of the area around lake tahoe have gone up in smoke along with 165 structures. Heres the story

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Read more from this blogger: Lake Tahoe forest fire

Too hot for snowboarding at Lake Tahoe.

I was up yesterday to go snowboarding with my wife. It was WAY to warm up there for it, like 70*f warm. So we went down by the lake to eat lunch and spotted this guy..Snowboarder Doing his thing with a few friends. Right after this photo was taken he ended up in the lake freazing!

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Off for a day of skiing at Lake Tahoe.

We met Robe and Al at the Harvey’s parking lot and geared up. Well, they did. Saturday was one long freaking day. I woke up at 4 to get ready to head over to Eye’s house by 5 so we could get on the road to Tahoe. It was a fun ride up. We called Robe and Al to tell them where to meet us to find out that we had woken them up…it was 6:30. Lucky ducks.I just stood around since I had no gear. I rented my board from this small rental shop across the street from Heavenly for all of $30 [a Burton board AND bindings…not bad for a rental. $33 if you count insurance]. I really liked the employees there and will definitely rent from them again and again and again until I buy my own board. They amped me up a lot for my first time boarding and I talked to one of the girls about surfing.

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Finding angels at an unusually low altitude.

Last weekend Connor, Christina and I went to Lake Tahoe for the first time - a real shame considering we have lived within a 3hr drive of this fantastic place for the last 6 years… and have had the opportunity to go every year with the company ski trip.

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Read more from this blogger: Heaven at 10000ft

We never get tired of hearing about Lake Tahoe!

Today when we were driving home (from, where else, Lake Tahoe! Are you tired of hearing about Lake Tahoe yet?), we were about 20 minutes from our house when J said, “Mommy, I feel like to cry.” He says that sometimes. I asked him why, and he started to tear up, and said, “Because I miss Lake Tahoe.”

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The wineries on the way up to Lake Tahoe make some of my favorite wines.

Napa and Sonoma aren’t the only valleys in California. Apparently there’s also this place called Suisin Valley, pronounced in one-syllable by the locals. Although the grapes are sold for a huge percent less than it’s neighbors, family-run wineries like Wooden Valley should not be missed. Neither should this unique grape, which would be more at home in Apulia. Since only ten percent of his crop goes into his own barrels and steel casks, the maker, Rick Lanza, can introduce many different wines, a major benefit of these smaller vineyards. Primitivo is in the Zinfindel family, and apparently “flew the coop” from the Balkans in ancient times. It is an extremely potent varietal, toned down quite a bit in this version. Dark, fruit-forward berry flavors are ever-present from the first sniff to the after-taste. If you are a Primitivo traditionalist, this may be too light of a reincarnation, as the grape can easily pass the 16 and even 18 percent alcohol marks back in Italy. But this wine could still hold up paired with a bloody steak. So go! Take the road less traveled, (except by Lake Tahoe weekenders or Sacramento commuters) Venture out past Vallejo and into Solano County instead of the usual California “communes” and try a new type of grape while you’re at it.

Check out wineries around Placerville and El Dorado, too.

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Read more from this blogger: Wooden Valley, Primitivo, 2003

I'd trade Tahoe for Manteca any day.

Finally got out of Manteca today. Almost thought we were going to put down roots. Drove up US 50 to Lake Tahoe. Drove through South Lake Tahoe, and Stateline Nevada. Found a beautiful site at Zepher Cove.

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Read more from this blogger: Lake Tahoe, NV Tuesday June 7, 2005

This doesn't sound relaxing to me:

It's been a relaxing week in Lake Tahoe. I've spent some solid time in the saddle despite the chilly weather - 130+ miles and 7200 vertical feet over the past five days, including a 74 mile ride around the lake. I'm a pretty addicted road cyclist and I try to ride at least 100 miles a week even during the winter. If I hadn't come across this glorious sport in my thirties, I might have made a career out of it. So it comes as no surprise that cycling is on my mind today.

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Either way, you're lucky!

Meanwhile, Spy Optic (the oh-so-chic sunglasses co.) are offering a chance to win a 2-night trip for two to the The Block , the world's first snowboarders hotel, in South Lake Tahoe. (Since the trip must be taken between June 21 - August 21, I'm assuming the winner will be doing anything but snowboarding, but Tahoe is gorgeous in the summer.) The prize includes round trip airfare plus hotel accommodations in the Spy Room at The Block. Ground transportation and meals are not included.

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Read more from this blogger: Tahoe or New York for the weekend, darling?

The Bush Administration has added a waiver to the energy bill in Congress that clears oil and chemical companies of any liability for MTBE pollution. With support from Tom Delay, the waiver was approved in committee and is now on the House floor. Unfortunately, the oil companies that decided to to introduce MTBEs knew about the potential water pollution problems at the time. The choices are to leave the pollution in lakes and rivers, have the tax payers pick up the bill or have the responsible oil companies pay. Lake Tahoe's MTBE clean up was paid for by oil companies after courts found them responsible.

Courts sided against MTBE producers in two California settlements that put the big producers on edge. In 2002, seven companies, including ChevronTexaco and Lyondell, settled for $69 million to clean up MTBE in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Then in 2003, 18 companies, including Exxon Mobil and Shell, settled a suit brought by Santa Monica, Calif., agreeing to spend at least $200 million on a filtration system to remove MTBE from the city's water.

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Read more from this blogger: A Dirty Little Footnote to the Energy Bill

You can still pull off a ski weekend at Lake Tahoe if you have any money left after tax day!

Today we're heading up to Lake Tahoe, for some snow action. It's gonna be fun. It's been rainy the last couple of days but warm enough and rain here seems to equate to snow at Lake Tahoe so it's all good.

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Read more from this blogger: Arrival and acclimitisation

Nice photo of Lake Tahoe from a private plane.

And here's one of many pictures I took of Lake Tahoe from above 17,000 feet.

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I love Lake Tahoe any time of year.

Today we're heading up to Lake Tahoe, for some snow action. It's gonna be fun. It's been rainy the last couple of days but warm enough and rain here seems to equate to snow at Lake Tahoe so it's all good.

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Read more from this blogger: Arrival and acclimitisation

This lucky glider pilot gets to spend a week up near Lake Tahoe. How beautiful does it get?

That's the eastern edge of the Sierra Nevada mountains "in the back yard." Lake Tahoe is just on the other side.

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