Travelodge Lake Tahoe-Tahoe City

... airport we couldn't help ourselves as the gleaming slot machines called our name. No winnings yet. Michael and his roomate/our friend, Will, met us and have been giving us a fantastic tour of this unbelievable place.

The Lake Tahoe area is truly amazing as the range of activities and sheer beauty of the wilderness surroundings is staggering. We drove around the Lake the day before yesterday, traveling through scattered small communities that seemed to be ...

Dad invited me out to the races this year and so he, Uncle Mike, and I went on the last day. Roamed all over the air field and saw some pretty sweet rides (check out the pics). They had the Blue Angels do a show and I was surprised to see the flag from the old homestead coming down with one of the parachutists (it was the AK Air Guard). All in all a good, if short, trip.

... wait till we had a few slides until I got wet and cold installing the cables, but after 1 hr 45 mins we arrived without the need.
We drove to Nash and Jen and met Nash's Mom and Dad who were also there for a few days.
Nash drove us 1/2 way around the Lake where we stopped for a couple of picture opportunities along the way. We headed over to a restaurant called "Sunnyside" which ended up being closed until 16:00. We grabbed a few more shots and also seen 6 ...

... that we were unlikely to find another stop for some time I took my chances and drove on. Basically I was setting myself up.
We'd been pretty good at avoiding MacDonald's so far on the trip. Mostly because who would choose to eat there when there are other options? After 45 more minutes of driving, left with no other options and little indication that there might be another place to stop within a short distance, we conceded defeat.
I'm pretty sure that ...

... the RV with enough food and supplies to last at least a week. Thank goodness, the thought of shopping after flying across country with two kids under 3 would have sent me over the edge of sanity. Our flight was long and exhausting, the kids slept for the last 10 minutes of the five hours of traveling. Brett caught his second wind but Grandma and I just wanted to go ...

... at Crater Lake). At Tahoe, civilization encroaches along the shores of the lake. South Tahoe, where we stayed, is crowded with the usual shops and businesses, with hardly a glance of the lake. Going counter-clockwise along the lake, you next reach the Nevada side of the lake, dominated by casinos. (And no, we didn't partake – we are hanging on to our precious retirement funds!!). However, when we took a drive one day around the ...

Fantastic trip to the Golden State.... Truly a beautiful place with incredible weather. Was lucky enough to visit with some great friends!!!

-Visited Jason Kilar at Hulu and hung w/his lovely wife Jamie & the kids (fotos below)

-Reconnected with my AOL buddy Mike Flecker & his wife Beth (pictured below with son Cole)

-Hit Yosemite with Fairfield and Tahoe with the boyz.... (HiLite was Fairfield & I ...

... visit one of the casinos........there was a Blonde moment by Marisha...!!! "Mike, shouldn't we bring our passports if we are going into Nevada?!?" As you can imagine.... I couldn't stop laughing!!!! Soooo so so funny!! Bless!! Next day we ventured off up to the top of the mountain on the High speed Gondola..... It was one of those mountains where it seems to go on forever and just when you are thinking that you are ...

... the lake. Lake Tahoe is split between California and Nevada. In South Lake Tahoe there are no casinos on the Califronian side but as soon as you cross the state line into Nevada there is a casino.

Back in Reno, I went back to Fitzgeralds to try my luck again and ended up being 70 up by the end of the night. I thought that was a pretty good result and hope that I will have even more luck when I get to Vegas!

... the bottom three feet beneath the surface. I watched, and I read, and I understood why Lake Tahoe is such a desirable vacation location. Truly, what other venue offers multi-season fun, from the skiing and sledding of winter to the boating, swimming, and river-rafting of summer? The summer homes clustered around the shores must do something to deserve the $3 million-plus price tags, but in all honesty the view alone is ...