"This is the Best Trip I've Ever Been On."

Oktoberfest at Camp Richardson

The second Oktoberfest we've been to this year.

Less than two weeks ago,

we enjoyed Oktoberfest at Snowbird.

And we don't even drink beer.

 The beach at Camp Richardson

The child in me makes me wade every time I get near water.

 Totally German.

 Ice Cream cones.

Parlor closes today.

Last chance.

I thought about that ice cream cone all week,

yearning for another one.
It's been so long since I've had one.

 Self-explanatory.

 This is the island with the tea house

that we will visit from the boat on Friday.

 Amy takes a hike to a waterfall.

 Eddy takes a hike on the boardwalk.

 DeRay takes a hike at Sand Harbor.

 Lovely warm day at Sand Harbor.

 The water is so clear you can see down 1000' or more.

 Marbles, anyone?

 

Because we were riding in the car

where I wanted to hear Amy and DeRay

in the front seat

or out and about,

or watching movies,

I wore my new hearing aids (technically, my
hear aid and transmitter) everyday

for the first time since I got them

over a month ago.

I had to change the batteries three times,

for crying out loud.

Sometimes

as I sit on the bed

putting my hearing devices in

I feel quite grown up--

like I've finally arrived.

A rite of passage.

Coming of (old) age.

Like a teen getting her driver's license.

I thought I would be ashamed,

remorseful, sad.

No,

I feel proud to join the senior crowd.

And it's nice to be able to hear.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."
L. M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
DeLoy, are those red leaves on a Quakie?

 Amy says if you get in past your knees,

they will feel really good.

Yip.

 The Bride and Groom paddleboarding

 and the photographer.

Amy fixed delicious salads

each day for our picnics.
She also bought $30 worth of
dried fruits and vegetables at Oktoberfest
for snacking.

We planned to eat out a few times,

being in casino country

where buffets are cheap,

and also to celebrate my birthday,

but we didn't eat out once.

Not even coming or going.

Family-owned Grocery Outlet

provided ample food

to go with the tomatoes, peppers, squash, etc.,

we brought from home.

Ed said the second best thing about the trip

was unloading the dishwasher.

There you go.

 

 Some people know how to relax

 as well as hike.

"One of the greatest necessities in America

is to discover creative solitude."

Carl Sandburg 

 

 We are surrounded by beauty;

we are surrounded by love.
Who could ask for anything more?

 Ed riding the train at Virginia City.

He and his dad brought all-day tickets.

 Luxury?

DeRay and the Conductor.

 Most of Virginia City sits on underground tunnels,
abandoned mines.

 The Engineer.

 A church in Virginia City.

 Amy says we have more antiques in our house

than we saw in "The Way it Was" museum.

My Singer is in better shape for sure.

 Riding in the Surrey with the Fringe on Top.

 Barrels and barrels of old-fashioned candy!

 Being a history teacher, Amy knows the stories.

 The mine tour.

 The Miner.

 Originally, no nails.

Pressure held the boards in the shafts.

 Check out the ore in those rocks.

 This is our escape route

if the entry way should be blocked.

 The invaluable canary. . .
any bird would do but canaries are small.

 This is candle light in the mine.

 And then it snowed.

So we went to a movie in Mindon.

Gravity in 3-D

"You know what I like best about the trip?"

"What?"

"Gravity."

"Ed, we didn't have to travel 1,212 miles for that;
we could have seen it at home."

 So, here are our Geo Group condos at Tahoe Summit Village.

Carry your groceries,

carry your luggage

up 50-100 stair steps.

 Amy hiking up to the office.

 Our actual condo.

We lucked out and had only 33 steps,

plus 14 more to get to the loft.
The price we paid was:
No view.
Our front window was blocked by the staircase.
Back windows view was identical condos.

 Amy invited me to take a jacuzzi

in the loft.

"So this is how rich people live," I jest.

 Ed was jealous of Amy in the loft.

"But I've still got the best bedroom in the condo," he brags.
Amy worked with Ed on self-control.
He blew it at the Mormon Station.
She held the boat ride over his head
and he passed with flying colors.

 The stairs down.

Most of the buildings are only three stories high

but you have to climb around 70 stairs

up the side hill to get to the condo.

Then if you are on the top,

another 28 stairs up

and 14 more to the loft.

All stairways

seem to be outdoors

"slippery when wet".

I guess skiers are a hearty bunch.

Tread where skiers tread,

you pay the price.

Because we only do it about once a day,

its no more stairs than at home

except

they are steeper and deeper

and that makes all the difference.

Plus, 9000' elevation.

Pant. Pant. Pant.

 Back patio.

DVD's normally rent for $2.95;

because the gas was cut off,

the sauna and jacuzzi were closed.

To compensate,

the DVD's were free.

Who would walk down 33 or 47 steps

across the street and up 20 steps

in your bathing suit to sauna or hot tub?

We have those at home and

no one uses them -

except me.

Amy likes the hot tub at home

but she had a bigger one in her loft suite here at the condo.

"I'd much rather have a free DVD," she acknowledged.

Every night we watched one or two movies -

all good

except the ones we started and didn't finish

because they weren't good or worse.

This, being a federal park, was closed.

Nice.

Hardly anyone broke in (I say that loosely.  There was
actually a trail to the beach.  We enjoyed
our picnic first on a federal table).

Free too.

 Tahoe Gal.

 The day for which we've all been waiting.

The Big 3-1/2 hour boat ride down the lake,

around Emerald Bay

and back.

"Good way to end the trip," Ed exclaims.

"I love Tahoe, Mom.  I'm with my favorite family."--Ed

 It was a lunch cruise.

But we didn't buy one thing.

Hamburgers were $15.00

$2 extra if you had anything on them.

Fortunate for our pocketbooks, we don't drink.

 This is where Ed got a V sunburn on his neck

where he didn't put sunscreen or button up.

 "Picturesque" Light House.

The highest in the world

at over 6000 feet above sea level.

 

 So this Swedish lady

spent 20 years buying up the land around

Emerald Bay

then had this house built.

She was friends with Frank Lloyd Wright

and Charles A. Lindbergh.

She had servants row her guests

to the only island in the lake

and served them tea

in the Tea House at the top.

Ed hanging out on the boat.

 The Captain and narrator.

 Someone told DeRay that he must have been

on this cruise at least 14 times

because he read the entire time.

A John Grisham novel.

He couldn't put it down.

 The Salt Flats

Oh yes,

we are finally to the end of a "hellish" week

for a semi-agoraphobia-ite,

who counts the days and nights

forwards and backwards

until we arrive safely home.

I know I should be grateful every moment

because at our age, who knows

which trip will be our last?

LAKE TAHOE,
WE LOVE YOU!

Be warned:

I added more of Amy's pictures to this blog

and I may yet add more.

Her photos are breathtaking.

You can tell which of these are hers.