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Western Diary Day 4: Janet falls over (again) and Tony gets lost

Posted in Personal, Travel Diary, tagged , , , , , , , , on Mar 20, 2011| 1 Comment »


We woke to learn that the snow had left over a foot of fresh powder on the mountain (nearby Sugarbowl had had 32 inches overnight!), and that today would see a brief respite in the relentless wave of storm systems hitting the west of the country during March.

Although it was snowing and visibility was poor when we set out, leaving both the lake and mountain invisible, breaks in the clouds brought a surprising and prolonged spell of sunshine from late morning onwards. Occasional “wind holds” aside on lifts on the upper levels of the mountain, the majority of the ski terrain remained open, including the all-important gondola in the middle of the village.  The fresh, dry, soft snow which had fallen on the groomed surface meant that appreciable bumps developed on all trails as skiers and riders turned over it.  The term “powder day” was rarely more relevant in our experience.

That said, the day’s skiing was hardly uneventful.  Firstly, Janet contrived to fall twice whilst standing still  – that’s now three nil to me!  But I didn’t exactly cover myself with glory either.  Returning from the Nevada side of the mountain at 1pm we resolved to head down the run that led directly into the new Tamarack mountain restaurant for lunch.

However, if you miss the left fork leading to the restaurant, and the gondola alongside it, you find yourself hurtling towards the farther California side of the mountain, with no way back other than by negotiating a time-consuming and frustrating return via a series of long trails and lifts, taking you back into Nevada – and that’s if the latter are operational (which, at the time I needed them, was the case).    

And that is what this idiot did, leaving Janet waiting outside the restaurant wondering where I had disappeared to.  As I had perpetrated the same felony only last year, she soon worked out what had happened to me, and had the good sense to wait there whilst I reacquainted myself with most of the mountain before being reunited with her over an hour and a half later.  My legs had started to tire BEFORE I embarked upon the additional marathon journey, so I was mighty relieved to see her waving to me at the bottom of the run!

But that wasn’t the only indignity I suffered – staggering back to the gondola for the ride back to the village my saloppettes (ski pants to the unitiated) fell down, revealing the three layers (thermals, tights and underpants) beneath.  Fortunately, Janet may have been the only witness, and it certainly raised her spirits after the long, frustrating vigil at the restaurant.  At least it proved that I had lost weight from last year!

Lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s cafe in the village was highly welcome =- and very late, thanks to this author.  After the customary late afternoon siesta, we roamed the casino and village shops before having dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Harvey’s casino.  Good food, great music, delicious margaritas and  friendly service – it is not difficult to see how it long outlasted Planet Hollywood.

I’ll finish with a tip for those wanting to have fun and win each time they hit the casinos – play the penny slots!  Ok, it’ll take a few thousand years for you to become a millionaire, but you’re just about guaranteed to win every time.  Janet and I only discovered them at the Bellagio in Vegas last year when they paid for several rounds of drinks at the bar.  Tonight we walked away with $70 from a $30 stake – that’s 233% profit, pretty good odds huh?

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First photos from Tahoe

Posted in Personal, Photo Gallery, Travel Diary, tagged , , on Mar 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »


Here are a handful of photos from our first couple of days’ skiing in Heavenly.

Me!

View of lake from top of Comet Express

Both of us!

View of lake (just!) from window of hotel room

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Western Diary Day 3: Janet falls over

Posted in Personal, Travel Diary, tagged , , , , , on Mar 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »


I realise that yesterday’s blog was rather lengthy, so resolve to keep day 3 short and sweet.

After coffee and bagels in Starbuck’s in Harrah’s we set off to collect our valeted skis and poles.  The first half hour was taken up climbing into our boots – why is it that with all the advances in ski technology in the past twenty years that getting into – and out of – boots is as strenuous and stressful as it was when we first took up the sport in 1987?

The weather was cold and overcast, and strong winds at the upper levels of the mountain meant that the lifts and runs available were very limited.  We were compelled to take an overcrowded shuttle bus – along with a cacophanous bunch of brash Texans on their spring break – to the Stagecoach lodge in Nevada, which we reached shortly after 10am. The skiing was confined to just a handful of runs, though it was enjoyable nonetheless.  The highlight was Janet’s spectacular back flip from a standing position as she was about to push off on the Olympic Downhill.  One nil to me! 

With a heavy storm approaching in mid afternoon we finished skiing around 1pm and had lunch at Wolfgang Puck’s cafe in the village – even though it’s a fast food outlet that man still puts out great food! My four cheese pesto pizza matched the cajun shrimp pasta from the night before.

The snow set in as forceast around 3pm, and had covered the road at lake level within an hour.  It did not stop for the remainder of the day, dumping well over a foot on the mountain overnight.  Seeking escape in our room I wrote yesterday’s blog and watched a great profile of the Giants’ 2010 postseason heroics whilst Janet braved the hotel’s swimming pool.

We trudged through the roadside snow to Cecil’s Steak and Brew for their excellent Jack Daniel’s drenched half chicken before returning to the hotel for drinks and a modestly successful i.e. breaking even session on the penny slots.  We went to sleep wondering whether the incessant snowfall would jeopardise tomorrow’s skiing plans.

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Western Diary Day 2: From Bay to Lake

Posted in Personal, Travel Diary, tagged , , , , , , , , on Mar 19, 2011| Leave a Comment »


The first morning of our vacation maintained the traditional approach with a walk to the Eagle Cafe on Pier 39 for breakfast.  Two Eggs Benedict with fried potatoes, scallions, peppers, melon and orange slices, accompanied by orange juice and unlimited water and coffee, set us up for the impending trip to South Lake Tahoe.

We did not leave the city without an alarming revelation.  Having lamented the demise of the Border’s bookstore in Union Square only a few weeks before on this blog, I was horrified that the Fisherman’s Wharf Barnes and Noble bookstore had also gone since our last trip, soon to be replaced by an extension of the adjacent Costplus World Market store.  Barnes and Noble had again been a stopping point on our trip to Tahoe. where I invariably bought the books that I would be reading over the next few weeks.  I am a great fan of the independent bookstore but the loss of both of the large branches in the city that I enjoyed visiting is a lot to take.

We collected “The Beast”, set the radio to 95.7 The Wolf and left San Francisco at 11.30am, crossing the  Bay Bridge on a mild (58 degrees), bright morning.  Now, American readers might consider applying a Chevy Traverse with the nickname “The Beast” to be rather an exaggeration, but if you are accustomed to driving a Mazda 2 back home, believe me it’s a monster! Once we had passed Treasure Island we saw part of the new East span of the Bay Bridge which, once opened in another couple of years, will offer magnificent views towards Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.   

The 180 mile drive to South Lake Tahoe along Highways 80 and 50 was untroubled, traffic steady and the weather lovely, the in-car temperature guage going as high as 65 degrees around Sacramento (which has one of the least attractive American downtown skylines in my experience).  One of the most entertaining aspects of the journey was spotting the Adopt-A-Highway sponsors, two of the most intriguing being Friends of Obama (some might ask whether he still has enough to cough up the money to pay for the upkeep of a major road) and Jelly Belly.

The heavily snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains first came into view as we approached Sacramento, though they hid themselves intermittently over the next fifty miles before dominating the final part of the drive.  We stopped for lunch at Starbuck’s in Hangtown Village Square in Placerville – note to self: remember to look up the derivation of that name. It was here that we experienced for the first time on this trip the classic, arguably over-effusive American customer service approach, exhibited by both the server and barista.  For now, it was welcome, but I wonder how soon it would be before it began to grate.

As Tahoe approached the side of the road became littered with signs such as “watch for snow removal equipment”, “chain installers work east of this point” and “slow traffic use turnouts” (laybys to UK readers). But in the benign weather today, they were irrelevant.

As the road climbed to more than 7000 feet the scenery of the Elderado National Forest and the gushing American River, became ever more spectacular.  And then…..the lake was teasingly laid out before us in all its beauty, only to disappear again as the twisting road plunged downhill.

We arrived in South Lake Tahoe at a little after 3.30pm, enabling us to fill “The Beast” up (it is so much cheaper than paying for a full tank of petrol at the outset) and return him to his Avis parents before the desk in the Embassy Suites closed.  Once checked in at Harrah’s we sought out Powder House ski and boot rental (the best deal in the resort) before dinner at Applebee’s (my cajun shrimp pasta was to die for), a brief , unsuccessful spell on the Harrah’s slots and bed (not our liveliest St Patrick’s Day I’ll acknowledge,but we were tired and wanted to hit the ski lifts early the next morning as a major snow system was scheduled to explode upon the area on Friday afternoon).

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California Dreamin’…….and of Nevada too

Posted in Personal, Travel Diary, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on Feb 8, 2011| 2 Comments »


Five weeks tomorrow (Wednesday) my wife and I will be flying out to our second home, San Francisco, California, USA.  I use the word “home”, not in the sense that it is where we are permanently domiciled, but rather as the place where we feel most “at home”.  This will be our eighth trip to the City by the Bay and we could not be looking more forward to it.

Since the millenium we have, in the Spring of every even year (’00 to ’10 inclusive), spent 3-4 weeks “out west”.  Each vacation has followed a similar pattern – a week or so skiing in Heavenly, Lake Tahoe at the beginning and  week or two in San Francisco at the end, with three or four day visits to other locations sandwiched in between for a few days – these have included Vegas, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Death Valley and Yosemite.

Following last year’s vacation we decided that life was too short to have to wait two years for our next skiing and SF fixes, so, at least for now, it has become an annual event.  Our long term aim, finances permitting, has always been that once my wife has joined me in Retirement Row, which may still be a few years yet, we will spend longer in San Francisco / Heavenly, upwards of three months at a time, twice a year. 

But for now it’s three and a half weeks, starting with the customary first night stay in San Francisco followed by the drive to South Lake Tahoe on the following day. Ever since the night in 2002 when we thought we could make the trip from SF to Tahoe immediately following an eleven hour flight, and then, after negotiating a heavy rain-splashed evening commute out of town, spent seven hours crawling through a four foot snow storm (of which more another time), we have seen sense and stayed in the City before venturing out refreshed the next morning. 

Besides, we have developed a routine, now I suppose it warrants being dignified with the word tradition, for that overnight stay that sets the scene for the entire vacation – dinner at Calzone’s on Columbus Avenue in North Beach followed by a scan of the shelves in the City Lights Bookstore and a few drinks in Vesuvio’s in the evening, and breakfast at the Eagle Cafe on Pier 39 the next morning, along with half an hour in the Barnes and Noble bookstore in Fisherman’s Wharf stocking up on any vacation reading before we head off to Tahoe.

We are only skiing for four days this year, though it’s four more days that we would have anticipated when we left there last March.  So we are hoping for perfect spring conditions – they snow is already there, all we need now is the sun.  And the best meal of our entire trip last year was at the Riva Grill on Ski Run Marina, so we plan to eat there again.

After five nights we fly from Reno to Vegas where we are meeting my wife’s parents, both of whom are now 80 and still hitting “Sin City”! Just three nights there but, as ever, action packed – Cirque de Soleil Viva Elvis show in the Aria, possibly another show yet to be booked and a trip to the Hoover Dam with a deluxe cruise on Lake Mead. And then there’s at least two of those nights spent tackling  feisty “Whiskey Girl” cocktails at Toby Keith’s I Love this Bar and Grill.

With such tasty appetisers cleared away we move onto the main course – San Francisco.  Last year we eschewed a hotel for the first time and stayed in an apartment in Hayes Valley for two weeks.  This will now be the template for the future.   We wanted to “live like locals” as much as possible, and staying in someone’s home is a good starting point – no maids knocking at your door in the morning anxious to clean your room, you can eat in as often or as little as you want and, if you have a washer and dryer, you are never short of clean clothing!  The last facility is particularly important this year since Virgin Atlantic has halved the cabin luggage allowance since our trip last year.

We are staying in a much larger apartment this year on Fulton Street, half way between Alamo Square and Golden Gate Park.  Not only is it more spacious but it comes with a huge TV, computer and, rarest and most precious of all in San Francisco, a designated parking space.

I will post separately about our plans for San Francisco but our emphasis this year will be on new places and new experiences, though I’m sure that we won’t be able to resist returning to many of our favourite haunts such as Beach Blanket Babylon (already booked for our fifth visit), the Cliff House,  Haight-Ashbury and AT & T Park.

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