Lake Tahoe Ski Trip

Keith and I planned this little Tahoe getaway last week. Some ski resorts in the area offer REI employees a few free ski days each year. This trip was for two days offered at resorts very close to each other - Alpine Meadows and Homewood. We booked a room in Tahoe City so it was a short 15 minute drive to each resort.

Well, word got out that we had a room. Someone told one person and then he told one person and so on, and so on. We ended up having to get a bigger room with two big beds AND two roll away beds. We drove one of the kids up and he stayed two nights with us. The other three people just came up for the first night. It actually turned out to be a lot of fun with everyone in the room together. We didn't get a lot of sleep, I know that much. That's alright though, I would do it again if they wanted a place to crash.

Andrea, Sarah, Don & Ryan

Tuesday morning we all woke up at 7:00 to start getting ready. Amazingly, all six of us were ready and out the door by 8:15. We were on the slopes by 9:00.

We took a short break for lunch at noon and then went back on the mountain until after 2:30. I was the last one to out there. Everyone else quit, saying they had enough. I was still having a good time, my body felt good, so I went on some runs alone. Andrea, Sarah and Don drove back to Fremont that afternoon.

This is the first time Keith and I have worn helmets. We decided it was time. More people than not wear them. Not that I think either of us are reckless skiers, you just never know what can happen and it's not always your fault you lose control.

After a hot shower, big pasta dinner and a trip to a candy store for some chocolate honeycomb, all three of us crashed early that night.

Yesterday we were up at 7:00 and out the door by 8:00. We got to Homewood and picked up our tickets and a bite to eat. We were on the lifts by 9:00. I thought for sure we would be sore from the day before but we weren't. I seem to be skiing much faster this year. I am attributing it to my cycling. Why? Because I am getting used to going down hills fast on my bike so I'm just more comfortable with the speed and feel confident in my reaction time. That's the only thing I can think of. My confidence level did allow me to go down this, the face of the resort:

The views of Lake Tahoe from Homewood are breathtaking! The lake is kind of like the Golden Gate Bridge to me - I never get tired of looking at it It was simply beautiful, so clear and calm.

Our store manager hooked up with us at Homewood and we hung out with him all day. He brought baguette bread, cheese, salami and oranges to share with us. When we stopped for lunch he cut everything up and we had a little picnic. Since I don't eat salami I bought a salad and enjoyed the cheese and bread. It was a perfect lunch. Keith says we should do this in the future. It can be SO expensive to eat lunch at the resort. We called it a day around 2:30 and drove home. In a couple of weeks, three different resorts are offering free ski days for us. I hope I will be able to go up again then.

On a different note - we had an earthquake this morning! I was in the warehouse at work, on the second floor. It scared the crap out of me. From what I understand, the epicenter was quite close to our store. It was only a 4.2 magnitude but it was enough to shake the building and make noise. I'm not a fan of earthquakes. I don't like how they sneak up on you! Not cool!!

Until later.............