Thursday, June 5, 2014

Lake Tahoe, The Good, The Bad, The Good

And it did! That's where I've been posting during my blog hiatus.

During my blog absence Mr. T and I took a long overdue week off from daily life and headed north to Lake Tahoe. Our first visit to this beautiful area.

We took one of the smaller highways which ended up being a spectacular drive scenery-wise. Timewise it was long-about 8 hours.


Heading out from Orange County with our bicycles loaded on the back of the truck.

It was totally worth the time. We stopped several times along the way and my "go-to California expert", Debby, from  the blog, "Just Breathe"   gave us a great suggestion for a lunch stop.

Take a look at the changing scenery we encountered on that drive:

Beautiful deserts


Open Road, big sky...

One of my favorite sights along the way!

We couldn't figure this one out.  It looked like a fault line.
 Debby, do you know what this is?

Yosemite is over that way about 30 miles.
 We hope to go THERE next summer.

Time for a stretch - it was cold!
We left temps in the 80s and 90s. Had snow by the time we reached Tahoe.

A very strange lake. I thought it was a salt lake,
 but these were calcium formations. Mono Lake.

A professional shot I found on google:


Then...

Lunch! A large bakery/deli. Has been there for a very long time.
I had two other people recommend it besides Debby.


Told you! Snow! At the end of April!




Guess who looking a the view of Lake Tahoe from the south end.

Here's a little panorama shot I took.  Please forgive the muttering in the audio...




The first day after we arrived we drove around the entire lake.


This was my favorite part of Lake Tahoe.
 Emerald Bay.

We got a little closer a couple of days later on a boat tour.

We waited for the snow to melt before using our bikes. However we can out to the truck one morning and this is what we found:


Gone! Lock on rack jimmied, steel cable cut.
We called hotel security and the police.  When asked if we had pictures of the bikes, I only had this to email to the police officer. I told him he would get his laugh of the day when he returned to the station and saw the picture I had sent him:


You can see the two black and whites back there in the trailer.
We aren't strange.
So that was the bad: our bikes were gone.
Put a pall on our stay and we weren't happy with hotel management's lack of response.
The good: Our Renter's Insurance covered the cost of the bikes in full!
More good: I wrote a letter to the hotel operations manager and explained how disappointed we were, not with our accomodations, but by the lack of concern showed by the staff we approached many times.
I got a phone call from the operations mgr and she agreed with me that we had not been treated as well as we should have been. They re-imbursed us for 50% of our stay, which we felt was fair.
So, I can now say in good conscience, Harrah's in South Lake Tahoe is a wonderful, reasonably priced (with Groupon!) place to stay. Excellent service, food, convenience. 
But don't leave your bikes in the parking lot!

Now, more good:


A castle-style 'cottage' built in the 1940s .

There it is from the boat. There are tours of it available in the summer months, but you cannot access it by boat. You must hike down. And then of course, hike back.  Maybe by my next visit I will be able to do that - I hope so!


The small turret on the island across from the house where
the 'lady of the house' had tea every afternoon. Accessible by boat only.

Trying to stay warm during our boat ride.


That beautiful, clear, blue water that Lake Tahoe is famous for.



There he is again!

Even I was cold!



A hardy young man and his best friend.

I thought I'd end with some bling. This picture was taken inside an old saloon in Virginia City, Nevada. This gorgeous chandelier is original glass dating back to the late 1800s. Teddy Roosevelt, Doc Holiday, Mark Twain and numerous others sat under it, 'in the day'.


So, there you have it folks: The Good, The Bad and The Good.













14 comments:

Mr. Tennis said...

A beautiful place. I'm ready to go back!

Mr. Tennis said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Wow! Such gorgeous photos. I have never visited this area but John has. So sorry about your bikes but I'm happy that things worked out in the end. Wishing you a lovely weekend.

Razmataz said...

Those horrible people...stealing your bikes. We don't have a garage or shed in Florida and we leave our bikes in the house because I don't trust anyone not to cut the locks.

Linda @ Itsy Bits And Pieces said...

Beautiful photos, Ann! We often went to Tahoe when we lived in Sacramento...such a beautiful drive through the foothills and into the redwoods. So sorry to hear about the bikes!

betty said...

First time visiting your blog (I think). I'm south of you, in the San Diego area, though did live in Laguna Niguel for about 2 years 8 years ago. It is pretty in Orange County.

I loved seeing the pictures of Lake Tahoe (sorry about the bikes, glad it all worked out, but such a bummer to have to go through it). We haven't been to Lake Tahoe in years, but always enjoyed our time there.

It is quite a hike back up from Vikingsholm, but really pretty down there :)

Sounds like you are getting out and about trying to see all that California has to offer :)

betty

~Lavender Dreamer~ said...

What a fabulous trip! SNOW! It's hard to imagine! But what a sad thing to come out and see your bikes gone. I'm glad you had insurance to cover them and got something back from your hotel cost. But still...it's a shame to have it happen on your fun trip. LOVE your photos...rugged mountains with the white clouds over them is my fav! HUGS!

Mr. Connor said...

Except for the bikes a GREAT time was had by all. Wonderful pictures and a wonderful trip. What a range of temperatures. No wonder folks go there and never leave. Wonderful !

Patricia @ 9th and Denver said...

I was super happy to see you comment on CORN... glad to see you posting this little trip!
I bet you were ready to get away from it all and have a mini-vacy..minus the STOLEN BIKES! (dirty rats)
Too bad about the Hotel too. Customers shouldn't have to complain about poor service--especially surrounding such bad events in order to be heard!
Glad you got it all sorted out.
I guess Lake Tahoe isn't so famous for clear waters... this information I just learned here... @ TBL

:P

Mullin Avenue Workshop said...

Ann,
Lake Tahoe looks so pristine.
Just lovely, and you took some really nice photos.
The lake reminds me of some of the clear, blue lakes in the Canadian Rockies.
Glad you had a good holiday!
Brenda

Kit said...

Great photos! I have never been there, so it was fun to see. Sorry about your bikes, but glad they were covered. So great to see you back, I have missed you! Kit

Unknown said...

Great pictures. It gave more meaning to the books you send me in two different ways, both of you would enjoy reading them.

the cape on the corner said...

what mean people to take your bikes, it's so bad. on the plus side,the scenery looks amazing.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Your pictures are amazing. No I am not sure what that is. Mono Lake has changed so much over the years. We have been going up to Mammoth Lakes for maybe 18 years now. That professional photo is gorgeous! Lake Tahoe is so beautiful. I've only been there once years ago. I can't believe your bikes were stolen. I am so sorry. I'm glad your insurance covered them and that they gave you money back at the hotel. Have to laugh at that dog with his head through his masters legs :)
Debby