Lake Tahoe

  Linda and I just returned from Lake Tahoe . Lake Tahoe is  located relatively close as I buckled  on  both the Tevis and Western States when I was in my  early 60’s. This essay relates to our recent visit .

We  left for Lake Tahoe after I had finished completing my early morning run . On the way, we called Paul to see if he was somewhere in the vicinity.  As it turned out, he was returning from Nevada . We coordinated and met at a nearby Shell gas station . After a discussion about  the recent Tevis  and other topics, we parted. We headed  East and Paul West. On our way , Linda connected with her long time friend Trina .

Linda and I had lunch  at a Japanese restaurant in Tahoe city  that came with a spectacular view of that gorgeous lake.  After lunch ,we proceeded to our destination . For the first time ,I booked through Airbnb because of a credible recommendation. Charlotte informed us to not  book a  room without a  private toilet.  Online, there was a beautiful picture of Lake Tahoe with a beach and condo. The picture and location seemed perfect .

 We arrived at the Airbnb condo which was located parallel to  Lake Tahoe Blvd. But, there was  no lake  or beach in sight.  The condo was in an old building. The  furnished room seemed  clean . There ,on the table, was a list of do’s and don'ts . We unpacked and then found that the TV  was not  usable unless one had all sorts of streaming passwords . We subsequently found out how to navigate to the beach and that it was necessary to bring  beach paraphernalia. It would've been appropriate to know about all these  significant details when booking.  

Linda and I had a pleasant  dinner and a noisy tavern. There , it was reinforced that  it was a better idea to share meals as opposed to ordering them separately. I had a couple of tacos and salad even though the  attractive waitress told me that she consumes three tacos. Two tacos and the salad was more than enough. After dinner, we did some sightseeing.

The next morning, Heidi's was recommended for breakfast.  We got in line and waited for a table.  After being seated , we looked around and found ourselves surrounded by gigantic sized people  . We shared an Eggs Benedict breakfast which was tasty .The restaurant reviews were correct pertaining to our order . We then proceeded to the pickle ball court.  After playing for about 45 minutes , a couple walked in and Linda invited them to join us.  The woman said she wasn’t wearing the correct shoes  for pickleball . They left and she returned  with pickleball  shoes .  They didn't have their equipment and used paddles from the facility.  Joe was 20 years younger than Linda and he played competitively in tournaments although his wife did not.  Linda and Joe teamed up and I played with Karen.  Joe was skilled and taught us a few things about competition rules and so forth. He also informed us about indoor and outdoor balls as we were  skunked. As it turned out , they lived in Lake of the Pines and played in Auburn. Playing was a fun experience and we both enjoyed our meeting .

The next morning we decided to go to an IHOP as we had not experienced one in many many years. I was thinking about pancakes and remembered that that was one place to check out.  The waitress seated us and I opened up the menu.  The waitress took  the menu from me and turned  the page to the 55+ section.  I thanked her as I was unaware of that fact.  During  breakfast, at a nearby table, a gentleman asked the amount of batter used in making pancakes since he was on a low-carb diet.  If I was on a low-carb diet, I certainly wouldn't go to an IHOP.

For dinner we proceeded to a fancy restaurant on the water with valet parking.  We shared a salmon dinner.  The waitress told us  that with a second plate we would have to pay extra.  I asked what other extras came with the second plate. She replied” extra rice” . I said okay.  The attractive waitress had a dialect that we didn't recognize.  I asked her where she learned that dialect and she said Bulgaria.  Initially,  the people didn't seem to be huge. But when we were about to leave the restaurant  it became more crowded and also the size of the people became greater.  After dinner, we played more pickle ball and walked around the tourist section. adjacent to the casinos.

After breakfast we took a leisurely drive back to the Truckee area and proceeded home. All in all, I have a smile on my face while writing this short essay . Lake Tahoe’s beauty is second to none along with many great memories. However, it certainly is a popular place as there were many people and lots of traffic.