Rich reminded me that he woke up this morning.  It was going to be a good day.

This morning, we started off on another leg of the adventure called the Zurek Family Vacation.  Today, we were heading into Lake Tahoe to look around and then to Placerville for a visit with Rich’s Aunt Fran and Uncle Larry at their house.

From Winnemucca into Reno, it was pretty much still high desert.  I didn’t see any tumble weeds, but you still got the sense they were out there waiting to roll across the highway. We stopped at a rest area by the Truckee River and read the signs.  Did I mention that we were following the California trail here?

Highway 80 at this point is just about on top of the old California trail taken by many emigrants from across the U.S. I could see how desolate the landscape was, but I didn’t think about the water sources out here.  There was a white substance lying in large pool shapes in the desert.  We thought it was salt at first.  This substance mixed with the water making it a very alkaline combination.  They went weeks without fresh water, until they got to the location where the rest area was. 

Rich decided that he wanted to see Lake Tahoe.  We were here and it wouldn’t take us any longer than going the highway.  We took 50 out of Reno down to Carson City.  From here, we climbed a very tall mountain.  I think we finally got to 7,500 feet in elevation, but no snow.  Of course for every action, there is a reaction.  This meant that we had to go down and it was one long hill! 

On the way back down, we came over a hill and around a curve.  There was Lake Tahoe stretching out before us.  It was so much larger than I expected.  It was huge.  We stopped at a marina to take pictures.  The water was cold since it is fed from high mountain runoff.

We continued around the south side of the lake to the Visitor’s Center.  We walked into the building to discover it was all the way in the basement. So down all of those stairs.  The room was large with a bear painted in blue and a lot of names written all over him.  Dan came from behind the desk to welcome us.  Come to find out, he was from Niles, IL! 

We have this strange thing that happens to us.  Wherever we go in the U.S., we always find someone from Illinois.  Dan knew exactly where McHenry was.  We talked about Chicago, the weather, and how he came to be in California.  Last year, we were hiking in Bandolier National Park in New Mexico with a lady who grew up in Carpentersville and another couple originally from Aurora who lived in Albuquerque.

Dan told us about a good spot to get to the lake and see some history on the lake.  We said good-bye and headed around the lake to Camp Richardson.  There stood the Baldwin house and the Pope house.  Not really mansions, but very nice summer cottages with their own estates and outbuildings for the help. We were able to get right down to the water on a sandy beach that was dark brown underneath and golden sand on top.  Really cool to look at. 

Of course, I found a couple of labs on the beach and talked to their owner.  The dogs were wet from swimming in the lake for their afternoon exercise.  But I got to pet a dog.  I miss Sascha.

After hiking around and looking at the estates, it was time for lunch.  We had seen an interesting place on the way in, so we made our way back to it.  We pulled into the Burger Lounge.  The parking lot was full at 1:30, which is a really good sign. 

Inside, we had to choose our burger and side.  I went for the Just in a Jiffy burger.  This came with bacon, cheddar cheese, and peanut butter.  Yeah, peanut butter.  Rick got the Smokehouse with bacon and cheddar cheese.  Rich got the Hangover Helper, which came with an egg on top.  The guys split a basket of garlic fries. 

Sarah S., the other Zurek sister, had told us about having a peanut butter burger, so I thought I would try it.  It was great.  The guys enjoyed the garlic fries, but I think there was more garlic than they were prepared for.  Jon Zurek would have loved it. We had a really great lunch sitting outside.  Yep, Rich finally ate al fresco.

Time to head on down the mountain to our stop for the night.  It was a ride, too!  We went from 6,000 feet to about 2,000 feet, which was all curves and 6% grade. I can now say I’ve driven the Sierra Nevadas.  It was exciting.  But then, I love hills and curves.

After getting settled in our hotel, we headed over to Aunt Fran’s.  Now this was also adventure.  The roads getting back to their house were narrow, curvy, and went almost straight uphill.  Their house hangs on a hillside and is the only one on that hill.  It’s like being in a treehouse looking out over the tree tops around you. We found it alright after driving very carefully.

Aunt Fran had prepared chicken alfredo, fresh bread and salad.  It was delicious.  We talked and talked.  The guys took a walk around the property with Uncle Larry.  I stayed behind since I have trouble with inclines.  Bear, the dog, and I had a good conversation and waited for them to return.

Aunt Fran is an artist and she took some time to show Rick some of her work and her studio.  She does some beautiful work.  Rich enough found one that he really liked.  Wonder if Aunt Fran would sell one of her pieces? 

Uncle Larry took the guys through is winery in the garage.  Rich said the tasting was very good and stuff that he would think about drinking.  Good think we don’t live close by.

We said good night to Aunt Fran and Uncle Larry and crawled back down the hills to our hotel.  Rick had a night time swim while I did some laundry for the days ahead.  As typical, the hotel dryers always take longer than you want them to.

We had a really good.  This is what vacations are about!