Lake Tahoe

Mom and Dad arrived this past Thursday evening for another fun weekend!  As San Francisco is a nightmare to navigate around rush hour, we had them hop on the local transit to pick them up.  On our way home Thursday evening we stopped to eat at one of the California staples, In and Out Burger, which literally just has burgers, fries, and shakes.  The pull is that everything is fresh and local.  The potatoes are peeled on sight....but yes, it is still fast food...but oh-so delicious!!!  As their flight had gotten delayed due to fog in Virginia we didn't get home until late so my poor folks were up almost 24 hours by the time we hit the sack that night.   

Sadly, Eli and I still had to work Friday, but my folks were able to experience Napa valley driving the Silverado trail and looping back down route 29.  They stopped by the Silverado Vineyard to sight see, but tasted at the Sterling vineyard which they told us was wonderful.  You take an aerial tram up to the tasting room which looks out over the valley and offers stunning views as well as top notch wine.  From there they went to the Rutherford Grill for lunch and then did the olive oil tasting at St. Helena Olive Oil Company.  By that time, I was done with work (yay) and ready to join the party.  When Eli got off of work we ate crab cakes, corn on the cob, and fruit salad while sitting outside enjoying good conversation.  After dinner, we decided to walk downtown.  My folks got a kick out of all the redwood trees, palm trees, and interesting houses along the walk.  After seeing the town we walked over First Street to the Oxbow Market where we got the second best ice cream (2nd to Klines Dairy Bar in Virginia) I have had at Three Twins Organic Ice Cream.  As we walked home we saw lots of people out and about as well as live music coming from different outdoor venues around Napa.

Saturday morning we got up and moving.  We headed back downtown for breakfast at the Napa General Store.  After breakfast and looking through the cute shop, we headed east to South Lake Tahoe.  It was about a 3 hour drive.  When we arrived to the Horizon hotel we realized our room on the 8th floor had a great view of the lake and the SNOW capped mountains!!!  It was beautiful.  The weather was in the low 80's and the views were amazing.  We decided to walk to the water and found an outdoor restaurant right on the beach that we could sit to have a drink, appetizer, chat and get an up-close look of the lake.  After walking back to the hotel and cleaning up, Mom and I drug Eli and Dad through all the shops.  One stood out as it was a botique that offered comfy couches with free wine, beer and cookies for the men to sip on as the ladies shopped...what an excellent marketing idea!  Finally, we went to a fine dine and wine restaurant, Kalani's, which served Hawaiian cuisine...it was some amazing food.  I think all of our plates were cleaned dry when we were done.  We capped the evening off with some local wine in our hotel.

The view from our room...

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Zephr Cove for the M.S. Dixie II site seeing cruise on Lake Tahoe.  It was a 2 hour tour that offered a scenic tour of part of the lake.  We lucked out with  a sunshine filled day and front row seats to view the blue water and mountains that sit right along the lake.  Following our cruise, we drove to Emerald Bay to a few scenic look out points.  Following all our site-seeing adventures, we drove home and faced California traffic once again!!  I lucked out and caught a snooze in the car but poor Eli got stuck facing traffic once again.  When we got back our pups were very happy so we took them as well as Mom and Dad on the Brown's Valley hike that overlooks Napa and then we went out to eat at a local Chinese restaurant.  After being absolutely exhausted we hit the sack.

On Monday, once again Eli and I worked, and Mom and Dad decided to explore Sonoma Valley.  They went on an hour and a half tour at the Benziger Winery which from their report was a must do!!  This is a winery that is a step above organic as it has a whole biodynamic system.  They tasted 7 different wines including several from the reserve list and were given a tour of the cave as well as out in the vineyards.  Following their tour they went into Sonoma to eat lunch at the Red Grape and buy local cheese for our dinner.  It was great when I got off of work to see my parents waiting on me.  We really just relaxed Monday night eating cheese, crackers, pepperoni, fresh fruit and drinking wine they got from the day.  We all talked for hours and once we realized it was after 11, we headed to bed.  

Tuesday, Eli went to work and I dropped my folks off.  It was sad to say goodbye but not too sad as we get to see them again in less than a month when we head back to Virginia!!!  Eli and I both worked long days today and have begun getting ready for our next visitors, Ron and Jessica.....we can't wait!!! :)