Yesterday was my birthday. Here's me, pondering my life, so far (or wondering if Cherry Garcia really is better than Love Potion #31 at B&R).
At about midnight the night before, after more crazy winds, we'd had another power failure. After disconnecting the screeching smoke alarms (worse than waterboarding, I'm pretty sure !) we drifted off to sleep wondering how long it might be, this time. And no snow for water (aargh). The good news was, that it was back on by 9am--today, I love PG&E (Tom was already at the internet cafe)! Plus, Mom had bought Tom an early birthday present--a crank-up combination radio/siren/flashlight/red blinking beacon/cell phone-charging/panini-making marvel of an emergency resource! Well, it doesn't really make panini, but with a few modification, perhaps...It worked great, anyway, for the few hours we needed it. It would have been SO useful a few weeks ago, but from now on, no NPR withdrawal during a power fizz! Thanks, Mom!!
So, then, the plan was to go up to Tahoe, where Dylan and Rachel were hanging out with a few of their friends. Because Tom has the Job That Eats Birthdays for Lunch, we weren't able to leave until later than we'd hoped, and the road conditions were such that it took almost three hours to get there (usual=1.5). Subarus rule, though! No chains required for us, even though most other cars and trucks were ordered to pull over and put them on! We laughed in our sleeves as we chugged past...Gorgeous drive though Truckee and south on 89 to Tahoe City, whooshing along at about 20 mph. I snapped a few pics on 89.
The snow in Tahoe was two-feet thick on the roofs! Icicles were 3 feet long! You'll have to take my word for it, since it was too dark to take any photos, when we got there. Some of the snowplow piles were 10-15 feet high! The resorts are Happy Camps, with this much great snow! And our kids are some of the Happy Campers! We had a great time with Dylan, Rachel, Charlie, Megan and Emily, the last two being brand-new fun acquaintances. Megan is a friend of Rachel's from Boston who's visiting, this week, and with whom Rachel will live this summer--in Tahoe--it appears. Charlie is one of Dylan's housemates, and Emily is Megan's friend (I think). We munched wonderful fish tacos with cheesecake AND ice cream (Cherry Garcia--my fave). Of course, you'll have to take my word for all this, because I was too stupid to take any photos when we were there (aargh). [So, here's a picture I took of Dylan and Rachel just before Dylan took off for SF a month ago.] We laughed because there were almost more laptops than people in the room.
Tom and I drove back home, making much better time (less traffic) but who's going to solve the problem of big trucks spewing a blinding mixture of muddy snow on us as they careen recklessly past us??! And where were the towels I ALWAYS (used to) keep in the back? The snow was all but gone at our altitude upon our arrival shortly before midnight. This morning, however, it's been piling up at the rate of about an inch an hour. We have 4-5, so far, or so says our very reliable snow-gauge-patio table.
Tomorrow, a Very Cool Thing My Friend Lisa Forwarded to Me.
