Turf and Surf

No, I’m not talking about those lobster and steak specials advertised on casino billboards as you make your way through the mountains on Highway 50 coming to Lake Tahoe. I’m talking about where we have found ourselves over the last week. We recently took a 7.7-mile hike up on the turf leading to Round Lake.  And, we’ve been paddling the surf in Lake Tahoe in our new inflatable kayaks.

The Tahoe region has more lakes than you’d imagine.  It is not just Lake Tahoe, there are dozens of hidden gems in the mountains. I went on the hike with my husband who competes in triathlons, and my two young, beautiful and fit adult daughters. Now, I try to stay fit myself.  I swim regularly, walk a lot and yet still need to lose some weight.  I am the tortoise- slow and steady, who wins the race.  Or, at least finishes the hike. I use hiking poles that really help with the steep grades. I am way past caring about looking dorky. 

Round Lake is along the Tahoe Rim Trail, and is at an elevation of 8,000 feet. The trail leads you up and down, and up and down though cool pine forests full of wild flowers, streams and chattering squirrels and chipmunks. My dog, Teddy isn’t much of a swimmer, but he loved walking into the creeks and cooling off his tummy and feet while taking a drink of probably the most pure water he ever swallowed.

After the first part of rather steep uphill trails, we were rewarded with an open expanse called Big Meadow.   I had to stop myself from doing a Julie Andrews imitation, “The hills are alive, with the Sound of Music.” I’m sure I would have made my daughters cringe, even though we were completely alone, and the only sounds were that of the distant calls of birds in the far away woods.

Mandy and Toby in Big Meadow

Then, at last we arrived at Round Lake, cool, blue with forbidding jagged granite cliffs that stood sentry over the lake.  All I could do was exhale and take it all in.  We found a shady spot and had our lunch.  Rob of course went in for a swim.  It was an amazing adventure, and I can’t wait to go back.

Round Lake

And then there is the surf.  I don’t know how else to put it: I just love kayaking. It is a fun way to get exercise. There is nothing like being out on the water and looking back at the land- the beach, the mountains, the trees, and feeling a sense of freedom, and as corny as it sounds, a oneness with nature.

We bought a couple of 2 person inflatable kayaks because we were tired of hoisting the two ‘real’ kayaks we had onto the top of the car, tying them down and then having to unload them at the lake.  Let me tell you, the inflatable ones are just as much work, but they are great.  They come in a big bag and with a healthy set of lungs, a foot-pump or a battery operated pump, they blow up pretty easily. 

After spending some time getting our inflatables ready for their maiden voyage, we began our kayaking adventure in a tributary of Lake Tahoe that is basically snow melt from Mount Tallac.  This area has been dry as a bone for the last few years of the drought, but this year, it was a reedy, water lily filled stream. Paddling up the creek was peaceful, with no sounds except for the birds and the wind rustling the scrubby plants and trees. 

Rob paddling up a tributary to Lake Tahoe with Mount Tallac in the background

Then we crossed the stream where it entered Lake Tahoe.  On this busy weekend day, colorful umbrellas, inner tubes, floating toys and small boats were everywhere.  We paddled to the west shore admiring boats of all sizes. It is amazing how quiet it becomes as soon as you are a short distance from shore. 

                                                          Retirement is pretty good so far.

Beware of Furniture That Comes in Boxes

We assembled four pieces of furniture, with a lot of ‘blood, sweat, tears,” and a fair amount of cursing.  (Actually, a lot of cursing.) This furniture all went into our place in Tahoe, and these projects were supposed to be ‘fun.’  At least they started out that way.

As I was finishing my last few weeks of teaching, correcting tests and essays, I often found myself sort of daydreaming for the day when I would be done with school, and would leisurely be putting something wonderful together in the garage in Tahoe, as I breathed in the pine scented air, and listened to the birdies sing.   Well….

Three pieces of furniture were ordered online through a well-known home décor website; the fourth, was a fancy, manly workbench for my husband that literally weighed 300 pounds, that we got from Costco….(some assembly required…) There ought to be a law that defines “some.”

If you’ve never ordered furniture in a box, the size of the box it comes in, defies logic.  How can a hall tree fit into such a small box?   Four chairs and a table in three boxes? 

The shock is when you open the tape and straps and see the several pages long instruction booklet and what appear to be a million screws, nuts, and washers.

First, the workbench- when it took two strapping young men and Rob to load it into the back of the car, that should have been the first clue.  Back at the house, the unload crew consisted of Rob’s 93-year-old mother, Rob and myself.  We, (Rob and I,) ended up pushing the 300 pound box out of the back of the car, as I drove the car slowly out of the garage, and hoping when it hit the floor with a thud, that nothing broke. (Nothing did.) However, working on it, per the instructions, meant we put it together ‘on its back,’ which meant we had to ‘right’ the 300 pound behemoth by flipping it over onto its ‘galvanized reinforced legs.’  I am shocked that neither of us has a hernia because somehow we managed it.

The 300 pound workbench!

Next, the hall tree- If you actually follow the step-by-step directions, it  turns out pretty well.  Except when you put one whole section together backwards, and there are more than the normal amount of mosquitoes flying around and biting your already sweaty body.  And, these directions don’t tell you how much TIME it should take you to assemble it.  Seven steps seem like a doable number.  They also don’t factor in your level of furniture assembly skills.  While the end product turned out nicely, we vow to never get tempted to do this sort of thing again.

The (%$#@&^*) Hall Tree!

Fortunately, the headboard and the four patio chairs and table were fairly straightforward and easy.  Unfortunately, we started with these, so our utter disgust and irritation at how complicated the hall tree was, made that process all the more "cuss" worthy.

So if I had any pearls of wisdom for you, it would be  to spend more, buy what you want already assembled, and be happy you didn’t spend hours  putting it together.

However,  after a shower and a couple of gin and tonics, we both have to admit, the furniture looks pretty good.

The "rustic" headboard.

Ready for cocktails on the deck?

Building Fences

Do me a favor, go out and really look at the fence around your backyard.  Take a look at the pickets, the 2 by 4s, and the posts.  As a now experienced fence builder, I have to tell you, they are incredibly hard work to build!

I will never again ignore the simple white picket fence in front of my neighbor's yard.  From now on, I will take a moment to admire the time and effort involved in that seemingly plain fence that hides the junk on the side of a store, or that separates me from my neighbor.  I will forever pay homage to the workers who went unnoticed, building those fences that I took for granted.

My 60 year old husband and I, (I am almost 60 myself,) decided to build a 24 foot section of fence on the front/side yard  of our house in Tahoe, to give us more privacy when we build a deck, pergola and barbecue area.  It won't be hard, we can do this, we announced with confidence.  It won't take much time.  Once we level the posts and put in the cement-- (eight- 50 pound bags of cement-- are a good workout, as you load them into the back of the car)--- this fence will be done in no time.

Okay, I can tell you that after six hours, my feet ached, my knees ached, I was covered in grit, and dirt and sweat and smelled like the locker room of a major baseball team.  And,  yet the sense of accomplishment was pretty cool, knowing I helped build that thing. It is straight, and level and actually looks like a professional fence!

We bought our supplies at the local hardware/lumberyard, called Meeks. It is a guy's heaven.  No frills, just nails and screws and countless other things that I have no idea what their purpose is, lined up neatly on aisle upon aisle.  Then, on the lumber yard, we picked out our posts, and 2 by 4s and  52 cedar pickets.  We decided on the higher grade, and even with that, found out that you really had to pick through the pile so that you didn't get ones that were cracked, or had too many knotholes, or ones that were crooked and warped.  Who knew?!

So, take a look at our job.  Don't tell me it looks sort of ordinary.  It looks amazing.

Tahoe and Retirement

I’ve come up to Tahoe so many times in recent years that I’ve lost count. Yet, this time it marked the beginning of my retirement.  I haven’t completely wrapped my head around this retirement thing yet.  Mostly because, being a teacher, each school year ends with summer vacation.  The slow wind down to the end and then the joyous exhilaration that marks the start of summer.  I’ve been in this pattern for most of my life.  The September to June cycle goes back to being a kid in elementary school,   high school and college. Then, I had  many years of my own kids going to school, and the twenty years I also spent teaching. So the fact that I’ve started yet another summer vacation, doesn’t really make me feel like I have also retired!  I don’t feel like this is really the beginning of a permanent vacation- but I’m not complaining. (And that's not lemonade- its Margaritas!)

Being in Tahoe is the definition of being on vacation.  I am not at home with all the numerous tasks that get in the way of relaxing.  Here, waking up and having coffee on the deck means being on vacation.  The smell of the pine trees, the chatter of Stellar blue jays, the scampering of squirrels and the gentle ‘quaking’ of the Aspen trees, means summer has arrived.   Here on this little road, life seems to stand still.  Trees grow, yet no one notices. They have always been this monstrously tall. Aspen trees shoot up baby trees next to the larger adult tress, pinecones fall from above, bunnies sit stalk still,  and an occasional brown bear ambles through, taking ownership of the street as people watch from inside their houses.

Summer means warm nights, cards, gin and tonics, and a carefree mindset.

On this day, family from England visited and enjoyed the “new”(remodeled)  version of the Lynch family vacation home- established in 1969.

This neighborhood is unique in a lot of ways.  Many of the vacation or year-around homes have been passed from generation to generation. In fact, of the eight houses within a short distance of our house, five are homes that have passed through family ties, passing from parent to child, just as Winnie passed this house to Rob. A little log cabin a couple of blocks away is on the market for the first time in 65 years. There is a sense of continuity and family on these little roads that makes the world seem to move a bit more slowly.

Now that it is finally summer, it is difficult to remember the cold solitude of this past winter. The hush of the snowpack made the cabins seem even more vulnerable and yet at the same time, cozier too. 

There is nothing especially fancy about the houses in this neighborhood, but the history and unassuming nature of the area makes even the most humble home, seem cute and cozy.  Most were built in the 1920s and 1930s as US Forest Service cabins. And, there are a smattering of ones built in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s too.  Many of the older ones have chimneys that were constructed by the native Washoe tribe.  If you have one of those houses, you must check with the Historical Society before doing any exterior work.  I suppose that is both a blessing and a curse.  The story goes that the native tribes lived in the Carson Valley for hundreds of centuries, traveling to the shores of Lake Tahoe in the summer to fish and hunt.  As modern progress invaded their way of life, they learned the masonry trade and made a living creating unique stone chimneys in the area.

It is June and I am in Tahoe, what else can be better?

Lions, and Yellow Fever and Malaria, Oh My……🦁

And Typhoid shots and don’t drink the water, or eat fresh fruits or vegetables.  And spray mosquito repellent on your skin, clothes, shoes, backpack, hats, everything. Pack lots of diarrhea medicine too…Oh my….   

Going to Africa this September will be a trip of a lifetime.  Every time someone asks me what my plans are, since I just retired, I say, ‘lots of traveling.’  And, no one ever reacts casually when I say that our first big trip will be to Africa. 

Honestly, I can’t say Africa was ever on my ‘bucket list,’ but when an opportunity like this presents itself, how can we say no?   And, I have to admit, even though I am a retired teacher, I had to look up where Rwanda is on the map.  My African geography is pretty weak.  Rwanda is a tiny country in central eastern Africa, just below the equator.   To get there, we have to fly 10 hours to Amsterdam and then another 10 hours from there, to Kigali, Rwanda. 

So why are we going?

Rob’s son Chris earned a master’s degree in international development and was given advice by his business school mentor that he would be more marketable if he had some actual field experience.  His master’s thesis was about the developing markets in the country of Rwanda.  So, low and behold, he got a yearlong fellowship working for a business consultancy in Kigali- the major city in Rwanda.

We’re going because it boils down to, well, why not? Chris can play tour guide in Rwanda, and the three of us plan to go on a safari on the Serengeti in Tanzania,(which is east of Rwanda.)  Then, Rob and I will continue on to the exotic and romantic, Zanzibar, (a small island off the coast of Tanzania in the Indian Ocean.)

Well, there is still much planning to do, and paying to do... Oh my..... (But I can't wait!)