We arrived at Lake Tahoe very late at night the previous day and collapsed into extremely luxurious surroundings. The house Carmel's family and friends rented was massive-almost 20 adults plus kids and babies were staying there, in completely comfortable and spacious surroundings. It is currently on the market for 4 million and we probably only saw about 1.3 million of it-having not seen the top or bottom floors. It was so large that there was simply no reason to do so. It was covered in bears (and Thomas Kinkade's-oh the horror!) from floor to ceiling. On chairs and shelves, on paintings and wallpaper, on cookie jars and curtains. They were all over the place, you could always find one more bear in the room you were in.
It was so nice to wake up in what felt like a home. Go downstairs and make breakfast, brew some coffee, not feel the immediate pressure to leave a hotel room or campsite. It was also extremely nice to have the space to do some office work, such as following up with Peace Corps emails and write. I was able to catch up with the wonderful Carmel as we worked side by side in Bear Hollow's dining room, like a vacation version of an oft repeated scene we shared in Boulder. After office we all went down to the lake. Just like our private lake in Teton, this lake was crystal clear and cloudless, though thankfully a bit warmer. We splashed and played 500 in the water, played backgammon and practiced yoga on the beach. It was a wonderful afternoon.
Coming back Nick and I left to pick up liquor. We stopped at Safeway where I asked a lady selling root beer floats at the front if they carried liquor. "Oh yeah, we have a full selection," she replied "This is Nevada hon!" Back at the house, we drank SoCo lemonades, laughing about the bedroom intruder video while people busied themselves in the kitchen preparing an incredible dinner of bbq roast, mushroom risotto, and root vegetables. That night we played scategories and paper telephone, until the four of us once again collapsed asleep into luxurious surroundings.
The next day I slept in and did a bit of computer work with Carmel and Evan. One of the things I love about Carmel, and her family, is how intellectually stimulating the conversations are. Her family is both fascinating and scintillating. I love how I gain so much from Carmel when with her, whether that be book recommendations, cookies, or perspective. I ordered 4 books from half.com, ranging from business models to alternative education just after being with her and her family for less than two days.
We eventually had to leave our mountain resort, resigned to the fact that we had already committed to being in Sacramento that night. Had we the ability to be flexible I would not have been surprised if we stayed for the week's remainder. But all too soon we found the matrix packed and on our way south from Nevada to Sacramento. In Sacramento we met Ovita, Nick's fabulous aunt who hosted us and Nick's Sacramento family for a taco and margarita bbq. Nick and Margaret went swimming in her pool while Evan and I lay on reclined pool chairs until woken up and told it was time to head to Nick's aunt Natalie for the night.
Natalie is Nick's waffle aunt, and we woke up to a massive breakfast for ten-chocolate chip waffles, breakfast casserole, bacon, and fresh fruit. Refreshed and rested, we continued our Great American Road Trip heading for Pacific Highway 1 to begin our west coast adventure.
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