| Lake Tahoe and it's cold ... hot inside |
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| We're sitting in front of a
roaring open fireplace in a little lodge beside the clear waters of Lake
Tahoe. Rebecca, Nicole, Cecilia, Stephanie and Vanessa are eating pasta.
Kim and Clare are helping them eat, Yarro is reading a book and Phil is on
the computer.
It's so quiet, clear and cool outside. It's beautiful. Anyway, here's a short message to update you on the past few days. After the fantastic adventure in the limo and tram car we had a quiet morning driving over the Bay Bridge (two storey bridge over the bay) to Berkeley to look at a few outdoor clothing outlets. Outlets are cheap places to buy a particular brand of clothing. The Baileys decided they wanted to do more shopping and we decided to do more sightseeing so we headed over the Golden Gate to Sausalito for lunch at a nice little coffee shop with a magnificent view over San Francisco. To top it off the Blue Angels were having another rehearsal. We sat watching in glorious sunshine as the girls ate ham rolls, we had a calzone and drank coffee. We then walked past the local quaint shops looking for nothing in particular before heading back across the bridge.
As we sat looking at Nicoles drenched shoes we also watched these amazing little birds peeking for tiny crabs in the sand. Their heads moved like a piston as they bobbed up and down with long beaks probing the sand. From there we drove through Presidio and back to the hotel. Presidio is the old military part of SFO which has very few homes that are quite large in open space. The homes were until recently occupied by the top brass of the Navy. Phil, Nicole and Rebecca has a swim then we all had a nice Pizza for dinner at a nearby restaurant before bed. Next day was an early start as we headed for the Embarcadaro area close to downtown to see the other Hyatt. We really wished we'd stayed there. It's amazing and more like what Phil is used to staying in. A huge atrium, with a fountain in the middle and the latest fittings. We then headed to the Esprit outlet just down the street for a little more shopping. We found some real bargains for the girls. We were supposed to meet up with Brian and Anita in Sacramento later in the day but we hit a huge traffic jam on the way. Seemed everyone was heading to Napa and that blocked up the road we were on. To complicate matters further we had changed our car in San Francisco the day before because it needed an oil change. The only car they had was a 4 wheel drive which wasn't working out. Too bouncy for Kim and Nicoles tummies. The seat belt was too high for Rebecca and Phil didn't like driving it so we decided to try swapping it at Sacramento airport. Guess what? Not one car was available so they suggested Reno which was about 100 miles round trip past were we where headed. We politely said no and asked for compensation. It's amazing to see Americans move when you start to complain. Suddenly we were offered a huge van at no extra cost. It's working out well so far. Much more space and a comfortable ride. The girls love it. Anyway, all this trouble set us way behind schedule so we cancelled Brian and Anita and headed off to Tahoe on the wrong road. The trip to the airport to change the car had made us loose bearings and we ended up adding 9 very scenic miles to the trip. We found the lodge no worries and settled in for a simple meal with the Baileys and an early night.
Monday we drove around the Lake to Emerald Bay which is a deep green contrasting to the magnificent blue of Tahoe. We had a quick snow fight and walk on a trail into the forest. Beautiful and so quiet. Another quick shop on the way back to the lodge then teaching the girls to skip stones as we watched the sun set over the lake. One of the most relaxing and enjoyable times on the trip so far. Tomorrow is a big drive to Yosemite so we'll have a simple meal, quick chat, read and we'll finish this message and head to bed. More soon. Hope you are well. What's the latest news and sport in Australia? We get nothing over here. |
San Diego
Yosemite, Death Valley and Las Vegas Lakes District, Wales and Headley
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Next stop was China Beach in the rich part of town near the end of the
bridge on the SFO side. At the beach on of the funniest things on the
whole trip occurred. Nicole was in a bit of a mood. She decided to walk
close to the waves as we walked a little higher up the beach. Well, what
should happen ... you guessed, along comes a freak wave and I've never
seen Nicole move so quickly. The water was lapping at her heels as the
legs were a blur trying to get her up the beach before she got soaked. We
all laughed so hard our sides we hurting. 
Sunday was a very lazy day in Tahoe. In the morning we had a short
shopping trip to get Nicole some new shoes. Both girls are gr