7 April 2013 - Lake Tahoe Day 1

The next highlight to my trip was the Tahoe leg! 

We had to rent a four-wheel drive to drive up to Tahoe (in case of snowy roads). So here's our new ride. 

It is a 4 hour drive up. We set off early so that we can get a good head start to a more chill day (cos the next day we were gonna ski!). 

At some point nearing Tahoe, we started to see patches of snow. But it is almost dried up though, since we're alrdy in spring. It was actually the 2nd last week of ski season, after which they will close & "reformat" the trails for extreme biking in summer. how cool is that. 

Took me no time to sniff out some acorns pine cones once we got to our ski resort - Northstar.

Whee!!! Start of a BEARY good time! 

Despite the no-show of snow at the lodging area, it WAS pretty chilly. The fireplace was much needed. Really should have brought marshmallows on this trip... but we didn't. 

So we had 2 free skate rental tickets & being the more adventurous 2, Yingshi & I wasted no time to get our feet in the skates. 

It was my first time on roller-skates. Not to mention the fact that I can't rollerblade or ice-skate. So I was pretty much having a stiff time on the rink. Just look at how hard I was grabbing the side bar. HAHA. 

But I did have so much fun learning & trying to move my legs faster. I did fall like once right on my butt. And though at the end of it I can't say I skater-gal, but I could at least move from Point A to B (if there was no time limit). 

BIG THANKS to Yingshi for her encouragement & coaching! Couldn't have done it without her! 

As I was figuring out how to move faster, this little girl, Sophie came up to me & chatted me up.
And she gave me tips on how to skate seeing that I was really too old to be moving so slowly.
She & her sis were excellent skaters btw.

So Sophie kinda stayed with me throughout my entire time on the rink, talking to me & encouraging me. We passed by her parents & her parents were a little "embarrassed" that their daughter was being so chatty. Her mum actually said Sophie is very friendly & talks to strangers all the time. She is really sweet though for her age!

Meanwhile, at the sidelines, besides helping us to take pictures, my bro & sis were enjoying the live band playing. My bro used to play the Tuba. Just saying.
                       

And after they played a still set, they started playing a marching set led by the Northstar lodge mascot! 

And the mascot was throwing out big (subway-sized) cookies with not wrapping whatsoever to the people who were gathered around the fireplace & at the rink. What an atmosphere! 

After we were done with skating & catching cookies, we decided to head back to cook dinner at the lodge. There's my bro holding a bag of groceries in a brown bag. 

 
Here's how the interior of our lodge is. Upstairs for sleeping & downstairs dining & living room area.
Cosy little place!
                               

Dinner's served!

Ending this post with a framed art along the corridors of the lodge: A pair of crows in designer scarves.