I almost forgot...

I took a short video clip of our drive home from Kirkwood.  Not the best angle.. and not as great as seeing it  in person... but you get the idea.   

Burgers + A Scenic Drive

I'm hoping this post will make up for my lack of pictures on my last post...

Today was beautiful.  The afternoon temps were in the high 40's and the sky was bright blue and completely cloud-less.  We had no plans today, so after Mike worked for a little while in the morning, we decided to go for a drive to learn our way around our new town.

Our first stop was a cute little restaurant called "The Burger Lounge."  Mike had actually heard about this place on one of his favorite ski websites.  It's a small place.  Just recently re-opened under new management.   All of their burgers are made with a 1/2 pound of beef (or turkey).  We got the "deluxe" burger which came with cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, etc.  Pretty standard toppings.  It was DELICIOUS!  It was juicy and messy and wonderful!  And... I ate every. single. bite.  They also make homemade fries that you can get with various toppings... garlic... cheese... chili... mushrooms... etc.  We split an order of plain fries but we really should have skipped those altogether because we only ate a few of them.  Anyway, after filling up on juicy, fattening, yumminess,  we took a drive towards Kirkwood Ski Resort...

We stopped periodically to take pics of the beautiful scenery...

Red Lake... covered in ice and snow

Partially frozen Carson River

Carson River 

One dirty Subaru 

Glittery snow... of course this picture doesn't begin to do it justice.  It was so sparkly! 

Caples Lake... frozen and covered in snow

Ice fishermen 

Notice the "Road Closed" signs... they are almost completely covered in snow 

Lots of ski tracks at Kirkwood Ski Resort 

That same little cabin at the top of Carson Pass that we have taken several pictures of... with approximately a 6 ft wall of snow

Knarly tree

And... a Jeep with tracks!  For serious snow driving.  :)  

The weather has been absolutely beautiful here lately and the forecast is calling for it to continue!  It was a great day for a scenic drive.

Return To Paradise

Let me begin by apologizing to those of you who read my blog solely for the pictures.  This post is ALL words.  But please don't worry... there will be more pics to come.

I love North Carolina, but I'm so happy to be back in California/Nevada.  After a very long day of travel (3 planes... 2 long layovers in DC and Denver), I landed in Reno where Mike picked me up from the airport.  Overall, my flights were good.  I flew into Denver as the sun was setting behind the Colorado Rockies which was absolutely beautiful.  Flying into Reno, I could see the snow covered mountains surrounding the "Biggest Little City In The World," and I kept thinking to myself: "I can NOT believe I live here."

I've been home for a few days now and in that time, my life has been nothing short of awesome.  I was nervous about adjusting back to the altitude and time difference but, truthfully neither one has been an issue.  I took a short nap on my last flight which helped me adjust.  I went to bed around 11:00 pm (2:00 am east coast time), and I woke up at 7:30 am (10:30 am east coast time), feeling great.  I feel like I've adjusted much quicker than I expected.  I also thought I would have headaches from the altitude... but no issue there either.  It was a pretty easy transition back to the west coast and I am so thankful for that.

Friday, I spent with my boys.  I had several loads of laundry to do and we ventured out in the late afternoon to run a few errands.  We came home... cooked a chicken pot pie... watched some tv... and hit the sack.  It was a very relaxing day.  

Then came Saturday... in a nutshell: it was a day that truly reflects WHY we moved here.  We slept in until 8ish... had coffee and breakfast... lounged around... hit the slopes around 10:00ish... skied together all day... enjoyed a ride on the Gondola down to South Lake Tahoe around 1:30 for coffee and "Heavenly Donuts"... then rode back up the mountain for a few more runs... visited the Tamarack Ski Lodge around 3:30 for what can only be described as a slopeside PARTY with a DJ inside the lodge and a live concert outside.  I can NOT believe I live here.

After skiing, we decided to head down to South Lake Tahoe for a nice sushi dinner.  We had the BEST sushi I have ever eaten in my life.  The chefs were amazing... and their sushi creations were unbelievable.  The best part of dinner was when I realized the basketball game on the television was actually NC State vs. UNC!  Ahhh... a little taste of North Carolina to go along with my new California/Nevada life.  And the greatest news of all????

THE WOLFPACK WON!!!  All seems right with the world.

After dinner we walked around South Lake Tahoe for a while... venturing into one of the Casino's... but only to use their restroom!  : ) Thankfully, neither of us really see anything fun about gambling.

Now it's Sunday... and we woke up to falling snow.  We are expected to get a few inches out of this storm.

That is all for now but, stay tuned... I'm hoping to have more pictures to post soon, and possibly a video tour of our house.

North Carolina

Most of you are aware that I am back in North Carolina for a few weeks but, there may be a few of you who didn't know that.  I'll explain...

I have a contract with the state of North Carolina that requires me to work as a physical therapist in the state for two years.  It will be exactly two years on January 19th.  So, when Mike and I were in the planning stages of our move, we decided that moving over my Christmas break from work would allow us to start fresh in our new home at the start of the new year.  That was very appealing.  It gave us a fresh start in 2013 and allowed Mike to get settled before starting his new job.

So, that's what we decided to do and I'm glad we did.  But, it meant that I had to fly home to finish up a few weeks of work.  Initially, I was looking forward to coming home.  I thought it would be a return to normalcy.  I was excited to get back to work and to tell all my friends and family, in person, how great our  trip across the country was.  And that part of it HAS been great... but returning to NC was definitely NOT a return to normalcy.  My "normal" life is now 3,000 miles away.  For 2 weeks I am borrowing my parents car for work and I'm crashing at friend's houses during the week.  I love my friends, and spending some extra time with my family, but coming home was definitely more challenging than I thought it would be.  There is just so much to be excited for in Tahoe... new house... new places to see... new things to do... new lifestyle... etc.  It was hard to leave all that excitement behind.

It's also kind of strange being back.  For one thing, I left 20 degree temps in Tahoe and I was greeted by 75 degree temps here... in January?  Of course, it was in the 70's a few days... and now it's in the 40's.  Thanks for welcoming me back with your CRAZY weather, North Carolina.  Another strange thing, has been saying good-byes AGAIN at work.  I feel like I told everyone good-bye before we left for Christmas break (since I was taking an extended Christmas vacation)... and now I'm home... but I'm leaving again.  It's weird.  It feels like I've said good-bye to some people at least 10 times already, but I haven't left yet.  And the STRANGEST thing about being back, has been driving by our house but not being able to go in.  We are renting our townhouse and there are currently tenants living in it. Last night I actually had to go over there to pick up a couple of things that we accidentally left behind, and to get a few pieces of our mail.  I actually had to knock on our front door and someone else let me in.  Such a strange feeling.  It was actually nice to see it all decorated with their things. It looked really nice and I think it provided some closure. It's still our house (according to the bank), but it's someone else's home now.

So, currently I have 1 more week of work to finish before flying west.  I can't really process my emotions at this point.  I'm torn between my excitement for returning to my new life in Tahoe and my sadness for leaving my closest friends and family in North Carolina.  I want everyone reading this blog to know that I am grateful for these feelings; the fact that I feel sad about leaving is because you all have been so wonderful.  And one thing is for sure: new friends can't replace the old ones!

Now that you are all updated on where we are now...

Here's a look back in pictures... some from the road trip... some from our first arrival at our new house... scenic views during walks with the dog... etc.  Enjoy!

The mountains we call home now.  They are slightly more intimidating as you get closer to them. 

Just arrived at our new place!  Zater is checking it out.  

Our front deck... after shoveling (some of it). 

Sunset... mountains... clear, fresh water... sand... AND snow.    

The view from our walk with the dog.  

The view from our deck.  

Sunrise on the morning Mike drove me to the airport... 

...the clouds were hanging really low in the valley.  

Passing the time in Tahoe

Spend some time down by the lake...

Packed a little picnic...and just relaxed with breathtaking views of a lake so clear and blue it is TRULY indescribable.  

Then... spend the afternoon on the slopes... 

All of this beauty just MINUTES from our front door.  This is a lifestyle we can easily get used to.  

Altitude, Weather, and Time Differences

Living in Lake Tahoe is very different than living in North Carolina.  For one thing, the LAKE itself is at 6200 ft in elevation.  The tallest mountain on the east coast (which happens to be in NC of course) is Mount Mitchell whose summit is located at approximately 6600 ft.  So, Lake Tahoe is ALMOST as high as the tallest mountain on the east coast.  Crazy.  

Of course the Lake is surrounded on all sides by towering mountains that make up part of the Sierra Nevada range.  Mike and I live near the top of one of those mountains, at 7400 ft.  We have definitely noticed some differences due to the high altitude.  First, we get short of breath MUCH quicker.  Things that would seem "easier" near sea level are definitely a little more challenging up here.  Surprisingly, I feel like we have adjusted pretty quickly.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still huffing and puffing as I walk my dog through our neighborhood which we will refer to as "fairly hilly."  But, we have been able to be a little more active lately without getting headaches from oxygen deprivation.  We are still fatigued at the end of every day but even that seems to be improving.  

So, let's talk about the weather.  It has been BEAUTIFUL!  Sunny skies, temps in the 30's and 40's.  Just beautiful.  It has only snowed once so far since we have been here, and that only left 2 or 3 inches to be shoveled.  The sun comes out and the temps increase during the day and it dries out our freshly shoveled deck, stairs, and parking pad.  Now, not too long before we got here, Tahoe got a pretty good snow storm.  It dropped several feet of snow.  So, I know it can get bad here but I am very grateful that our first week in Tahoe has been mostly dry and sunny.  

Even though the air temp can get cold (highs at the end of the week are in the low 20's), for some reason it doesn't feel quite as cold as it would in NC.  You know how everyone in Arizona says, "Yes it's 112 degrees out but it's a 'dry heat.'"  Well, I kinda think there is some truth to that.  It's cold here, but there is less humidity and so it doesn't feel like the heavy, wet cold in NC.  It's a dry cold and if you layer up, it's really tolerable.  

Oh yeah, and we get some pretty wicked icicles here... although these are mostly melted.    

Snow plows run constantly here.  Even if fresh snow isn't falling, they are constantly skimming the roads to clear them of slush.  Despite living up a curvy mountain road, we have driven on mostly clear, dry roads since we've been here.  Again, I have no doubt that it can get "ugly" during a snow storm but I'm grateful that the roads are kept in pretty good condition the majority of the time.  

Speaking of roads, cars, etc.... please check out my husbands truck: 

That's right.  It is filthy.  And, there is absolutely no point in washing it, because as soon as you drive up the mountain again, it looks like JUST like it did pre-washing.  So, for the remainder of the winter, we will just have to drive dirty cars. No big deal.  

My car... AFTER a "bath"

We anticipated the time difference to be a little bit challenging but since we drove through all the time zones, I think our bodies adjusted gradually and we seemed to get on West coast time pretty quickly.  I sometimes forget that our friends and family on the East coast are 3 hours ahead.  I always seem to think of people that I should call to catch up with around 9ish at night... which of course is midnight their time.  It's going to take a little longer to get used to it.  

Well, we are happy with our move so far.  It is a completely different world than what we were used to in North Carolina but it's all been part of our adventure.  I am completely out of my comfort zone, that is for SURE but I'm proud of us for being adventurous and it has already changed us for the better.  

We Made It

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while but naturally, we've been pretty busy.  

Our cross country road trip was pretty amazing!  We hit every destination as planned, and we stayed with amazing friends and family along the way.  It took us 6 FULL days of driving but only 1 REALLY long day.  Most days we drove about 7-10 hours... our longest day was from San Antonio, Texas to Tucson, Arizona.  It took us just over 15 hours.  That was a little rough.  Of course I had my roadside companion along for the trip... 

Overall, our trip went extremely well.  Fortunately we didn't have any car troubles, and we really didn't hit much traffic at all.  I love car trips because you get to see the gradual change between states.  There were so many breathtaking views on desolate highways that we NEVER would have seen if not for this trip.  Just seeing the sun coming up every morning, and setting in the evenings was amazing.  

We drove through the French Quarter in New Orleans; a place I have always wanted to visit.  We didn't spend much time here because we were tired and it was very crowded.  Maybe one day we will be able to spend a little more time there.  The architecture and design of the old buildings was beautiful and I couldn't help but think about how much was probably damaged during Katrina.  Parking was an issue since Mike was pulling the trailer which meant we couldn't park in a garage/parking deck so, we just drove around.  

We were able to check off another place on my "list of places to visit in my lifetime": THE GRAND CANYON!  We weren't really sure that we needed to drive almost an 2 hours out of the way to see it, and we knew we wouldn't have much time to spend there, but I think we are both SO glad we went.  We just stood in awe of it.  It is truly grand.  I think we actually would like to go back again some day and maybe do some hiking or possibly see the North Rim which we were told has absolutely stunning views.  

Desert Christmas tree???

This was taken with the "dramatic" setting on our camera.  Very dramatic indeed. 

Next big stop: LAS VEGAS!  One drive down the Vegas strip and I totally understood why people come here.  It's mesmerizing with all the lights and action.  It seems like there is always something to do here.  I imagine it is like Disneyland for adults.  It was definitely worth seeing.  

Shortly outside of Vegas, the landscape became mountainous and snowy.  A sure sign that we were getting closer to Lake Tahoe.  

And finally... after 6 long days in the car... we made it to our house... where 8-10 inches of snow was waiting to be shoveled.  Fortunately, we already met an amazing neighbor, Gordon, who has a snow blower and who graciously helped us clear our parking pad.  

I am so grateful that we have had nothing but sunny weather since we have been here.  We have been so busy setting up our house and running errands (getting snow tires for my car... trying to get furniture for the house, etc).  The house is great.  I think it will meet our needs perfectly.  I wish I could say it was "move-in ready" when we got here but sadly, it was filthy.  We spent as much time cleaning as we did unpacking.  It's finally getting to a point where we are starting to feel "at home."  I will post pictures of the house later.  We still have a lot left to do.  Stay tuned.