by Bob Sparrow
(Post is a continuation from the post on November 29)
Linda at Emerald Bay
Circumnavigating the Lake
It was another horrible day in paradise – clear blue, cloudless sky on a cool crisp fall morning at the most beautiful alpine lake in the country, where we decided to take the day to drive around the lake and hit some old haunts that we’ve not visited in years. The minute we walk out of our room we are engulfed in a butterscotch/pine smell that tells us we are not in Kansas anymore.
Going up the ‘west shore’, our first stop is Emerald Bay, where we pull over at an observation turn-out and soaked up the spectacular view. As we cruised along the lake-side road, just before arriving in Tahoe City we turn up Chinquapin Lane and stop at a cabin that I used to own with my college roommate, Ken Poulsen. We head up the road less than a mile and come to Sunnyside Restaurant & Lodge, one of the great lakeside restaurants. We were going to have lunch there, but it is only open for dinner during this time of year (‘this time of year’ is known as ‘the shoulder’ season – the time between the end of summer and the opening of ski season). We head into Tahoe City and plan to eat at Jake’s on the Lake, but the ‘shoulder season’ strikes again, only open for dinner. We stop at the location of brother, Jack’s restaurant, The Off Shore Bar & Grill, which is now office space.
Sunnyside during the summer
Sunnyside last week
Just out of Tahoe City heading east is a condo project, sitting high above the road, called Rocky Ridge, which affords those in the front condos the most spectacular view of the lake I’ve seen. It is where Suzanne’s and my parents’ ashes rest. Although it has a guard gate that doesn’t allow anyone in without the gate combination, we were able to talk a maintenance man into letting us in. We got to pay our respects to my folks.
Finally, lunch at GarWoods
We continued around the lake still looking for lunch and finally found Gar Woods Grill & Pier and sat on the deck overlooking the lake and had a great lunch before we headed into Nevada, where we were first greeted by Cal-Neva. Well, we weren’t really greeted since it’s been closed for many years now, but still sits above Crystal Bay and was once a great hotel and casino owned in part by Frank Sinatra, unfortunately, the other part was owned by Chicago mobster, Sam Giancana. Someday it will reopen and I hope to be one of its first guests.
We continued around the lake into Incline Village and stopped at the Hyatt Hotel and Casino to try our hand at some games of chance – some of us were luckier than others. We completed the last leg of the trip as we were coming down the east side of the lake to South Shore as the sun was just setting behind the Sierra Nevada Mountains. A spectacular sunset on a fabulous day!!
Genoa Lakes
Linda at Budd’s lot
When packing for this trip we weren’t sure of the weather, so we packed golf clubs and ski jackets and wondered if we’d have to play golf in our ski jackets. We didn’t, it was shorts and golf shirt weather at Genoa Lakes Golf Club on ‘the other side of the mountain’. Prior to teeing off, we visited our good friends, Jack & JJ Budd’s, lot on the golf course – awesome view!
After making our donations at Harrah’s, Harvey’s, Hard Rock, and various other casinos around the lake, and having seen all the old haunts, we decided that we had seen everything we wanted to see, done everything we wanted to do and lost all the money we had with us, so . . . we decided to head home on Wednesday, which we did.
It was a beautiful, short and sweet, five-day trip, and it’s always nice to get home into air that we can sink our teeth into!