Saturday, July 23, 2016

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

In the morning, we quickly packed and headed to beautiful North Lake Tahoe at around 8:00 a.m. There was very little traffic on Highway I-680 and I-80, and we arrived in Truckee (just west of Lake Tahoe) at 11:30 a.m. (a 3.5-hour drive).


Since we were hungry and tired from the long drive, we ate lunch at Marty's Cafe - a well-rated restaurant on Yelp. There was a long wait to be seated (as the restaurant was packed), and we initially considered other alternatives. Still, other restaurants in Truckee were also bustling, so we decided to wait it out. We ended up waiting for about 35 minutes before we were seated.


I ordered a Brie and Mushroom Omelette with an English muffin (it included a homemade raspberry jam). It was well-prepared, incredibly delicious, and served very quickly.


Inna ordered an Eggs Benedict and was surprised by how well it was prepared. We didn't have high expectations (after our spectacular breakfast in St. Regis in Bora Bora) and were pleasantly surprised.



Alex ordered a Cheeseburger with a fruit salad and was also very happy. We really enjoyed our brunch entrees here and hope to be back again!



After an unexpectedly delicious lunch, we headed for our planned hike on the Sagehen Creek Trail. This is a flat trail just North of Truckee, with a round trip distance of 5 miles.


The trail started with much tree cover but eventually became a desert landscape with few trees and no shade.


As it was a scorching day, Inna was flustered by the high temperature (over 89 Fahrenheit) and the high altitude (6,000 feet).


We did not see many animals on the trail, though Inna did manage to spot a small snake, some lizards, and a very loud bird.


After the hike, we decided to stop by Truckee for cold ice cream. We stopped by Bud's Old Fashioned Fountain shop for a sample. Yelp reviews were mediocre, but we decided to try it ourselves. Alex ordered a chocolate and peanut butter flavor and liked it somewhat. Unfortunately, we were not impressed by Bud's ice cream. I think Haagen Dazs, Ben & Jerry's, and Three Twins ice cream taste much better (and let's not even try to compare Bud's to Birite in San Francisco).



After cooling off, we headed for King's Beach to play a bit of Miniature Golf. We decided to play one game at Kings Beach Miniature Golf.



We played 18 holes, and Inna won by a large margin. However, Alex won a free game of golf by getting his last put on the 19th hole.

Here is a video of us playing a couple of holes:



After finishing golf, we headed to our hotel at The Village at Squaw Valley. Inna found a respectable room price on Hotwire, so we decided to stay there for two nights. We parked in the underground garage, which is very convenient. The whole Village at Squaw Valley reminds me a bit of Whistler in Canada (though I have more affection for Whistler).

After checking in, we decided to have dinner at Fireside Pizza. Inna did not want to eat pizza, but she liked the other items on the menu. Alex ordered a small Caesar Salad. Inna ordered a specialty salad (Buffalo mozzarella and tomatoes). We also ordered some Hummus, Feta, and Olives as a shared appetizer. We shared a large Thai Curry Chicken pizza among all three. The pizza was delicious, but Alex did not like it; he prefers Thai food.


 For dessert, Alex ordered a Brownie Avalanche, which was fabulous. Alex did not like the lemonade - it was the HiC version and prefers natural lemonade (made with freshly squeezed lemons).



Alex and I found a Foosball machine in the Kid's Play area of the Village at Squaw Hotel and played three games. I won the first game, Alex won the second, and Alex won the final third game of our tiebreak.


Sunday, July 24, 2016

We got up reasonably early, around 7:30 a.m., to get an early breakfast and have time to get to King's Beach, where I had jet-ski reservations. Since most of the breakfast eateries in the Olympic Village were closed, we drove to King's Beach and decided to eat breakfast there.

We stopped by at the Java Hut, where I ordered a waffle, and Alex and Inna ate a breakfast sandwich. After breakfast, we headed to the beach, where the jet skis were being prepared.



After signing all the paperwork and liability forms, Alex and I walked into the beautifully clear water to get to the jet skis tethered 50 feet offshore. We boarded the jet skis and were off to ride Lake Tahoe. (Even at maximum speed, jet skis would take two hours to reach South Lake Tahoe from King's Beach).



The water was unusually calm in the morning, and I could go at maximum speed, i.e., close to 49 mph. I took turns with Alex, who was initially uncomfortable with the ride's speed and bumpiness. Eventually, he got used to it and enjoyed riding the jet ski as the driver.


After about an hour of riding, we returned to King's Beach, and I took Inna for a ride. We rode slower as the water had become r. Many more boats and jet skis were out as the morning wore on. After 30 minutes of riding, we returned to King's Beach to let Alex have another turn.



Alex got to drive the jet ski far longer this time and immensely enjoyed it.

After about 3 hours of riding, we were tired and headed to lunch. Inna found a nearby eatery well-rated on Yelp - King's Cafe. We really enjoyed our lunch there, as it was delicious and reasonably priced.




After lunch, we stopped by a new Ice Cream Shop - "Sweet Tahoe Time." Alex ordered himself a Birthday cake-flavored ice cream with lots of toppings.


We walked back to Kings' beach and decided to rent some kayaks and a stand-up paddleboard. Inna and I rented a two-seater ocean kayak, while Alex rented a stand-up paddleboard. We paddled around for about an hour on King's Beach.


I filmed a short video of our kayaking and supping adventures:


Our kayak rammed Alex's paddleboard several times, and he fell off once. Afterward, we rested a bit while Alex chased Pokemon.



After 5:00 p.m., we decided to try another game of golf at King's Miniature Golf nearby. We played the second golf course. The result was the same as last time, with Inna winning (again), I was second, and Alex was third. Alex was frustrated on a few holes where his initial strategy did not work.




We were all a bit tired after a long day at the beach and headed back to our "The Village at Squaw Hotel." After some rest, we had dinner at Fireside Pizza (this time outdoors). Inna ordered a Cobb Salad, Alex ordered a personal Pizza, Margherita with a Caesar salad to start, and I ordered Spaghetti Bolognese with a house salad. For dessert, we shared a brownie with ice cream. The meal was delicious and very reasonably priced.













1 comments:

What a great surprise to stumble upon your blog by way of your reference to Marty's Cafe in Truckee.