I recently became a fan of Anne Bogel after reading her book about personalities. I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life, her second book, is a collection of essays that celebrates the reading life, exploring the personal and universal experiences of book lovers, from the books that first hooked them to the challenges of a growing "to-be-read" pile. Anne invites readers to reflect on reading as a lifestyle, covering topics like finding the right book at the right time, the joy of reading, and the role books play in shaping identity.

How can a lover of books not love this book when it states so clearly what reading is all about? "People read for a multiplicity of reasons. Nearly forty years in, I can tell you why I inhale books like oxygen: I'm grateful for my one life, but I'd prefer to live a thousand, and my favorite books allow me to experience more on the page than I ever could in my actual life. A good book allows me to step into another world, to experience people and places and situations foreign to my own day-to-day existence. I love experiencing the new, the novel, the otherwise impossible, especially when I can do it from my own comfy chair."

Any boy mommy, whose son has married, knows the delights of getting her boy alone for any amount of time. Due to weekend plans, our younger child was held captive for over 10 hours as we headed south on US 395. I was in Mom Heaven.

Our first stop was only 54 miles from our cabin. Walker Coffee is our new, on-the-road favorite. Great employees, tasty coffee, and they keep my frequent buyer card on file so I don't have to think about where it might be.

My view for 10 ½ hours!
This image captures our parental GLEE.
Our next stop, 244 miles from our coffee pause, was Fossil Falls. 
Fossil Falls don't have either fossils or falls. What one finds, rather, is a spectacular lava flow sculpted by rushing water and wind late in the Ice Ages—a “fossil” of nature’s handiwork.
This is one of the most unique geological features we've seen. The rugged and primitive features of Fossil Falls are the product of volcanic activity from as recently as 20,000 years ago. Lava from the local volcanic eruptions poured into the Owens River channel. The erosional forces of the river acted upon this volcanic rock, forming the polished and sculptured features that now can be ogled here. This is my third visit to Fossil Falls and I am just as impressed.


What fun to discover wildflowers in bloom, too.

With our younger son's family visiting for a few days and with the weather being incredible, we knew the ideal spot to spend their last day in town... Tube Tahoe!

For most of our 1.5 hour session, we were the only frolickers on the hill. It was like Grandpa and Grandma had booked it for a private party. So dang cool.
Steve and I were there as spectators and photographers!

Because everyone at Tube Tahoe was so good to us, our granddaughter created a gratitude masterpiece. How cute is this?! I 🤎 Tube Tahoe.

The hot toy of Christmas 1974 was the humble Shrinky Dinks. I recently discovered that this nostalgic toy from my pre-teen childhood is still alive and well. But first, some history.

Shrinky Dinks got their start in Brookfield, WI, way back in 1973. It was there that Betty Morris and Kathryn Bloomberg invented the amazing shrinking craft while working on a Cub Scout project with their sons. They had read about a fun project in a magazine where you could trace, cut, and color onto plastic lids, place them in the oven and watch as they shrunk and hardened. The kids loved it, and it was a bolt of lightning moment for the pair.After working out all the manufacturing logistics, the promotional beginnings were indeed humble. Betty and Kathryn set up a small table in a suburban mall in Milwaukee. It was shopping season, and plenty of small businesses were peddling their wares in booths. On the table they placed several pieces of plastic, both large and small, and a toaster oven. When shoppers walked by, the two arranged for a demonstration. The larger bits of plastic went into the oven. Through the window, people watched them shrivel up. They emerged only a portion of their original size, as though they had been zapped with a shrink ray. Needless-to-say, Shrinky Dinks became a sensation. Here's an ad that I'm certain made me beg my mom for my own kit.
The women eventually got a distributor, Skyline, who inked a deal with Quaker to offer a specially created "Shrinky Dinks Kit" as a Self-Liquidating Cereal Premium on marked boxes of King Vitamin. How cool would that be?
The first company to sign Shrinky Dinks with an exclusive licensing agreement was Colorforms. It was a profitable partnership. Under Colorforms, this plastic toy became so popular that the toy giant Milton Bradley would purchase the rights in the late eighties, so that they could make and distribute them. Crazy to think these were popular in the 80s, too. My boys did not experience the phenomenon so it's extra special that I get to share my childhood memories with my grandchildren (I guess Shrinky Dinks skip a generation).
True Shrinky Dinks® Creative Packs are still very much available. I was gifted this knockoff kit from a fellow grandma.
Hours were spent coloring these plastic treasures. What a perfect, quiet afternoon activity.

We had an incredible afternoon rooting for our local youth hockey team: The Tahoe Grizzlies.

"The Tahoe Grizzlies, founded in 2006, is a developmental youth hockey travel organization. It is a proud member association of the NorCal Youth Hockey Association and California Amateur Hockey Association. Its mission is to develop and promote the sport of youth ice hockey at all levels; to provide safe, supervised, and sportsmanlike training; and, to build character, sportsmanship, and citizenship, by offering both developmental/recreational programs and a competitive travel program."Could there be any other ice arena with such a view?
We witnessed some impressive athleticism with this 12 U BB co-ed team.
I had to keep reminding myself that the players were 11-12 year olds.

This was 45 minutes of fantastic (free) sporting fun. It was the perfect Saturday afternoon in South Lake Tahoe.
Oh, and the Grizzlies won which made it even more rewarding. Way to go Tahoe!

I have never been tubing in my entire life. This opportunity presented yet another FIRST for me. Woohoo.

"Join the Tahoe Chamber for a winter Chamber Mixer at Tube Tahoe! Connect with fellow Chamber members in a festive winter setting—enjoy tubing and s’mores in cozy igloos from 5:00–6:00 PM, then head to the Lodge for light appetizers, drinks, live music by The Imposters, and relaxed networking from 6:00–7:00 PM. It’s the perfect way to mix business, winter fun, and community connection, don’t miss it!"Steve and I have tried to attend as many Chamber events as possible. The company is always welcoming and interesting, and learning about new-to-us businesses continues to surprise and delight. We have passed Tube Tahoe dozens of times and never thought to stop. We've missed out."Tube Tahoe is the go-to destination for family fun in South Lake Tahoe. Come enjoy our 500 foot tubing lanes and picturesque view of Echo Summit and Mt. Tallac. Come get tubular with us!" Side note: the word tubular became a synonym for "good" in the 80s, when surfers began using it as a description for the tube-like shape of an ideal surfing wave. What a fun use of a nostalgic word to describe he fun found here.We knew it was going to be magical when we got to the tubing hill by walking through this whimsical igloo. What fun.
By the way, this is the berm that prevents one from sliding right into the parking lot. It was of great comfort knowing that it was there.