When we first moved here, we witnessed huge clouds of yellow powder, wafting with each gust of wind. We had no idea what it was. We were from the land of palms, not pines. We later learned that June is pollen season in Tahoe.

Pollen can be defined as a fine, powdery yellow substance consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of a flower ­— or from a male cone of a pine tree, which is the case at Lake Tahoe. Everything is covered in this fine powder and is the price we pay to be in such a fabulous place in June.

There aren't many moments more magical than a summer evening at the historic Boathouse at the Tallac site. Positioned on the lake's edge, music seems sweeter there.

We love our volunteering with Valhalla Tahoe and this was the kickoff.
Alasdair Fraser, accompanied by Barbara Magone, was the ideal opening night show. 
Alasdair, a Scottish fiddler, has helped reconstruct and revive the Scottish tradition of playing dance music on violin and cello. His son joined him for some serious toe-tapping, hand-clapping, audience-delighting tunes.
I love that intermission always coincides with the sunset here.
It is going to be one unforgettable summer!

We left Napa with a mission...we needed to find props for the Steam Punk Gala, a part of the WordWave event we spent the weekend working on.

In Napa's Goodwill, Cyndy discovered one of her early art pieces. She had thrown it away but somehow it ended up here. Wow, right?
In Sacramento, we found two great stores that not only had great props (gas masks) but they we willing to display posters for our event.

My big 'score' was this vintage (c.1956) Perquackey. I love word games so I'm going to give this one a chance. How fun. This weekend was certainly one of diverse activities and a whole lot of laughter. Just what one needs.

Since this was a working weekend, we strategized all morning until Cyndy reminded us that we had an afternoon wine tasting appointment.

Knowing we were only going to visit one winery, Cyndy's choice of Ladera was absolutely perfect. Ladera Vineyards is the home of estate grown and produced hillside Cabernet Sauvignon focused on their Howell Mountain Appellation Cabernet. Behind this wine is their historic 1886 restored and renovated stone winery and underground barrel caves, which we were allowed to explore.

Ladera’s Howell Mountain vineyard was considered, from the very beginning, to be a little piece of France, and was named Nouveau Medoc Vineyard by the men who founded it. Jean Brun, a native of Bordeaux, and Jean V. Chaix, whom he met in Napa, first planted 20 acres of Medoc grapes here in 1877— among the first to plant vineyards up on this mountain instead of on the Napa Valley floor. Spectacular setting for a spectacular work break!

I am involved with an incredible new event. Tahoe WordWave, a Festival of Story • October 9-11, 2015 • It is a free festival for readers, writers, and lovers of story in South Lake Tahoe, featuring dozens of readings, workshops, panels, music, and plays. Every culture uses story to entertain, educate, preserve history and tradition, and connect. WordWave will celebrate words and story in all its forms.

We escaped to the Wine Country to plan, brainstorm and drink wine, of course.

Cyndy, who has always been the hostess with the mostest, opened her magical la maison du coucou (the house of the cuckoo) to us, and I never wanted to leave.
It is nestled in the hills of Angwin, a town of contradictions. Named in 1874 for Edwin Angwin who ran a resort on the land the town now occupies, it has been home to a large number of Seventh-day Adventists since 1909. Although many of the residents refrain from drinking alcohol because of religious beliefs, the area is becoming a popular area for winemakers to plant vineyards and build wineries (and for guests to drink wine).

After dinner we strolled alongside vineyards, wild blackberries bushes and darling sweet peas with their profusions of color.

After seeing the trailer for this movie, I was really excited to see this on opening night.

For $3 more, the 3D aspect made everything so much more real.
I don't know what was more shocking, the massive dinosaurs devouring everyone or the fact that it has been 22 years since the first ground breaking film was released. One thing is certain... standing in line, waiting for a blockbuster movie to open, screams "Summer". Oh man, I'm so ready!

A year ago, we lost our patriarch... a man loved by all.

Ross and sons. Lake Tahoe c. 1964

Our love of Tahoe was a lasting gift from Ross. Today, Steve and his mom spent the afternoon in Emerald Bay. What a magical place to remember an unforgettable man.

Nestled in the Shenandoah Valley of Amador County, SLO 2 20 is the new home of David and Karen's friends, Mark and Marget. We were fortunate to deliver our guests to their next destination and we were handsomely rewarded for our efforts.

I love their motto, "Where sunshine and vines put love in the wines." After spending time at this beautiful oasis, we realized the truth in that saying.

They also create the most delicious olive oil. 

Marget aptly called it her "Eden".


After a sumptuous meal among old and new friends, we headed home as the sun departed. What a wonderful send off for David and Karen while being an incredible introduction for Steve and me.

We transported Karen and David to their next stop but not before being tourists in Placerville.

We love the Placerville Hardware, the Oldest Hardware Store West of the Mississippi (1852). It truly has something for everyone.
The original fixtures provided a scavenger hunt to the past.



I have always wanted to tour the Gold Bug Mine and David was game. Its history is an interesting one. It wasn't long before the prospectors were panning in the stream running through Gold Bug Park following the gold discovery in Coloma on January 24, 1848, only eight miles away. Big Canyon Creek was rich in gold for those early prospectors who could just pluck the gold from the stream.
We donned hardhats, thankfully. Rule 5 above was an important one.
Our audio tour gave us insight into the life of the miners and their techniques, in this mine shaft. We enjoyed the explore.

While we were shuttled to the estate ragtime jazz and a thorough history lesson played on the speakers, providing us with the background needed to understand what we were about to experience. The Thunderbird Lodge is the 1936 project of George Whittell, Jr., an inheritor of his family's vast fortunes, who prided himself on "Never working a day in his life."
Over time, as Whittell grew older, his interest in animals, nature and privacy sparked his need to acquire more shoreline. At one point he owned 27 miles. Perhaps unintentionally, Captain Whittell left a legacy of pristine Lake Tahoe shoreline along with many memorable stories surrounding his colorful time in Nevada.
The Thunderbird Lodge is one of the last and best examples of a great residential estate on Lake Tahoe from the period in which prominent San Francisco society built homes on the lake. The tour showed the quirkiness of Whittell, including the 600 feet of tunnel which allowed him to move about in secrecy.
It included an indoor swimming pool which was never completed due to a worker falling to his death from the scaffolding.
Opium was big in San Francisco, by the time the Lodge was built. A majority of the city's wealthy opium smokers shunned public opium dens in favor of smoking in the privacy of their own homes, hence this den, hidden in the tunnel corridor.
Whittell entertained only a few people at the Lodge, including his neighbors Ty Cobb and Howard Hughes for the occasional all night card games.
Housed in the boathouse is America’s most recognizable—and possibly most valuable—wooden speedboat, the venerable Thunderbird yacht. Since America’s Great Depression, the Thunderbird has transported guests in opulent luxury between high-mountain estates and luxury resorts.




The Thunderbird Lodge is an example of an approach to architectural design that is intended to be in harmony with its setting. It represents a high level of expertise in building crafts, stone masonry, iron work and wood work. Examples of this craftsmanship are evident in the buildings, tunnel, walls, steps and fountains. The Lodge is also an example of the work of Frederic J. DeLongchamps, who served as Nevada's State Architect and was Nevada's most prominent architect of his era. This visit was a wonderful way for us to learn even more about those who came before us. George Whittell is legendary in these parts and now we realize why.
We paused briefly for refreshments at the Lone Eagle Grille, at the Hyatt Regency.

We toured the Hard Rock.