Tahoe Blues

So...I would love for everyone to be jealous of the week we spent in Tahoe, but the fun was spoiled by a pesky statewide disaster. Sadly, our whole state basically is on fire. There are currently over 1,000 fires burning in California, including the Santa Cruz mountains, Big Sur, the Angeles national forest, the San Diego area, and near Lake Tahoe. We never saw fires on the trip, but we could smell smoke in the air and it was very overcast the whole time. Two of the days we couldn't even see the mountains. You know when the weather guy (at least around here) gives the air quality report and says that "it is unhealthy for sensitive people?" Well, apparently, I fall into that category now. The little cold that I got from either Bill, Liza or Clare (thanks, guys) turned into breathing problems and constant coughing every time I went outside. I had to pass on the gondola ride and zip line that everyone in our group did on Thursday. I WOULD have gone on the zip line, you know! But we had several nice meals and on Wednesday we took a drive all around the lake and took some nice photos, although you will be able to see how murky the air was.














On the way home we stopped at the Black Bear Cafe in Tulare. It is a favorite (and highly recommended) stop for at least three reasons:

• It has an uncomparable view of the Tulare Auto Zone.
  
• It features dozens of wonderful chainsaw bear vignettes, both inside and out. I have always been partial to chainsaw bears.
  
• THEY SERVE SUGAR FREE (or at least no sugar added) HOMEMADE PEACH COBBLER!

Well, at least the week was relaxing. I really can't complain about spending time amidst such beautiful scenery, even if I had to enjoy it mostly from inside my hotel room. But, as they say, there's no place like home!