Summer at Northstar-at-Tahoe

We've talked about biking at Tahoe for a long time and this year we finally made plans to do it. Unfortunately the Boy Scouts also made plans and Andy went to Trinity Alps for a backpacking trip at the same time, so we missed him.

First, we took the gondola up to mid mountain and thought we took the "Easy Rider" run, but apparently we missed the little wooden bridge and went down Village Run instead. Ryan did NOT love it. He was a good sport though, having told us in the condo that he didn't want to go, and proving that his bike was way too small (Now, in fairness, I have tried on many occasions to buy him a bigger bike with gears, but he always refuses!), so he ended up carrying his bike down the mountain all by himself. At least he didn't leave it up there!

We did one more run all together so we could try Easy Rider...it was harder than the first one. So, we went back to our place for lunch and left the kids to make up a skit while Dave and I went for a 'real ride'. We went up two gondolas and started out by Schaeffer's Camp, where we warm up after a cold ski day in the winter. It was a blast riding down the mountain as fast as we could go (well, Dave did have to wait for me a few times) with our whole bodies vibrating to the point that my fingers turned blue. This is when I realized they weren't just trying to make more money off me at the nice bike shop, when I sadly went the cheap route and bought us all bikes without shocks at Sport's Authority.

I have a whole new respect for BMX and downhill biking...it was hard! I was the only one who bit it and didn't let anyone know until we got back to our place and one of the kids noticed the trail of blood running down one leg and the massive bruise on my other knee. I was blessed with a very high pain tolerance.

The next day we went to the Lake and walked around in the sand. We met a guy with a metal detector and Ryan was fascinated. He found a few pennies and some pull taps with his gadget; I, however, of the 20/15 laser surgery, found 2 dimes and a 50 cent piece! The kids found lots of sea glass to make pendants for their beadery.

We went to Old Greenwood Country Club and played tennis. From an earlier post you may remember that it took Ryan and I about an hour to get 6 hits in a row. He reminded me of that and said he wanted to do it again. So Dave and the girls played and Ryan and I took about 20 minutes to get our 6 hits. Dave and I switched so I had a turn to hit with the girls who said I didn't do it right. Then I glanced over to the other court just in time to see Ryan hit the 13th consecutive ball! I think they ended up with a 21 hit rally. Hmmm...maybe it's me! There was a great playground there and we had to drag the kids away.

After Dave and I had a great dinner at the Chocolate Bar (yes, you read that right) we brought the kids with us to watch the original Bad News Bears on a huge outdoor screen with hot chocolate.

The day we left, we took the gondola up to the top of Vista and did a little 3-mile loop on the mountain. It was so beautiful and we saw tons of chipmunks, which you could see too, if I could figure out how to add pictures to this post. Duh.

I am glad Andy had a great time backpacking, but we did miss him a lot.