It's about time....

Hello blogging world, it is really time you and I become acquainted. I have been a bit nervous to enter this new element as it seems that it is yet another way to distract myself from doing things around the house as well as the more important things I need to be doing such as homework. But really, who wants to do that? Alas, it is time for my very first post.

As for our latest trip together, Carson and I ventured up to Tahoe for a weekend getaway, and it was absolutely wonderful!! The snow was perfect for skiing and we had a blast. Now, I have not been skiing since 2007, so needless to say, I was very sore after our first day. Carson, on the other hand, already hit the slopes once this year, had no issues and was amazing!

Carson was a trooper and drove the whole way up after a long day of work.

We left Palo Alto much later than planned, and arrived at our hotel late Thursday night. After a short but restful night sleep we hit the slopes for our first day of skiing. The weather was not my kind of weather for an enjoyable skiing experience, but we braved the blizzard and crazy winds. Because we wanted to maximize our skiing time, we ate on the lift between runs, and I opted not to pull my food out as it would expose my face and hands to the wet cold elements (instead I mooched off Carson =) ). I watched the time go by, thinking, okay I can do this, one more run of hard snow pelting my face..just get down as fast as you can! Finally, around 3:30 I looked over at Carson while riding the lift and noticed a thick layer of ice on his face mask and a fluffy blanket of fresh snow completely covering our clothes that I asked if this was our last run. Thankfully Carson was thinking the same and we headed down the mountain.

Our ride from the slopes after the first day. Carson is definitely wind burned!!

On our ride back, we stopped off at a favorite of ours, The Char Pitt, for a burger and tacos! Amazing! If you are ever up in Tahoe near King's Beach, it's a great little joint that serves all sorts of food. After our "snack" we headed back to our hotel where we took a dip in the hot tub and thoroughly warmed ourselves in the sauna. Later that evening we went to a place called Hacienda's for Mexican food. Craziest thing...our waitress was from Romania and Carson was able to practice his Romanian! I'm sure he enjoyed this much more than reading or speaking to himself (how he practices and keeps up with it).

The second day of skiing was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The weather was warmer and it didn't snow til the end of the day. I also got my skis waxed, which helped a ton with speed (Carson would pass me on the flat parts even though I would go literally straight down the hills to get speed). It was so nice that we didn't need our face masks and we felt comfortable pulling out the camera to get a few shots.

This was the first day, before the blizzard hit.

This was the second day, much clearer and warmer!

After the second day of skiing, we were supposed to head back to Palo Alto to spend Sunday with my family celebrating Easter and listening/watching General Conference (a semi-annual broadcast of the prophet and apostles of our church). Instead, we decided to stay another night, relax and get a good nights sleep before the drive back. We ate the most delicious sandwich from the local deli called Grog and Grist for our after slope snack. We watched a movie, showered up and headed out to the BEST little diner called Austin's. You HAVE to go there if you are up near Incline Village. It's seriously the best place..small, family owned/run and amazing food. They are in the process of being part of Diner's Drive Ins and Dives on the food network. I would definitely say it's Incline Village's best kept secret! Prior to leaving, Carson and I stopped off at the lake and he insisted on taking a video:

All in all, we had a great trip and recommend staying at the Parkside Inn at Incline Village if you ever need a cheap CLEAN place to stay. Definitely not the Hilton, but very clean, quiet, and has great amenities such as hot tub, sauna and continental breakfast. They were super nice and close to Diamond Peak and Northstar (where we skied). Can't wait to hit the slopes next year!

At the entrance to Parkside Inn at Incline Village before heading home to Palo Alto.