Day 6 - March 19 - Summer Fun on the Slopes

Franco in his Speedo, Tomba ready to swim the 100 meter backstroke, Peggy and Joan in their "Jungle" Bikinis -- It was a great day in Tahoe. The Tahoe Bear greeted us at the California lodge and we began to ski all of the mountain under 50 degree weather and sunny blue skies.

Lunch on the Sky Deck was provided by Alfred Guinness, so we decided a pictoral tribute to the "dinner in a glass". We also participated in a "Caribbean Party" in the snow.

Tomba and Joan received a special tribute as their picture was added to the Tahoe Wall of Fame. Nice touch.

Tonight, back to Scusa's where Franco is planning on the Veal Saltimbocca.

We are happy to have been able to share this wonderful mountain and sad to be leaving... but we will be back, because we are now "Season Ticket Holders" -- see the pic -- its true!

Day 5 - March 18 - Bonus Point Round, Taste of Europe

We were blessed.... with great weather, temps that reached almost 60 and no wind -- Whohoo! We canvassed the mountain from California to Nevada seeking the best snow and the best runs and we found all of them -- Orion, Comet, Aries, Ellie's Run, Liz, California Ridge, Mombo, Meteor and on and on. Tons of great skiing.

Joan and Peg held their "credit cards" in the front of their ski boots and never lost them. Excellent form. Franco and Tomba never "crushed a tomato" and did not "tip the tray". Everyone was looking quite good. A typical sunny sky ski lunch at the Sky Deck and more afternoon spring skiing. The vistas coming down GunBarell at the end of the day were unimaginable, the lake, the slopes, the mountains in the distance and wispy clouds to boot.

Apre ski included the standard "Franco the Majestic" Margarita, combined with some light shopping at Heavenly Village.

At 7:30 PM we went to Europe -- The Swiss Chalet -- where we supped on Fondue, Bourguignonne, a wonderful Taragon salad accompanied by a Castle Rock Pinot Noir and topped with a "Bailey's" Cheesecake. Four forks to share. We talked about setting plans for 2010 to Ski Vail and maybe come back to Heavenly. Yes, we are all now "Season Pass Holders" for all Vail resorts.

Finally, we ended the day by watching "Across the Universe" and listening to all of the great Beatles music. Peg saw it all even through her eyelids.

A great end to a great day.

Day 4 - March 17 - Happy St. Paddy's Day -- What a Heavenly Day!

Top o' the Morning to you! Everything clicked today for us. We had GREAT weather. sunny skies, low winds, temps in the 30's to 40's and a little fresh snow from the prior night. In the morning, we skied from the California side across to the Nevada side and spent most of the day skiing Nevada under the Dipper, Comet, Galaxy and Sky Express lifts. The slopes were groomed to perfection.

We went back to the California side for lunch at the Lakeside Lodge -- which had incredible views of the lake.

The afternoon we went back over to Nevada to ski the lower Stagecoach and Olympic lifts, but the snow had softened quite a bit so we went back to Dipper and Comet. We then skied to the Gondola at 3:30 PM and downloaded to Heavenly village where we imbibed with the locals in their tradition of "the wearing of the Green" and playing Irish music - Slainte!

Joan, the brightest skier, decided to get a "massage" -- brilliant, and she said it was PRIMO!

We took a break at the condo and then headed out to Harrah's to see "The Rat Pack: a Tribute to the 50's" -- it was one of the most entertaining shows with the entertainers doing a classic "Las Vegas" style act with singing and kitschy jokes. The performers were spitting images of Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra and their singing well -- They did it "My Way". Absolutely fantastic.

Day 3 - March 16 - Mother Nature, The Reader, Marriott, Black Jack and The Wheel of Fortune

Once again, Mother Nature threw us a curve ball -- windy with gusts up to 60 -- so another day where some lifts did not open and many closed early, so as a talented, energetic and inventive group we made alternate plans.

First, was the continued reading of chapters 8 - 26 of Deadly Competition by TC Lewis -- gosh, I can't wait for the movie! Then off to the new Marriott Grand Residences to check them out and find out how we were going to spend our retirement money. Some very interesting programs.

Then on to the casinos where "sleight of hand" Franco "the Majestic" took the Black Jack table and tripled his winnings, while Joan nursed her investment portfolio until Franco lent a "hand" and her winnings started to climb. They left the table with "winnings". Then on to "Wheel of Fortune" -- where Joan was the star -- from 80 to 650 -- then left with 350 -- Thanks Vanna.

At Franco's suggestion we decide to take in a movie -- "The Last House on the Left" -- unless you have a strong stomach I suggest you keep movin' down the road.

Actually, it turned out to be a fun day and our "Wheel of Fortune" gave us good luck off the slopes and the prediction for the next three days is little or no wind, nice temps -- 50's and bright sunny skies. So "spring" ski on.

Ca Ching!!

Day 2 - March 15 - Wind, Windy, WINDY and a Tour of the Lake

It looked beautiful from the base camp, but mother nature had other plans for us today. We embarked to to the California lift at 10:00 AM and were told at the ticket window that they had already closed several lifts and they expected the winds to pick-up. They were 25 miles, gusting to 50. So, we decided to take a "day off" and do some touring.

We evaluated our options -- a boat tour on the lake -- it was whitecapping, so we said no to that. Then we decided to take our "sled" -- the Mega Suburban and drive the 72 mile circumference of Lake Tahoe, and boy was it fantastic.

The skies were clear and the wind along route 89 from South Lake Tahoe to Incline Village (northern most part of the Lake) was moderate. The scenery was jaw dropping beautiful. We stop at Emerald Bay Cove and saw Fannette Isalnd. Fannette is the only island to be found in all of Lake Tahoe. It is located in beautiful Emerald Bay on the west shore of the lake. A sparsely timbered, brush covered upthrust of granite that rises 150 feet above the water, Fannette Island was not always known by that name. During the past 100 years it has been known as Coquette, Fannette, Baranoff, Dead Man's, Hermit's, Emerald Isle and Topo Gigo. Fannette was the name that finally stuck.

Onward we went to Tahoe City and visited the Boatworks Mall and had a quick lunchette at Jakes on the Lake. After getting some nourishment, we continued our travels to Incline Village (locals refer to it as Income Village), where houses range from $4 Million to $40 Million. No recession here. At Incline Village, we were told to stop at the Lone Eagle Grille at the Hyatt on the Lake. We are very glad we did. What a spectacular location and meeting/gathering location.

The Lone Eagle Grille, located on the shores of the lake, Old Tahoe is alive and well, complete with open beams, warm woods, two massive rock fireplaces and panoramic lake views.

When we arrived, a group was meeting there -- CEO Space -- and appeared to be having a great conference. We had some coffee and chatted about "What are the next steps in our life plans, which included more traveling and ways to re-energize our businesses." -- quite a dichotomy.

After a brief respite, we headed on back to our base camp, stopping at the Marriott Grand Residences in Stateline NV and walking through some local shops. We topped the day off at 7:30 PM with a fantastic Italian dinner at Scusa's on Ski Run.

Nite Nite.

Day 1 - March 14 - Blue, Bleu and White All Over

Our first "ski" day in Tahoe was excellent. After a "slow start" -- getting everyone on Pacific time, assembling our equipment and heading up to the California Lodge at Heavenly, we began a great first day. Blue Skies, White 160" base. We skied mostly in California from the far right of the Heavenly Boundary at the GunBarrell Lift over to the Sky Express.

We ended the day with a reading of the first 7 chapters of "Deadly Competition" by TC Lewis and then seeing David Spade -- the comedian -- at the MontBleu. Quite Cool!

Here's to Franco!

Gid Day Mate - We all safely arrived in Reno by 12:00 Noon on March 13. Even with the "banana" incident with Tomba, it was relatively an "uneventful" flight.

Our first trip was to Virginia City, NV, where we took in the sights of "a city from the past". We gave it we it a quick tour and settled in at the Bonaza (remember the Ponderosa?") saloon and had a quick lunch. We were thinking about coming to the Mountain Oyster Fest -- to have a ball -- but decided we better head on to Tahoe.

Onward to Heavenly. The weather is spectacular. 45 degrees, sunny and plenty of snow. We arrived at our destination -- The Lake Tahoe Vacation Resort -- right on Lake Tahoe at the California Village of Heavenly. We got our "goods" from the local Safeway and settled in for a late evening pizza, and Two and 1/2 men.

Sleep, Sleep.