Cali Vacay Part 2: Nature & Relaxation

We were in Lake Tahoe for part 2 of our Cali Vacay.  (In case you missed Part 1 of our Cali Vacay, you can find it here.)  Neither Chad nor I had been to this area before...and boy, all I can say is it absolutely magnificent!!!  I understand that Summer is the off-season for Lake Tahoe, but it seemed absolutely perfect to me!  (I'm not a fan of Winter or the weather that accompanies it, so I'd avoid Lake Tahoe at all costs at that time...but I can't get enough of it in the Summer.)  The weather was absolutely perfect - a high of 70 degrees that felt more like 80 each day and...wait for it...no humidity!!!  Yahoo!

So we left Sonoma that Wednesday and drove several hours over to Lake Tahoe taking in every inch of the gorgeous mountains that I don't get back home.  We took advantage of the scenic lookouts.  No idea what lake this is, but it's so gorgeous!

We finally arrived at our resort on the Northwest side of Lake Tahoe - Squaw Creek Resort in Squaw Valley (also called Olympic Valley).  Again, absolutely gorgeous!  (You're going to get tired of me saying that.)

How about the view from our room?!  Right at the ski lift!

Thursday, I spent the morning getting a massage and sitting on the deck with coffee in hand mesmerized by the view...still!

We spent the afternoon taking a small hike over to the Olympic Village (basically shops & restaurants).  Here's a couple shots from our hike.  

The golf course in the valley. 

The lift in the Olympic Village.

The view of the guest portion of the hotel.  Our room was located on the bottom left, so we had a wonderful patio and everything!

We spent the majority of our last afternoon there (on Friday) driving all the way around the lake.  We stopped at a lot of different scenic stops - all gorgeous!  Here's a stop near Emerald Bay...

 ...and a few others from around the lake.

We ended the trip with a little celebration in our hotel (with some Sonoma bubbles) to watch the sun set.  Cheers!

 

Happy Birthday, 'Merica!

We interrupt this vacation to bring you...fruit salad!  I still plan to post of the rest of our vacay pics, but wanted to share this fun dish that I made for the OPP BBQ yesterday.

What a fun day...and what great weather!  I think Chad & I ended spending something like 11 hours outside at building yesterday - most of it at the pool!  There's not too many days in a Midwest Summer when it's comfortable to be outside - mid '80s and low humidity - perfect!

The building HOA put on a 4th of July BBQ for residents, family & friends.  Everyone met at the pool around 5ish (or if you're us - you just stayed there) and brought what they wanted to grill and a side dish to share.  Then whoever wanted could just hang around and watch the multiple displays of fireworks from different neighborhoods & communities in the distance.  I opted to make a fruit salad - easy, healthy & bathing suit-friendly.  I tripled the recipe, since I had no idea how many people were attending.  It was a hit, and I was only left with a tiny tupperware container of leftovers!  I'd totally recommend this salad for those of you attending BBQs this weekend!

Summer Fruit Salad with Mint & Almonds

Ingredients
* 3-4 apricots, pitted & sliced  (We had trouble pitting these, and chose to cube the apricots instead.)
* 6 oz. blueberries
* 6 oz. raspberries
* 6 oz. strawberries, quartered
* Zest & juice of 1 lemon
* 1/2 bunch of mint, leaves only
* 3/4 cup Marcona almonds (We couldn't find these and used slivered almonds instead.)
* 3 Tbsp. sugar

Directions
In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together.  Serve the same day or immediately.


Enjoy!  Cheers!

Cali Vacay Part 1: Family & Wine

Wow, I can barely believe it's been almost a month since I blogged last!  Time flies when you're having fun...and that we have definitely been doing!  A couple of weeks ago, Chad and I headed West for vacation.  We chose California for vacation based upon a conference that Chad needed to attend in Lake Tahoe.  So we opted to add on a few days in Wine Country beforehand.  So sit back, relax and experience our vacay in pics.

We flew into Reno airport, grabbed a car and headed West!  Just outside of Reno we stopped for lunch at Mellow Fellow in Truckee, CA.  If you're ever out in the Tahoe/Truckee area, I completely recommend this little hole in the wall - good food & excellent taps!  After lunch, we drove the remainder of the way to Sacramento - our first stop on vacay - to visit with some fam.  We spent the evening with my Uncle Dale & Becky - good food & good company.

The next morning we headed further West - Wine Country!!!  I've been wanting to experience Sonoma/Napa for years now.  So I was quite excited for this portion of the trip...and even more excited when this was the first site that I saw!

We had the pleasure of staying with John's sister, Laurie, and George, who own a vineyard right in Sonoma!  How awesome is that?!?!?!  Here's a few pics of their ranch...

I promise that I'm happier than I look...and yes, that is beer in my hand!  Chad was excited to get some Russian River Pliny the Elder while in the area.  So I had to partake!

 

That afternoon we headed into downtown Sonoma to check out the plaza and have a quick bite to eat.  We found this cute place on the Plaza and lunched on mussels and bubbles!

We had the best time walking around the square and checking out all of the shops.  We stumbled across Westwood Winery, one of the many wineries/tasting rooms in the square and decided to stop in.  It was a lovely tasting, and we were the only ones there.  So we had the proprietors full attention - awesome!  Check out this gorgeous, quaint "tasting" courtyard!

We couldn't wait to check out a full vineyard/winery.  So we headed South a bit to Jacuzzi Winery, which came recommended by a few in The Lou.  I can't say we were big fans of their wine, but they sure had a gorgeous Vineyard...and the tasting was free!  (That isn't very common in the area.)  We were definitely loosened up a bit at this point.  LOL!

We ended our first evening with dinner and the ranch...and of course, a bit more Pliny the Elder & George's wine!

The next day we headed out to Napa for some more wine tasting.  Our first stop was Sterling Vineyard - mostly for their aerial tram!  Again, gorgeous surroundings!

We stopped for lunch at an awesome roadside burger stand and then headed on to Domaine Carneros.  Bring on the bubbles baby!  This placed was more gorgeous than the last!  We opted to take the tour at this venue - definitely the right decision!

We ended the night at the ranch, and George cooked us an amazing Wild Alaskan salmon.  Fabulous!

Our last day in the area was spent with a drive to San Francisco to see the Golden Gate Bridge.  (I wish we had time to spend in the city, but we decided it would have been too much.  Next time for sure!)

...then a drive up the coast stopping in Stinson Beach...

...a stop at Fisherman's Cove in Bodega Bay for the best Salmon Tacos you've ever had...

...a quick stop at Bodega Head - amazing view...

...with the final stop being Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa!  This was another "must" on our trip, since the brewery doesn't distribute anywhere near us!

We chose the massive sampler, which (if you're wondering) if only 1.5 beer each - believe it or not.  :)

Love their coasters, so that no one takes your place while you're gone.  LOL!

What an awesome first half of our trip!  
A huge thanks to Laurie & George for letting us stay with them!!!
Cheers!