It is 5:04 AM. I woke up for the gym today but decided I’d prefer to write in the journal and do other computer things with my time this morning. We went to karate yesterday so some parts of my body are a little sore but I’m feeling good.
This past weekend went very quickly. We headed up to Tahoe on Saturday morning at a leisurely pace stopping at Pedrick Produce, a wonderful rustic produce store with farm fresh fruits and vegetables and then at Mount Vernon Winery. I was a little disappointed as they were sold out of their Mountain Red wine; this was absolutely delicious and it shows since they are out of it. However, their Expression was very nice and I also picked up a few bottles of Mourvèdre.
It was then up to Lake Tahoe to stay with Brandon and Kyoko. The first thing we did was go to the beach. The waters of Lake Tahoe were cold but absolutely refreshing and reinvigorating. Next, it was off to Brandon’s parent’s place for pool time and a cookout. The kids absolutely love the pool and could spend all day in it. We also went down the dock into the lake and discovered that the water was warmer there and the sand absolutely perfect. There were waves due to wind which made it fun to play in the water. On the way down the dock I looked over to another patio on the beach and saw what looked like a lively game of beer pong being played by a bunch of college aged guys. They looked like a fraternity or perhaps a sports team who were using one of their parent’s time shares for a party weekend. I thought how much fun that would have been when I was in college – or even now! Going to school in the midwest we didn’t have anything like Lake Tahoe to escape to.
Anyway, after the lake we went back to the condo for a few more glasses of wine then bed.
On Saturday we went back to Brandon’s parent’s for more lake and pool time. It was also Ren’s second birthday so we bought some cupcakes and sang to him on the pier. We also went out on the kayaks. I wasn’t too keen on doing that at first but was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it and all the scenery seen from a different perspective. Lake Tahoe sure is a beautiful place and one where I’d like to spend a little more time.
I had to leave about three o’clock to make the event which was the main purpose of the trip. My childhood friend Terry – now known as T.J. – was getting married. We were great friends but then went to different high schools and then lost touch completely around college. I reconnected with him through the magic of Facebook a few years ago and discovered he now lives in Nevada. We got together once in Tahoe when my parents were here and once in San Francisco.
The road taken was a mountain one – 431 and I was amazed at how quickly the landscape changed on the other side of the mountain. The vast expanse before me was a desert, everything was wide open and even the streets seemed like grand, sparsely traveled boulevards compared to what I’m used to. The prices were cheaper, the people whiter, and I had never seen so much bleached blond hair.
But returning to Terry aka T.J. his world now is all military, police and Nevada natives – I was the only one besides his family from the previous life back in Ohio. He was obviously quite busy so we didn’t get to speak much but I really enjoyed catching up with his mom, she was always very nice to me, and Stephen who I last saw when he was four and is now thirty one.
I stayed for the speeches but my contribution to the event was not one of words but rather a childhood picture of Terry that I shared with all his police friends at the table. They thought it was absolutely fantastic and told me they are going to have shirts made which they’ll all wear at a specific time to give Terry a nice shock/surprise. 🙂
