Day Twenty by Dave Schultheis
Friday, June 8, 2001 - South Lake Tahoe, California
I was awake at 5:45 a.m., having slept well, turned on the little television set for some news while getting dressed, and then spent some time with the flora and the fauna in Ted and Cathy's front yard before they got up. Their neighborhood was just beautiful early in the morning.
Ted woke up, came downstairs, poured some orange juice and we sat on the patio talking about old friends and catching up with happenings that we'd missed the night before. He described the place as "paradise with qualifications," those being that they have a couple of neighbors that can be noisy from time to time, and some of the neighbors drive a lot faster than is reasonable and prudent on narrow residential streets.
Cathy came down and made some breakfast, which we ate while watching a mother and three baby robins in the back yard, until she had to shoo away the neighbor's cat who was looking for breakfast as well. My breakfast was great; the cat went hungry.
We took a couple of pictures and then said our goodbyes; I left about 10:30 a.m. and took a short jaunt back into Nevada to Caesar's Tahoe and "paid my dues," then got on U.S. Highway 50 and headed west about 11:25 a.m.
There is an annual event commemorating the movement west along the Emigrant Trail route, and this particular day the people reenacting the trip were just a few miles west of South Lake Tahoe. I passed a number of covered wagons and equestrians, with Highway Patrol cars escorting them with lights flashing so people would slow down.
I got into the Pollock Pines area, then followed my friend Mark's instructions to their house deep in the piney woods, several miles down the road. I found their gravel driveway about 1:10 p.m. and with all my experience with gravel, it was no problem at all.
Christine and the kids (10 - 8 - 6) were home, so I got the complete tour of the house, the yard, the garden, the deck and the playhouse. I got to meet one or two cats and a new black puppy. What a wonderful place to live! No noisy neighbors, no speeding cars, no barking dogs, no loud music, etc.
Then they fed me lunch! The kids had already eaten, so they watched and critiqued while I ate. Then they helped me put my stuff in one of the bedrooms.
We hung around the house until Mark got home from work (on his 400cc commuter motorcycle) and then he gave me a further tour of the property, including the tractor and some outbuildings.
Christine and some of the kids left for baseball practice. I took advantage of a lull in the afternoon activity to call my family and check voice mail; I got a message from the insurance adjuster that the estimate had been received and the check had been cut, and it would be waiting for me when I got home.
Then Mark and I and the rest of the kids took a little car tour of their immediate area, ending up at the ballfield in time to watch the last few minutes of baseball practice.
It was about dinner time so we drove down the Gold Country Highway (CA 49) to the Diamond Springs Hotel in the small community of Diamond Springs. The building used to be a hotel but is now a restaurant. I don't know why they call it a "hotel" when it's a "restaurant," but I can tell you that it's a very nice place. Most everyone was dressed casually, so the motorcycle tee-shirt and baseball uniform fit just right.
The food was very good and the place was filled with customers, including many families with children (and typical child behavior).
After dinner we headed back to their house. Some of the kids went to bed, some watched television and you pretty much know the rest: shower, bed.
Miles for the day = 62.
Miles for the trip = 6955.
Tomorrow: back home again!