Here's last week's pictures! 8/24/12

All righty, then! Yesterday we finally retrieved the camera from Alice & Tom's where I accidentally left it, and combined it with a shopping trip to Costco, etc. Here are a few shots of our very enjoyable week with newly betrothed Matt and Jen. The first and last pictures are not formal portraits - they're casual photos I took of the happy couple at the crab boil we had in Roseville. Yummy crab boil! We had to eat indoors - not something you usually do at a crab boil - because it was too hot to eat outside. Alice had her table well-covered and protected! Smart lady! The other pics I took at random. Hope you enjoy all of them!

Matt and Jen

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Fun looking at "old" pictures in the Nevada City den ....

Chatting in the evening,

with Maggie perched on the back of the sofa. Nevada City.

Cute little Sophie!

The gang's all here - time to set up the "Cajun Cooker."

Jimmy and Tom kibitzing and trying to stay cool on the patio.

Aha! Crabs, shrimps (not shown) and a lobster - ready for the pot.

Chef Matt places corn and potatoes into the boiler.

Everything was delicious.

Are we ready?

Oh yeah, we're ready!

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Matt and Jen - beautiful couple!

Extraordinary Lake Tahoe CA - Monday, Aug 13th (and etc.)

Sculpted by tectonic shifts and glaciers, incredible Lake Tahoe stands at 6,227 ft above sea level. It's America's largest alpine lake and the second largest alpine lake in the world! I can give you a few more facts and figures:

Snowfall has been recorded in every month of the year.

Surface water temps range from 40° F in winter to 70°+ F midsummer.
Below 600-700 ft, Tahoe's water temp remains a constant 39 degrees F.
Maximum depth is 1,645 ft.
Maximum length is 22 miles, with a shoreline of 72 miles.
Here's one really extraordinary fact: There are 63 tributaries draining into Lake Tahoe and only one outlet - the Truckee River in Tahoe City.

After rafting on the Truckee River out of Tahoe City, we drove north following the lake. These pictures were taken in Tahoe Vista on the north shore of the lake. We eventually got into that rainstorm, but not till we were in the car on the way home.

Jimmy and Matt on the multi-use path.

Notice what I'm covering up!

Deceptive sign? Men, yes. Working? No.

Since we only saw a corner of this lake, Jimmy and I plan to return before too long for more exploration. We know this particular area boasts lots of kayak and SUP rental outfits. Maybe we'll launch our own inflatable Sea Eagle tandem kayak here next time in this wonderfully clear water that ranges from a deep cobalt blue to a dazzling turquoise color. Sounds like a great idea!

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On Tuesday afternoon, Matt & Jen - with their two doggies - and Jen's parents, Tom & Alice, came up to our home in Nevada City for dinner. Jimmy grilled a couple of pork tenderloins, but we ate inside because it was hotter'n Hades outside. After eating, we spent the evening indoors chatting, and enjoyed the company very much. Matt & Jen stayed overnight with us, along with little Sophie & Maggie, the two entertaining doggies. Nice to have all four of them!

Come Wednesday, we reversed yesterday's agenda! Matt & Jen returned to Roseville to get preparations a-ready for a dungeness crab/shrimp boil, à la Louisiana where Matt learned first-hand how to do this. Jimmy and I followed a bit later with chips and dip. Best crab boil I've ever had. True. Two nights in a row, we delighted in fine dinners with family, lucky us! It was still too darned hot to spend much time outside, so we gathered indoors again, visiting and having a fine time.

I took scads of pictures both days, but you won't see any of them right now. I didn't notice till we got home last night that I'd left my camera in Roseville - how very aggravating! Maybe next week I'll get the camera and post the pics. (sigh ...)

The newly engaged couple returned to Los Angeles early this morning (Aug 16th), back to their lives in a new apartment, with new jobs, and a lifetime together to look forward to. We hope to see them again soon!

Cruisin' Down the Truckee - Aug 13th, 2012

Cruisin' Down the River on a Monday afternoon...

"Let's beat the heat, drive up to Lake Tahoe and raft down the Truckee River!" At Tahoe City, me, Jimmy and Matt joined a lot of other folk doing the same thing, and we had a blast! We rented a raft from Mountain Air Sports (our own kayak only seats two) and drifted with the current for five easy miles, with a bit of a fun whitewater "kick" near the take-out point. The Truckee is a clear, cool and fairly swift river, perfect for a two or three hour river outing. What began as a sunny, hot day soon morphed into overcast - which was okay with us - followed by dark clouds. As SOON as we got on the shuttle bus for the return to our car, lightning, thunder and a downpour ensued. We were mighty glad we were off the water by then! Just a quick mountain thunderstorm... Lake Tahoe sits at around 6200' above sea level. We drove to the lake and walked around some, with a wary eye on the sky. I'll post those photos separately. Everyone had a terrific time.

Love these two guys! They're a LOT of fun to be with.

These fellers bring new meaning to "lawn chairs."

Stretching our legs. I dangled my feet in the cool water nearly the whole five miles.

Lovely mountain scenery all the way.

Plus - for future reference - a bike trail parallels the river.

A flotilla of fowl following the raft - got crackers?

Oh boy.. whitewater dead ahead!

A splash of blue on the water weeds.

EXTRA! EXTRA! It’s official: Matt and Jen are engaged!

The affianced sweethearts drove from Los Angeles to NorCal on Friday to spend a few days with their parents – me & Jimmy in Nevada City and Alice & Tom in Roseville. The two towns are only about an hour apart. We’re very excited by their news, and are soooo happy to see them.

Matt and I have lived on opposite sides of the country for such a long time, it’s a pleasure to live not only in the same time zone and the same state, but now within a short day’s drive! While Jen was busy with her Mom on Saturday, Matt came to spend the afternoon with me and Jimmy at our new home. We passed a good time, laughing and visiting.

The West is clamped under a dome of High Pressure and our daily temperatures have soared into the “BROIL” range. Nevertheless, after a few hours of talking, we drove to Nevada City for Matt to get a look-see at the town, and possibly get iced coffees. Didn’t take too long before we quit the hot streets for cool A/C in the car and house!

Hugs all around! So happy to see my son, Matt!

Jimmy and Matt walking on the shady side of Broad Street on Saturday. Look at that tree!

Jimmy and I checking out what's playing at the Nevada City Theater.

Matt eyeing Matteo's menu.

We’ll all get together soon… and I bet we talk about COMING EVENTS.

Let's go to the Fair! Aug 9th, 2012

And so we did! The event voted as “Nevada County’s Best Event” for 12 years in a row in beautiful Grass Valley, CA, with live entertainment, delicious food, carnival rides, animals and exhibits – in a community-friendly environment. Thursday was hot a hot one, with an unrelenting sun, but t'was forecast to be the "coolest" day of the five-day fair, which ends Sunday the 12th. Well, we got an early start, but thank heaven for tall shade trees! Neither of us could recall if/when we'd ever been to a county fair, so we enjoyed the heck out of this one.

Early for the food vendors. Lines formed later.

Here we have one showcase of blue-ribbon homemade goodies. There were lots more.

This "ride" was new one to us: Walk on Water,

and the kids were having a ball (heh heh).

We spent most of our time looking at farm animals, big & little. This feller had a bad-hair day.

This one simply looked loco.

Pigs were, um, resting.

Chloe raised this porker. Said he was comfortable....

This guy flat-out didn't care.

Everybody got hot this week at the fair!

Aww, the sheep were cute.

(One second later, the boy's mom screeched, "Oh don't kiss him!"

Too late, the boy kissed anyway!)

The sheep were real cute.

We looked. We didn't ride. Anything.

Lots of fair exhibits, rides, etc., on either side of this main walkway.

Beautiful Marigolds!

We watched a miniature horse show. I wanted to ride in the cart ....

Despite the heat, the Free-Flight Bird Show was great,

showcasing birds from other continents!

I cannot remember what this bird-of-prey was called, but it was gorgeous.

Great way to get donations in the box:

Pretty-boy gently took your dollar in his beak and stuffed into the slot on top.

Jimmy's watching the bird show. See him?

We spent most of the day here and I took beau coup photos. Saw everything from chicks hatching to world-class pumpkins, draft horses to miniatures, quilts and fibers and children's art. Sheep shearing, Ugliest Dang Decorated Cakes (riotous) and so on and so on. You get the idea. A jolly good time at our Day at the Fair!