Lake Tahoe visit

Before leaving Houston, I found out that some folks I know from Chocolate Bayou were planning a ski trip to Lake Tahoe the 2nd weekend in February. I figured that I'd just drive over and meet them for the weekend. It didn't really occur to me until talking with some CA coworkers that the road conditions aren't always good for just "driving over to Tahoe." In the winter, you're always required to carry tire chains. I haven't driven much in snow; so I wasn't too sure about this business with the chains.

I started watching the Tahoe weather and road conditions closely, and they received ~2 ft of snow the weekend before our trip. By Tuesday, the roads didn't require chains and the weather forecast was good. So, despite having a slight cold, I took a flex Friday (props to Shell) and went to Tahoe. My last ski trip was 9 years and 3 knee surgeries ago; so I was a bit apprehensive about returning to the slopes.

After partaking in some games of chance Friday evening, we skied at Heavenly on Saturday. The mountain has some awesome views, but the skill level was a bit too high for me, and I was out of ski shape. So I made a few--very few--runs and got some extra casino time in. On Sunday, we went over to a place called Kirkwood. It was a bit more my speed, and I was feeling more confident after the previous day. We skied a pretty full day there. I was pretty sore on Monday, but I made it through the weekend in one piece, which was high on my list of priorities.

As you can see from the 1st couple of photos, I've become quite the snob since moving to California. Only the best fine dining and luxury accomodations for me: