Post Christmas Wrap-up

Ok, so I've been a bit lax in updating this.

So - here's what we've been up to: working working working and shoveling snow!

We have finally gotten loads of the white stuff, and boy, it looks great! Although it took Paul and hour to dig his way to the car (sorry, no photos this time) and a further half hour to actually dig out the car ready to head out!

but I digress...... FIRST, I had a day of shadowing a lesson in the Gondola area, which I needed, so I know where to take the class to when they are ready for lifts and such..... that was OK, although I had two students in that class who had difficulty getting onto the 'mighty might' which is a glorified rope tow, with handles on it. I worked through the lunch break and was gratified to get both of them able to use this to get up the hill without falling, and to come back down again in a wedge, controlling their speed.... and they were even starting to turn!! Of course I was not paid as an instructor on this and got no actual 'thanks' from the instructor I was shadowing, although he did acknowledge the hard work saying 'I work harder for my tips than he does' but I was pleased I was able to pass on the ability to get around the mountain to two people who otherwise might have given it all up!

The next day, I taught my first group at level one, all on my own. It was hard work, but worth it. It started with Paul and I both being assigned to start with the 'never ever' group and then split them up to each teach a group. There ended up being 24 students, so it got split into a total of 4 groups..... I had two people come back the next day, so it couldn't have been that bad!! And everyone managed to get onto the big chair lift at the end of that day!

The day after (when the two came back) I had a level 2 class, so we got to start straight away skiing, and we then did a few 'easy' runs before they all decided they wanted a challenge, so we went down the face of Easy Street (which I ended up dubbing 'oh, crap' hill by the end of the day). This is still a green run, but has two places with a steep pitch, and it was a VERY busy run, and had more hard-pack, (or to use the eastern ski term, Frozen Granular: read as icy) than snow on it, and it was snowing quite hard, and the wind was fierce and cold.

However, my intrepid group finally got the hang of it, and came down without any falls, and with confidence, so my job here was done too! I think I will do OK as a ski instructor!

My main goal is that my students feel safe and secure, and have a good time! If they actually learn to ski along the way, all the better, but I don't want to be a drill sergeant to push them to learn the skills, if they hate every minute! So far, everyone has progressed well from when I get them to when they leave for the day. And I hope to keep it up!

So - that level 2 group was on Christmas Eve.... I got down the mountain about 4:15pm and signed out.... sorting out my paperwork for missing pay after the Department Training following the orientation. Paul then reminded me we should be picking up a rental car!! I hadn't booked, so I wandered (quickly) over to the Embassy Suites to the AVIS desk in hopes we could get a 4WD for 2 days so we could visit the Millers. When I got there, a man was just finishing returning his car.... and I got to the window at 4:55pm. She said she closed at 5, and that there were no 4WD available for 2 days as she needed them for Friday the 26th. I asked if I could take a 2WD and swap on Christmas day, but of course they would be closed!!
So - she then asked if I was staying at the hotel. I said I was an employee of Heavenly - and she decided as a 'local' I would then NEED a car and not only did she 'find' me a 4WD, she got me a discount too!! The man in front of me had just returned a Pontiac Vibe, which is actually an All Wheel drive, but it suited me fine. She was worried as it still had snow on it and had not been cleaned, but as the snow was falling thick and fast, I told her there was no point in taking a clean car as it would get snowed on anyway!! So, I had my car. I called Paul and set up to meet him outside the office, and then picked him up. And then realised we had no Christmas Tree yet!!!

So, it was after 5pm on Christmas Eve, and no tree! We went to the hardware store (which closed at 5pm) then to Rayley's (a supermarket) but no luck. We went to Long's Drugs, who were having a 50% sale on all christmas stuff, but no tree... although they had some white spraypainted thing which was supposedly a tree. I decided to leave without the white monstrocity! We headed to Safeway next, but they had nothing either, although we took advantage of this stop to get a bottle of Perrier Jouet Champagne as a Christmas present for the Millers...... But still no tree. Next came Rite Aid, which closed while I was looking around... they had a sale on Christmas Trees, but they had none left!! It was looking like this might become the 'year without a Christmas Tree' but I refused to be cowed!!

We headed at last to the other branch of Long's Drugs at the Y, and I found a small 18 inch tree, pre-decorated, including lights...... and bought some suction cup hooks to hang lights on the windows. Kathryn was kind enough to send us some Christmas lights, some Hannukah lights and some decorations which will fit in with my own decorations left back in England..... so I was intent on at least using the lights!!

The one disappointment was, on the way out, after paying, I found some quite nice fake trees, 4 feet tall, for only $15. I would have gone back, but I did not have enough decorations for a tree that big, so I left with the little tree. It was kind of like the Charlie Brown tree..... but it did the job, and is not too wasteful.

Home we came, and it was then almost 8pm. I set up the tree and hung the lights on the window...... and made sure that I left the windshield wipers up as it was still snowing heavily. Boy, was I glad I did that!!

The next morning, Christmas morning, dawned and was amazing the transformation all that snow caused! It was still snowing, but not as heavily. The birds were flocking around the bird feeder, and the sheer amount of snow out behind the house was impressive to see! We phoned the Millers to say we would try to get out to come over for Christmas dinner. We also did video chats with the in-laws for Christmas greetings....

It took Paul an hour to dig the path from our door to the car. I then went out to help dig out the car, which took another half hour, including scraping the ice off the windows. There was well over 2 feet of snow out there...... and I had to dig out behind the tailpipe of the car, as it was backing up into the car, and would have been quite dangerous. But the car started well, and heated up really well, with a great defroster, so anyone requiring a small AWD car, I would recommend the Vibe. Seriously.

While digging out the car, we were offered Christmas dinner here with the landlords if we could not get over the Mountain Pass to Carson City. Good thing, as we had not planned to be home for dinner and would have resorted to canned goods for our Christmas dinner if we had not made it!!

The snow was deeper than the car, but with a bit of momentum, we managed to get out of the drive and down to the end of the road onto Tahoe Keys Boulevard. Once on the main road, we managed a reasonable 25 miles per hour, and it was amazing to see how this town deals with the amount of snow which falls. They push the snow to the edges and the middle, then send the snow 'grinder' down to 'eat' the snow, and it spits out to the side, where this convoy of dump trucks goes along to get filled up with the snow. They then take this snow and dump it in a lot in the Sierra Forest, which eventually melts and becomes part of the lake.

Anyway, the car was sure-footed, and we made it over the pass into Carson City without further incident, although I did not go over 30 mph, and spent most of the down-hill in low gear to prevent braking and possible skidding. The hardest part was probably coming into the Miller's driveway!!

We had a fantastic afternoon and evening in the Washoe Valley, and stayed the night, as the roads would have still been a bit treacherous. The next morning, we headed out sharpish, to head back and video chat with the rest of the family we had missed the day before.... as the time difference is extreme, we wanted to be back by 10am.

The car did not have to be back until 5pm, so we headed back to Carson City to see what their Used Car inventory was like, as the busses here are ok for getting to and from the mountain in time for work, but any other time of day they are SHOCKING!!! Needless to say, the cars were more than we could afford, so we went back to the Millers for a slightly more leisurely good-bye and wished them well into the New Year. Then back over the mountain again to return the car by 5pm. AVIS were suitably impressed with the timely return of the car, and they were pleased they had rented the car to me as many of the 'reserved' 4WD they thought they had ended up as no-shows.

Then, it took well over an hour to get home as the bus service was shocking, again. Sheesh. a car would be useful right about now!! We waited 20 minutes, then got a bus with a broken heater, and a driver who did not know where the stops were. We went the 'wrong' way for 20 minutes, then back again, missing stops everywhere, and as I was not wearing long underwear, nearly froze on the mile-long walk from the bus stop back to the house!

But I survived, and we are still walking around and working and using the free bus service. But it is no longer so glorious.

It's almost Christmas!

Leaving north lake tahoe region

After passing the exam Paul and I went with one of our condo mates down to Jason's beachside grill for a celebratory burger and salad bar. It was a VERY cold night so we took a taxi down. It was amazingly cold in the restaurant, although they told us that booth seven should be warm, there was a frigid draft coming from somewhere! Brrrrrr. It was hard to get into anything, but the salad bar was pretty good! Big American style salad bar with choices of normal lettuce and stuff as well as various pasta salads potato salad and about twenty dressings! Burger was lovely too!
Then we stood outside freezing our bits off waiting for a taxi which never showed! Thank god for iPhones, as we found another taxi firm who turned up promptly, and was cheaper than the previous one too!

After that silly fiasco, we decided a car would be necessary to move our stuff back to the south of the lake.

We spent more than we should on renting a car, but due to another big storm heading in, we decided 4 wheel drive would be a wise idea.
So, we loaded up and headed south. We wanted to be sure of the plans for the first official day of work on Friday, so we wandered back to the California base. After being told nine am in uniform, I managed to get the voucher for discounted equipment, so we toddled off to see what there was.
Unfortunately the 50 percent is based upon retail base price. There are loads of sales already on, so less discount than it looks. I decided to demo some skis before buying anything. Then back to our place to drop our bags and skis.

We got some Christmas cards and decoration gifts to open and headed back up north for the big celebration party (back at jason's) the theme was E or A for educating adventures, and some people really went to town on their costumes! But anyway, awards were given to our examiners, and it turns out that everyone passed, so some pretty happy people all around.
This morning, another early start, to take our condo mate to Reno for his long slog of a flight back to Melbourne. He just came to get his certification. Then back to truckee to return the car. After enterprise brought me back, the mad condo cleaning had to begin!! Check out by eleven am and we all hoovered and scrubbed and packed up everything.
Then the northstar bus turned up to drive us back to South Lake Tahoe for the remainder of the season!

We passed the PSIA level 1 !!!

Paul and I skied hard today. I volunteered to go first... And has to teach two types of students in two separate lessons. And I passed!! So, I will get a certificate and more pay per hour. Yippee!!!!!!!!! But my feedback says buy new skis. My current ones are a bit long and too stiff to teach in. So I need to look for shorter, softer skis to clamber around in. And Paul needs a new jacket, as we had to try to re-waterproof his old one... He looked like a snowman yesterday in all the powder!

More snow and we are mid-exam!

Well here we are in the teeth of the first real winter storm. Had about two feet of powder on the mountain, looking like a real ski resort now!
As for the exam, we are still working through teaching exercises and working on our skiing skills. Tomorrow is the big day where we pass or fail. Our instructor seems confident that we are 'ok' so we hope to pass and then spend the rest of tomorrow skiing the powder as it is still snowing hard!!!

Snow!

Not much yet but it happened... Snow and even here in the valley by the lake not just the mountain! And there's more to come...
And the exam starts tomorrow, so we might even get a chance to try teaching on new terrain!
But today is a day off, so full breakfast and another trip down to South Lake to see if we can get our passes! At least we have passed our security checks! I received a copy of mine and so has Paul.
Finished our training yesterday, so ready ( or not ) to take the exam... Wish me luck!

Photos will be uploaded next week!

As I cannot upload photos from the iPhone here you all will have to wait!

There appears to be snow on the horizon!

Yesterday was a day off. Paul and I borrowed a car from our condo mate to head to south lake to try to get our promised passes for Heavenly. So late start, I made French toast for breakfast with REAL maple syrup of course, and off we went. It's a lovely drive down and once again, gorgeous views of the lake throughout.

We went to our place in the keys to check email and pick up the post. And I now have a copy of proof I once had a Vermont license, so I shouldn't need to take the driving test! Just the written one. But first things first.

We went to pick up the details for our season passes, but they are not ready yet... They are still doing background checks???!!!! Anyway, could not get pass yet, which means no discount skis or gear, but we are ok for the moment anyway. My skis are a bit stiff to teach in but I will manage.
We went to see our area manager and confirm our lockers for the season, which went fine. I tried on my uniform, which looks ok but I hate the hat! It's warm and soft but so close fitting it makes me look like a pin-head! I know, you all already thing I am a pinhead... ;-)

So we checked out some places for ski discounts for when we get our passes. The good news is once we get them, we ARE able to get free bus access all over south lake tahoe! Woohoo!!

Without passes there wasn't much else to do, so we headed back up north back to kings beach.

Paul got a read bargain on a huge bit of salmon, which he cooked for all of us for supper. Then we hit the books again. Most of us in our condo have now completed the workbook or written part of the exam, so it's now all about our own skiing technique and teaching ability.
There's good news and bad news now.
There is a cold weather front coming through starting Friday. So they can make snow throughout the day as well as the night. And they are forecasting snow showers through this front. They are also expecting one of their big two-day storms with "significant" accumulation. That normally means many feet of snow. Woohoo, right?!
Except the three day on snow exam is supposed to be when this storm actually starts! So after skiing and workin in spring conditions for all this time, we need to adapt quickly to teach and ski in knee deep powder where you cannot see two feet in front of you!

But I always enjoy a challenge, so I will make the best of it!

More on the training

Well another day training and we all did teaching of small modules. Paul has discovered his inner child and has been charging down the hill and playing around all day.

I taught our group to ride a chairlift, as if they were beginners. And slowed the chair down to get everyone on and off. Great fun and we all managed safely ( of course! )

Very tired after three long days of skiing all day from 8.30 to 4pm but improving my skiing and teaching abilities no end!

Tomorrow is a day off, then 3 days more training on snow. Then a study day and the exam starts Sunday. Three days later, if I do well, I will be certified as a PSIA level one instructor. Regardless, I have a job for the winter!

Day two on snow

Well, after two days off from training we headed up onto the slopes at Northstar today.

But Thursday was our first 'free' day so the five of us in my condo drove down to south lake tahoe to give Heavenly a try. Another glorious day with blue sky and sunshine! It wasn't cheap but it was fantastic! Only one run open really but very well kept and no bare spots and world class views! Paul and I stayed back in our place in the keys. Everyone else went back to kings beach.
We all got up early for orientation ( hence the stay in south lake for us ) at the embassy suites. Loads of HR forms and collection of our new uniforms and locker assignments. And the drive back north was past the most beautiful sunset over the mountain and the lake.
Today was loads of work on our own ski technique, and I can now ski backwards, or 'switch' although not fast yet.

Loving the whole thing, skiing on beautiful scenery in sunshine, although it will need to snow properly soon or all the ski areas will suffer!

And we finished the first day of training

Well, we started the morning on the grassy knoll. Balance work on bongo boards and inflatable balls and balance pads... Stretching and working on communication and teamworking skills. Then a presentation and film on learning styles and skills used.
Then a teaching and presentation skills and finally splitting up into our training groups. We are in the 'black groomers' group. Working through loads of workbooks. But finally on the way to becoming certified instructors!
Saturday we finally hit the slopes although all the snow will be manmade, it will be good to get going.

We head to Heavenly again tomorrow to go for a bit of skiing. Although they still only have the one run open.

How to learn to be a ski instructor; without snow

Another sunny morning. Getting pretty repetitive isn't it? We met more people from the PSIA yesterday who now have said we may not take our accreditation exams until January. At least we can work, but it's better to actually have the certification!

Today we go up to Northstar to see the layout. Maybe go ice skating. At least some winter sports are doable! Maybe I'll go hiking.

More sunshine but loads of new people!

We are here with probably seventy people now, although only 5 in our condo at the moment. The eclectric instrument is a dulcimer rather than a guitar. Had first orientation meeting, was given free rucksack and met a few more people but not every one yet.

Walked down to the lake ATF safeway for some food. Since we are in self catering we have agreed to cook together.

Last night, one of our number felt it prudent to buck the jet-lag. With guests from the other condos they stayed up tim 5am trying all the gadgets including the insinkerator. Not conducive for sleeping for the rest of us!

Bur two hour power nap this afternoon has hopefully remedied that!

And I now have my PSIA card!

Arrival in King's Beach

Well, what a day! Paul wretsling with the landlord's dog in the sunshine after packing up our stuff to move north, two skype video calls to the family in England, and a gorgeous drive up to King's Beach to find our new home for the next three weeks. Three floor condo, two bedrooms and a bath on the entry level/ ground floor. Upstairs to the main living area with another bedroom and bathroom. Then up to a loft with twin beds in; this place will comfortably sleep 7 virtual strangers. Paul and I poached the large bedroom for ourselves: downstairs queen room- hope nobody minds!
The bedroom on the main living level is also a queen but quite a bit smaller, so we chose the lower one.
Then a drive across the mount rose pass to Reno to return the sewing-machine on wheels and have lunch at PF Chang courtesy of the Miller family. Then back to the airport to get a north tahoe express shuttle across to King's Beach again.
Only problem is, next one to OUR part of the lake not til 930 pm and it was only 5pm. But there was a bus to incline village and crystal cove, so we did that, intending on taking a taxi from the CalNeva.
Our driver was great and took is all the way to our condo in king's beach so we gave him a very generous tip.
Met our first condo mate, Al, from Wisconsin, who drove out here. He is 21 and brought his electric guitar with him, but he's good about volume and when he plays, so I think it will be fine.
So. Sitting on the bed, watching rubbish tv as each bedroom has their own tv as well as a huge flat screen in the living room!
Not bad for three weeks, but we'll see...

Headed to King's Beach

Well, it's getting repetitive, but its another beautiful sunny day today!! This is why we moved here!! how refreshing! How inspiring, and how simply gorgeous!!

we're headed to the North of the lake today to stay in King's Beach for our three week training course up at Northstar.... hopefully sometime they will get a bit of snow so we can all work on the ski slopes, but it will all be fun and informative, anyway. We will be sharing a 3 bedroom condo with the other 'new' instructors for this time, so it will be strange, as we have not yet met any of them!!

But I'm sure it will be fun... wish us luck!!

Another Beautiful day in Paradise

Well, here we go again. Another day with blue sky and sunshine.

I went for a 5 mile walk in the neighborhood, looking at all the lovely houses and the lake and keys and lagoon. It's just such a gorgeous part of the world!

And people are so friendly, too! everyone else walking, running, walking their dogs, working in their gardens, mowing the lawns, they all stop to say hi, or good morning!

What a wonderful place to be!

Post Turkey day

Well, I am still full!

We had a lovely Thanksgiving day welcome meal with our landlords... with plenty of lovely wine to accompany! We have decided NOT to go out and brave the shops on black Friday, but if necessary will play online a bit later!

We will, however, go out for a bit of a walk, as once again, another bright, sunshiny day! Hard frost overnight, so the mountain has still been making snow!

However, only one run open, and they want to charge $59 for the privilege of skiing that one run. Once I have my season pass, I will be skiing continuously, but until I officially start work, no-go for me. :-(

I think I will end up getting my fill of skiing this year though!

8-)

Have a great weekend everyone! we move to the North of the lake on Sunday for our three week training course, so I may not update too much, but I will when I can!!

And Heavenly Opens tomorrow!!

according to Heavenly's website, they finally open tomorrow! Yesterday's snow was enough to top it all off!! http://www.skiheavenly.com/mountain/conditions/

Happy Thanksgiving, Skiers and Riders! We’ve all got something to be thankful for! Heavenly will be opening tomorrow for the 2008/2009 season! You’ll be shredding the deepest snow pack and finest surface conditions in the Tahoe Basin on our signature Nevada cruiser, the mile-long, Orion’s Run! So head up the gondola and burn off all that turkey and mashed potatoes! Visit our season pass offices at the Gondola or the California Lodge to purchase your 2008/2009 Season Pass now! Lifts open tomorrow at 8:30am.

So - it will be a great Thanksgiving, anyway, but even more reasons to give thanks! Skiing in the sun!!

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Well, it has to be said, so... Happy Thanksgiving!!

I am thankful for the opportunity to live in an area as beautiful as this! and share it with the man I love.... (sorry, I'll stop being soppy)

But, hey waking up to another beautiful blue-sky day with sunshine, overlooking the lake and mountains, I can't help it!

So - last night we had our first 'dinner out' at a new friend's house. This house is amazing, and absolutely stunning! It is a large, log house, which was build by the hands of the original owners. Our hosts last night are the second owners of this house. It is nestled in the woods, and fits in like it was made to be there!

Last night we met the entire family, well some of the in-laws and the kids too, since they had come up to celebrate Thanksgiving! They are very welcoming, and had loads of entertaining stories to tell, about bears raiding neighbors kitchens, termites (in a log house, that is serious business!) and snorkeling!

But anyway, it was one of the first nights the jet-lag was not so harsh and we managed to stay up and have a great night, finally dragging ourselves home around 10.30pm!

Unfortunately, somewhere yesterday the snow turned to rain, and the ride home was a bit, well, WET, and there's no snow to show here in the valley, but we're hoping it was still snow up on the mountain! But, hey. It's Thanksgiving, and I can't complain about the weather!! A real change, after the wettest summer on record (or something near to it) in England!!

So - that's where we are at the moment... enjoy your day!!

Photos (for your reference)

OK, I was going to add the photos to the blogs, where they belong, but I got fed up with trying to move around the format, so here's a separate post with the photos, so you can actually see what we are doing!

Here's the HUGE beast:




Here's the Sewing-Machine-on-Wheels:























The view from our window:
























Tahoe; We LIVE here!! :























The view at the Millers in Washoe Valley:























Here's the snowmaking they are going crazy with, since Mother Nature is playing hard-to-get!

no snow yet.....

but the sky is heavy with clouds, and it's only 4 degrees above freezing here in the Valley..... Maybe later today??? That would be nice!

and it's almost Turkey Day!! I would love to be able to give thanks for the 'fresh snow' if I could!
:-)

update: 0920am.....

It's SNOWING over the mountains!!!! Yee Haah!!!! not snowing in the Valley yet, but it's snowing in the mountains, where it counts!!

yes, Virginia, there IS a Santa Clause!

Getting rid of the Big Car

Ok, well you know we had a HUGE car to get everything over the mountains from San Francisco....

We did not need that big a car after that, so we headed over to visit the Millers in Washoe Valley, to collect the ski gear we left from our earlier trip in October. We stayed and had a lovely supper, spent a bit of time with those who were around, and then spent the night (huge car lurking in the corner of Garage 4)

Sunday morning, another beautiful day, and we head out to Reno-Tahoe airport in Reno, to swap cars from the Huge Beast to the rather more demure Sewing-machine-on-wheels. We still opted for 4 wheel drive, as when it finally snows around here, chains, 4 wheel drive or snow tires are required... sometimes all at once!! Of course, much like carrying an umbrella to keep it from raining, I think we have cursed this place for snow by taking another 4 wheel drive!

We moved the ski gear from the Huge Beast into the terminal in Reno, as THIS car we actually rented from Dollar..... So we went to the Dollar desk, and they have a rather cunning system which is all computerised, so no going through and adding your initials to everything on a silly piece of paper... the screen comes up with all the items you take or decline (CDW, SLI etc) which you click OK on, then you sign on the touch screen. All very easy. Of course that was when we were allocated the Sewing-Machine-on-Wheels. A bright Blue Dodge Nitro. Quirky, smaller than you would think, in terms of fitting skis in (for a 4 wheel trive!) but it DOES have Sirius Satellite Radio!! What a brilliant idea!! like an ipod shuffle built in!

Once more over the mountain, with a spot of shopping at WalMart and Costco on the way to stock up our kitchen!

But still no snow....... Heavenly have taken the forecast opening day off the website, as they don't want to over-promise anything..... and they're making snow like crazy, so it hopefully won't be long before they actually open! 2 runs, Dipper and Comet (or something like that) are forecast until some real snow falls.... so a trip up the Gondola will be necessary to get to the snow!

So the next task is getting California Drivers Licenses. Why? I hear you asking.... well, as Paul had to come in on a Green Card, he is considered a resident, and residents must apply for a local license within 10 days of entry into the USA. So, with the California DMV handbook duly downloaded, off we head to the South Lake Tahoe office of the Department of Motor Vehicles.

Three staff work here.... which means one on break, on serving paper-handling customers, and one doing the driving tests.... so it was busy with people queueing, and long waits. But we eventually get up to the desk. Paul pays his $28 fee and heads off to take his written test, which he passes. Next for him is a driving test, scheduled for 22nd December!

As for me...... well, who would have thought I needed to update Social security with my married name before I could apply for a license!! I have been duly filling in tax returns all these years when living in the UK, but never actually let the SS office know I had changed my name in my passport. So, I found our nearest Social Security office, which is back over the mountains in Placerville (an hour's drive). As they would not have been open if we left after Paul's successful test results, we headed home for a lovely dinner!! Small kitchens take some getting used to, but Paul is managing brilliantly!

So - new morning (where snow was mentioned as a possibility overnight??!!!) and some clouds (way up high) and no snow. We head over the mountain, with Paul driving using his new temporary California License as practice before he takes the actual driving test! The scenery was jaw dropping and still just as stunning as anyone could imagine! We found the Social Security office without any problems.... and took a number, and sat down to wait. About 20 minutes later, I was called forward, and with the paperwork I provided, I was duly updated, handed a printout, and promised a new SS card posted in the next 4 weeks. With my new printout, I was guided to try the Placerville DMV.

Finding the DMV in Placerville was easy, and it was amazing the difference here compared to the South Lake Tahoe office! There must have been 15 staff, all multi-tasking, keeping everyone appraised of what was going on - we did not have an appointment this time, but they gave me a number, and I sat down to wait again. No more than 10 minutes later, and I was in front of a lovely DMV agent..... who advised if I could provide details from the Vermont DMV (the location of my most recent US license, before I let it lapse when attaining a UK license) I would be able to just take the written test and be the proud owner of a shiny new California Drivers License!

But - apparently the Social Security system takes up to 72 hours to update, so once again, I get sent home without taking the test and without a new license. But at least with the hope I can get to it sometime soon! *(Next week????)*

so - trip back over Echo Pass, this time with me driving so Paul could appreciate the view..... and it looks like the clouds are lowering.... so please, we need some snow!

(of course, its still too warm to snow, so its more likely to rain..... we need a deep freeze too!)

Now just clarifying our plans for our first Thanksgiving at Tahoe!

Arrival in California

Well, how does one actually start a blog..... having never done one before!

Guess I'll just jump right in.

Paul and I arrived in San Francisco on the afternoon of the 20th November, with 5 pieces of checked luggage, as close to the maximum allowance we could get our hands on! This was, of course, including Paul's Golf Clubs, in case the weather allows for him to play.

After a bit of pushing and shoving of bags onto luggage carts, we trundled along the blue route to the car rental area, to queue for Dollar (only to realise I had actually booked Alamo for this one!! - DOH!!)

Once actually at Alamo, we decided the large car we had booked would just not be big enough to carry all the cargo we had yet to pick up, so opted for a buy-up to a larger car. Apparently, you cannot actually reserve the huge cars in advance, and they are only available as a buy-up option, and only if they are actually available!! Anyway, after some deep negotiations as to the price they were going to charge me, we drove away in a large, white beast of a car, to try to find the Crowne Plaza hotel.

Trying to use up some of our roll-over minutes from out AT&T contract set up in October, we realised that we were just too tired to go out to eat, so we thought a brief nap would help. (this was at 4pm)

4AM - wake up hungry!! Nap turned into overnight sleep, so I guess jet lag was hitting pretty hard at this point. However, as we had moved out of our house a few days earlier, we had not been sleeping overly much before the trip anyway, so I guess we just needed the extra hours of sleep!

So - after re-packing our things to make a bit more sense, we trundled down to have breakfast (which was actually pretty fantastic!! The Crowne Plaza's little restaurant serves a fantastic breakfast, with FREE REFILLS of fresh squeezed orange juice, as well as coffee)

Then, after checking out and packing the car with the bags as far forwards (and the seats all down) as we could get them, we headed out to find the JAL Cargo building to recover the cargo we had sent over on the 19th. 15 pieces of cargo!! How was it possible???

If you ever need to find the cargo area in San Francisco from a Virgin Atlantic flight, it's in the North Cargo area, or North Field Road.... it was hard to find, as the sun was low in the sky, very blinding, and the address wasn't hugely helpful for the Garmin. The airport map wasn't much help either, but after circling the airport about twice and two rather stressed phone calls to someone with a rather strong Japanses accent trying to explain where they were, we found it!

$25 later, we were given a receipt and three forms and another map. It appears we were going on a treasure hunt before we were allowed to be reunited with our cargo. Off we traipsed to the other side of the airport (and the West Cargo area) to find Customs. We got stuck in a queue of traffic waiting to go onto the taxiway (yes, we got misguided again....) and we found the Customs building, hiding away in a little corner. Three forms later, explaining we had shipped personal effects over, and we were handed our papers back and sent to find our way back to JAL Cargo. Luckily, this was easy, as I had then been there before!!

Back at JAL, returned forms duly handed over, we were handed a SITA print out which we had to sign saying we had received our cargo in good order (although we had yet to actually see it!) and after signing this, we were directed to the loading dock, where the forklift drivers appeared to be doing a ballet, moving pallets around, spinning around in place and rushing off to get more pallets and move them around again. Eventually, our goods appeared, and DID appear to be in good order, nothing missing, nothing dented.....

We managed to load the car with the 15 extra pieces of cargo (bearing in mind we already had 5 pieces of luggage, one of which was golf clubs!!) Although I could not see out rear window of the car, the side mirrors were adequate, so needed to just remember I was in a HUGE car, which was very heavy and I could not see out the centre rear-view mirror! We navagated out of the airport and headed out on 101 North towards San Francsico.

Very little traffic, and we headed across the Bay Bridge (no stopping in San Fran for me today!) and looking across the bay, it was beautifully clear and the Golden Gate looked stunning against a bright blue sky and the Pacific Ocean!! However, driving a HUGE car with less-than-perfect sight-lines did not allow for loads of gawking at the scenery!

Clear run onto I80 northbound. Paul duly decided he would try to phone Julie, as it was a milestone birthday for her, but we found out at this point that our prized iPhones would not allow international calls outbound!! So - a little detour was taken, for Jamba Juice and a little visit to an AT&T store. We met two staff who were fantastic, and with their magic fingers, sorted out our little international calls incident (and removed an unnecessary add-on for text messages... unnecessary as it did not include international texts, so we would never use enough to make it worthwhile!)

Back on the road again, although this time Paul was driving. (and the phone call to Julie was a success!)

Through Sacramento (state capital..... waving at the Governator..... although I'm sure he's in the south in LA....) onto highway 50 towards our new home in South Lake Tahoe!

The day was lovely, clear blue skies, warm weather, the leaves still red, orange, russett and gold, it was a perfect way to come into the area.... as we crested Echo Summit (over 7300 feet!!) and came around the corner, the first view of the lake was visible (and a rather unnerving drop over a cliff on the right, into Christmas Valley) and I could not help thinking.... "We LIVE here now!!"

We arrived at our lovely new home for the winter in Tahoe Keys, and started the rather daunting task of unpacking...... we unloaded the car, and I took the 'clothes' bags and Paul took the 'household goods' boxes. by 7pm, we were unpacked!! PHEW!!

So - Long story short, we woke up to another beautiful blue sky and warm day, looking out to the lagoon and up at the mountains..... with the niggling thought.... isn't it supposed to be snowing yet???