Fast Times in Tahoe

Our New Year's trip with Luke’s family turned into Super Fast Times In Tahoe - 8 days became 4 as we patiently waited in Moraga for the i80 and roads to clear during the biggest storm in the past 50 years in the area (18 feet of fresh snow in December!). For our non-Kiwi friends, "Fast Time in Tahoe" is a popular song by The Kiwi Band Elemeno P...it was stuck in our heads for the nearly the entire time we were in Tahoe. (Listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR2KsFa9ZJQ&ab_channel=ElemenoPVEVO )

The storm was worth the wait, and once it was safe to drive we hit the road through to Truckee, a cute town just north of Lake Tahoe. The amount of snow was incredible, and it was truly a winter wonderland greeting us, with snow weighing down the pine trees and giant icicles hanging from rooftops. We nearly had to dig our way into the cabin, and were stoked to find the hot tub was ready to go.

The last time we were both in the US was the holidays of December 2018, and we welcomed the New Year in Tahoe with Luke’s family, Jen & Sarah and their 3 pugs. The ‘kids’ have grown so much from 12 to 15! We feel so lucky to be able to come up here again with the same fun snow crew, along with new friends Kate & Olivie.

In recent years, Luke’s preference has been skiing, but he dusted off the old snowboard to hit the slopes with the crew. It started out a bluebird day, with a surprise mini blizzard thrown in the mix. Last time we were in the valley, it was named Squaw, however, the main resort has been recently renamed Palisades due to the offensive origins of the former name. It appears to be a slow rebranding, with neighbouring businesses still carrying the previous name, but hopefully that will continue to change in the near future.

Jelley decided to take a break from the slopes this trip - an expensive exercise for someone that rarely makes it up to a blue run. Happy to be in such beautiful surroundings and great company, it was nice to ‘chill’ in the mountains.

The time in Tahoe was spent with many puzzles, games of Bananagrams and great food! Favourites for us were Jen’s chilli & Claire’s cheese fondue, such good winter warmers. A highlight for us both was walking up to the top of our street to the Glacier Way Trails. Luckily the snow was compacted enough for a short walk through the trees to take in the stunning vistas of the area.

Sunrises and sunsets continue to be a theme of our travels so far, with a unique perspective in the Tahoe area over the mountain ranges and cool alpine lake.

We had fun learning about the historic town of Truckee and exploring the town centre, and finished the trip ice skating on a super cute rink in the valley. Probably the only winter activity Jelley is more confident than Luke at.

We had the perfect 4 day weather window, with bluebird skies and no wind in sight. The next storm was starting to roll in as we left, a great time to leave

It’s a little strange reflecting on these -18celsius/0 farenheit days as we’ve left the winter wonderland for the sunny Pacific Coast of Mexico for our next stop - a well overdue reunion with some of Luke’s closest friends & partners, the ‘Creekside Clique’. The last time the boys were all together was on the side of the road in Charleston, South Carolina, after riding their bikes together down the east coast of the U.S. back in 2017. No better place to reconnect than the land of tacos and cervezas!

- A Kiwi & A Cali