". . . the fairest picture . . ."

"At last the lake burst upon us—a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft three thousand feet higher still! As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole world affords." -- Mark Twain, describing Lake Tahoe

Kevin had a mediation at Lake Tahoe yesterday. I went up with him on Sunday afternoon to make a little vacation out of it. We stayed in Incline Village, Nevada, at the nicest resort on the North Shore - and the client paid for it! (It doesn’t get any better than that!) The place we stayed at was surrounded by mountains and pine trees. It also had a private beach with little canopies and sun chairs. We enjoyed walking on the beach and then huddling near the bonfire to keep warm against the cool winds from the lake. After dinner we lazed around on the pool deck. This hotel had the largest hot tub I’ve ever seen! It was fun to pretend we’re rich for a day. ;-) On Monday, I spent time walking around the shops and reading on the beach. It was wonderful to just relax and forget all the cares of city life.

I got Monday off work because I "volunteered" (along with Kevin) at a Placer County GOP barbecue on Saturday. The barbecue was held at a horse ranch in the Lincoln foothills. Honestly, it was the easiest volunteer job ever. We had a lot of fun. We met interesting people, ate a lot of tri-tip, took a hay ride, and laughed whenever "Senator Kerry" was dunked in the dunk-tank. Especially when this little girl nailed him good. (Hee, hee.)