1st Anniversary Trip- Lake Tahoe (Part One)

This is a long overdue post all about our 1st Anniversary celebration weekend in Lake Tahoe. We took the trip during the first week in November, where we experienced the first snow of the season as we drove near the Donner Pass on our way from the Sacramento Airport to Incline Village in Lake Tahoe. I had no idea that we would be driving near the Donner Pass until we saw signs for it and that led to me giving my British husband a grizzly American History lesson!

We stayed at the Hyatt Regency Resort in Incline Village, which is very close to the California side of Tahoe. All of the pictures that we took of our hotel have gone missing, so I will have to be extra descriptive here. Our hotel reminded me of Disney's Grand Californian. It had high ceilings, wooden beams and a lodge vibe. The pool area was beautifully landscaped with rock detailing and views of the mountains. We sat in the jacuzzi and enjoyed the snow and nature. The service was impeccable. We were greeted with a glass of champagne and escorted to our room. Our room was warm and comfortable with a giant tub. I love big tubs.

The Hyatt Regency even had a small casino, where I won three hundred dollars on a slot machine. Location was key. We were walking distance to several restaurants, including a fabulous fondue place. On our first night, we splashed out at the Lone Eagle Grill, which was recommended by our hotel concierge. They made reservations for us and even shuttled us to and from the restaurant. We drank two bottles of wine, knowing that we would be safely returned to our hotel.

We had an amazing two nights in Tahoe. Luckily the pictures of our drive around the lake turned out. I had so many beautiful shots, mostly taken by Dan, the family photographer, that I'm splitting them up into two posts.

Let's kick it off with our wheels for the adventure. Nothing fancy, but it had seat warmers and that was important, because it was really, really cold! I often stayed in the warm car, while Dan darted out to get the pictures.

We bought coffee from the bakery in our hotel and hit the road for a leisurely drive around the lake. We had no plans or expectations, other than to circle the lake and see what we would find.

The lake was crystal clear and the water was an amazing range of colors, from deep navy to light turquoise.

We stopped for lunch and a refuel of coffee at Heavenly. Heavenly is in the heart the mini-Vegas section of Tahoe. There are taller buildings (not really tall, but more than three stories) and multiple casinos, including a large Harrahs Hotel and Casino. We had yummy lasagna and pizza at the Base Camp Pizza Co. Ski season had not yet begun, so Heavenly was very quiet and the gondola wasn't running. Saturday afternoon was a ghost town.

After lunch, we drove to the Emerald Bay overlook. The small island is called Fannette Island and it is the only island on the lake. Emerald Bay is home to many submerged boats and in 1994, it was named an underwater state park. In warm seasons, you can scuba to see the wreckage.

Located above Emerald Bay, is Vikingsholm, an example of Scandinavian architecture and a landmark. It was about a mile walk down a steep hill, so we skipped it. Quite honestly, after our trip to Sweden, we had enough of Scandinavian architecture!

I have many more gorgeous Tahoe pictures to come in my second installment of our anniversary weekend trip report.

2015 Auto Club 400

I'm back with NASCAR tips gleaned from our second experience attending the Auto Club 400 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana. Two years ago, we broke the bank on decent seats and individual headsets with television monitors. We also worried over the restrictions and came overly prepared with a packed lunch and tons of water. This time, we bought cheap tickets and rented cheaper headsets, all purchased just a few days prior to the race. We arrived with only the essentials, like hats, sunglasses and sunscreen. We kept it simple.

The first new tip - parking is free, but free comes at a cost. The free lots were a parking nightmare. The last time, we navigated the free parking. This time we shelled out twenty bucks and we parked at a business near the track. It was a short walk and paved, much nicer than parking in a dirt lot. The other upside was we were able to quickly park and getting out was a breeze. This was the best money that we spent the entire day.

The company name included my maiden name, Hansen. A sign of a good day ahead.

Our first stop was to take a look at the events map. Modern Family star Eric Stonestreet was the Pace Car Driver and Dwight Yoakam was the Honorary Starter. I don't watch American Idol, but the top ten contestants sang a beautiful version of the National Anthem.

Tip two- buy the Pit Pass.

We skipped it our first time to the track and we were sorry to have missed it. The Pit Pass is only ten dollars and it really adds to the experience. It's cool to be able to walk on the track and take pictures on Victory Lane. I had a feeling that pretty much everyone else had experienced this before and they were uber-fans waiting for specific cars and drivers. We were clueless. We just wandered around and took a ton of pictures. Everyone on the track is really pumped for the race and it's an exciting experience.

We wondered why some drivers didn't have crew guarding their tires. Maybe there was more security than we realized, but it seems like tampering could be a big problem. We were close enough to easily reach over the barricades and touch the tires.

Tip Three- Get the smoothie. Seriously, it's yummy stuff. To that end, we found most of the food at the Auto Club Speedway to be tasty and not ridiculously over-priced. We didn't have alcohol, so that might have been costly, but a few hot dogs, a bag of kettle corn and the smoothies, kept us full and in budget. It was much easier than our previous experience, when we decided to follow internet advice and pack a lunch. Packing a lunch was an enormous hassle.

Tip Four- Splurge on seats high up. Our bargain seats were crap because we couldn't see most of the track. They were also kind of close to the action, bringing to mind one of my favorite horror film franchises, Final Destination. Luckily, there were no major crashes and nothing came flying at us, but we were uncomfortably close to the track.

It was a sold out stadium and after multiple restarts going into the final lap, Brad Keselowski pulled out a surprise upset. The only lap that he led was that final, crucial lap. We were rooting for local boy Jimmie Johnson or Tony Stewart. Next time!

We had another great day at the Auto Club Speedway and we will hopefully be back in 2016.

Chicago 2014- City Sights and Northwestern E.R.

Chicago is a stunning city. I have a tip for would-be tourists heading to the Windy City...don't get so immersed in the sights that you stop paying attention to where you're walking. Here's a picture of me, just minutes prior to my accident.

I'm clumsy. Clumsy and I was wearing my new Sam Edelman boots, that although you can't tell in the above photo, have a bit of heel. I don't do good in anything higher than a flat. Me and heels are recipe for disaster.

So, I was stepping down off of a curb and I just twisted my ankle. I heard and felt a rip. It initially sounded bad, but it didn't hurt much, so I Taylor-Swifted it and Shook it Off.

We kept on touring the city by foot and I wasn't even limping. Here are some great photos that Dan took of our walk around Chicago.

By the time we reached Navy Pier and rode the Ferris Wheel, I was beginning to think that maybe I was really injured. My foot was throbbing. I managed a smile for the shot of the Ferris Wheel.

After lunch at Harry Caray's Tavern, we took a boat tour on Lake Michigan. My foot began to swell and I could barely stand to get off of the boat. I hobbled over to a water taxi and by the time we reached the closest stop to our hotel, I was near tears. I couldn't even walk to our hotel, so we got a taxi (car, not water) and headed to Northwestern Hospital.

They were awesome at Northwestern. As far as emergency room visits go, this was five stars. I was treated quickly by friendly doctors and we even got a show when a mentally incompetent woman freaked out in a room across the hall from my bed. It was quite dramatic with police officers and everything. I ended up having torn ligaments and the doctor thought that it might require surgery, which luckily it didn't.

I was given crutches, an ace bandage, pain pills and some hideous beige socks. I'm rocking those hospital socks.

It was just too much trouble for me to hobble around Chicago. On our last morning, Dan and his parents saw more sights and I stayed behind in our hotel room, reading. On the upside, I needed the wheelchair at the airport, so an escort wheeled me through security and I was first on the plane. Being injured does have a few perks.