Tears in Heaven

After making the decision to avoid the SF traffic, I set my alarm for 430am and after brief goodbye to my little room in the House of Horrors, I was back on the road again. As I saw only about two cars on the toad, I took the opportunity to drive the zigzag part of Lombard St. As there was no one around, I stopped right at the top of the hill and took in the absolutely stunning views.

I had a dream ride right out of that city of terrifying hills and one extremely kind and generous restaurant manager. I am so glad I ended up staying. I know SF will never be my favourite, but perhaps one day I will be back with Sequoia and Pheonix, even if just for one of those incredible Mama's breakfasts.

I did stop by Bette's Diner, a little breakfast place in Berkeley I was planning to eat at, but being so early on Sunday, I was a few hours to early there.

I headed off to Sacramento. This was never going to be an easy day. I stopped for some coffee and a bite to eat at La Bou, recommended by my sister-in-law who is currently in Germany. I headed over to Fair Oaks Cemetery, the resting place for my dear little niece who passed away about 4 1/2 years ago. I know that it took me years before I could think of her and the pain my gorgeous brother and sister in law must have gone through and just being there felt just as fresh and painful as ever. I had trouble finding where she is, and I am so grateful that I had Rachel, Emma's Mom and my sister in law there with me in the way of messaging. My heart broke all over again, but there was definitely a little bit of peace in actually being there with her, meeting her for the first time. RIP baby girl.

I'd really like to visit Sacramento with Sequoia and Pheonix when Andrew and Rachel to show us around, so I kept going, destination Tahoe.

Wow, what an amazing drive! I took the picturesque I50 and again struggled with the fact I had to stop the vehicle in order to capture the stunning views. I tried to get as many as I could but many of the pics I would have loved to have taken were right where I couldn't pull over.

The South Lake Tahoe township at the end if the season wasn't quite as elegant as I expected. However, fresh snowfall completely transforms what otherwise looks like a tired, drab little town into a charming little village.

My hotel room is really comfortable and again I love that there is a fireplace to keep the room toasty warm.

Once I was all settled - took a long hot shower, did a load of laundry and just generally got sorted, I set off on foot for a bit of a wander. I found myself inside a massive casino. Talk about getting lost! It has a massive kid's games area, loads of shops and eateries and it's true what they say about them making it near impossible to find the exit. I enjoyed a free cocktail and played a little on the penny slots. No big jackpots for me, maybe Las Vegas will bring that joy :) but I get the feeling that the chances of actually walking away with anything are extremely remote.

I was suddenly really tired so I headed back to my room with the intent of snuggling up with my book for the night. However, I was so tired that I only read maybe 2 pages before I was fast asleep!

I woke up this morning feeling dreadful. I got dressed and headed down to breakfast. I sucked down 2 big glasses of freshly-squeezed orange juice and realised that I needed to go lay down again. I had a couple of paracetamols and a bottle of water and when I woke up quite a number of hours later, I was feeling much better.

Although the thought of enduring the heights of the Heavenly Gondola ride makes my head hurt, I figured that I could handle a drive around the lake. What a gorgeous part of the world! I stopped for a small bite to eat in King's Beach and whilst I was inside I looked outside to discover it had started snowing. Yay!!!

I stopped at a little thrift store on my way out of the town to pick up a few more woollies including some mittens. It had become absolutely freezing!

As I continued around the Lake, the road climbed higher and higher (over 2000mtres) the weather turned really snowy. I got some great photos and just enjoyed the romance if the snow collecting on tree boughs, roofs and beside the road.

Once I got back to Big Pines, where I'm staying, I have packed up as much as I can ready for an early morning departure and am now settled in for the night. I'm hoping another great night's sleep will put me in good stead for my upcoming conference.