WAW!!! (What a Weekend!)

Janet and I really can't start ANY "project" without hitting our local bar, The Tallac Lounge (not to be confused with the gorgeous hike in Tahoe Mt. Tallac :) I left work early so we could be on the road by 2:30 and miss all the traffic. We decided at Tallac, that, this weekend there will be no rules. RULEBREAKERS!!!




The drive up Hwy. 50, as you can imagine, is very beautiful. By the time we were getting close to Tahoe, we decided it was time to start appreciating the local bars and bartenders so we stopped at St. Pauli Inn where Janet HAD to be gay and order a St. Pauli Girl beer...




Then we took a gay picture together...I looked too cute in this one NOT to post :) Although why I'm standing like an ape, i have no idea. Just look at the hair...the hair!



When we left St. Pauli Inn, I was telling Janet about Strawberry Lodge which, luckily is about 15 minutes away. Perfect timing between beers.

I set the timer; but, we were a little off...see the beautiful rushing river behind us?


And a fly fisherman



Back on the road, we headed straight to Janet's timeshare. I'll spare you the details but we got lost like 4 times trying to find this elusive place. FINALLY, we arrive and unpack. I went outside to have my cig-with-a-beer smoke and to just relax to take all of Tahoe in, which, by the way, is my favorite place.

This is the view from our patio.



While I was decompressing and kinda scanning the view, I happen to glance down towards the ground and there it was - a FUCKING BLACK BEAR!!!! I was just in shock...my first inclination was to do kissy noises and get it to come over, then i thought better of it. I pounded on the window for Janet to come out and see and she caught the ass end of the bear...Damn. that was just SO cool!!! I spent the remainder of the weekend keeping my eye peeled for another...Unfortunately, I couldn't get a picture becuase a.) i'm not that fast and b.) my shock just kept me staring at it, unable to move. BUT I did go check out the bears path and got a pix of his footprint.



Our first agenda item was gambling. After I freshened up, I had to wait for Janet who is SUCH a girlie girl so it takes her longer to get ready. But that's okay...i can find things to do.


The life, eh?

Here's our room...


Finally ready and on the way to the casino, we got seriously lost. I was pissed, pissed, pissed...I hate wasting time like that. This is to become the theme of our weekend...we had to allow for extra hours for all our lost time trying to find our destinations.

By the time we got to the casino, it was probably 8:00pm. Janet, as usual, puts in a hundred dollars on Coyote Moon and wins well over $500. Me? I lost $200 that night. and i HATE losing, let me tell you.

We left the casino around 2:30 a.m. and headed back 'home'.

Oddly enough, I only slept til 7:30 a.m. and I didn't want to waste too much precious time in Tahoe sleeping, so i got up and made coffee. Every morning while I was here, I would put on my suit, grab a cup of joe and head to the spa.



Does that not sound AMAZING! It is cold in the mornings too so it just felt sooo good climbing in that hot water...*sniff* THAT'S the life i was meant to have!

Janet and I, although very different personalities, have near identical desires. Most people would want to sight see, shop, kayak, etc., but not us...we wanted to eat and gamble.

So Friday afternoon, we headed down the hill to party in the major casinos and started at Harvey's.

Of course i'm losing and getting pissed becuase I work damn hard (well, not really) for my money and it's my intention to win more, not lose all.

So, I had a conversation with God on my way to the bathroom and I told him "Listen Buddy...I'm sick of this shit. YOU are going to let me win or so help me!"

Then I figured God likes to bargain so I propositioned him with a deal: If you let me win $500 or more, I won't drink for the rest of the evening.

Now I know God doesn't really interfere in our lives...he doesn't do bad things to good people, or good things to good people or even bad things to bad people...however....the very next machine I played I won $660.

That's awesome, you say? Well, I was struck with the realization that my party was over. OVER! I did my own bargaining to get out of the bargain...'he knows my heart!'....'God didn't REALLY make me win that money..' 'I'll do extra good things when I get home to make up for my indiscretion...'


Tanya = 0 God = 1

O'douls really isn't that bad, you know? Let me tell you...without alcohol, casinos really are stinky, loud and boring so we decided to actually leave early, hit a buffet, go 'home' & play cards and get to bed.

The next day we gambled again, I won AND got hammered so both God and I were happy.

Sunday, Kevin came up and brought Kody so he could hike. Unfortunately, Betsy got really sick and was unable to come; but, we're just greatful it was nothing serious. Rite Aid is going to pay BIG for screwing up her medication.

Before we headed up for our hike, we stopped for lunch at this place called Sprouts Natural Food Cafe. It was a mainly vegetarian restaurant and it was amazing. I was starving since the day before all i ate all day was a bagel...hard to drink & eat you know?

Anyway, back on the road, of course we got lost trying to find Angora Lakes but sometimes getting lost can bring you views like this





At Angora Lakes, it is just stunning....



Kody swam in all the lakes and was BESIDE himself with joy....

At the top of the "hike" (read 1/2 mile) there was a little store where you could buy their world famous lemonade popsicles...mmm...delish!

We hung out just about a half hour and headed down the hill to have our after-hike beverage.

We found an Irish pub; but, it certainly was not even remotely Irish. Damn advertisers.

When we were done, we went home to hot tub some more, pack & toodle around, wasting time until we could head out to dinner.

We went to a restaurant called Lewmandels and it was inside a Best Western. Ew, right? it was deliciuos! they start you off with complimentary Cheese fondue and the sourest bread in the world...

I swear, I could have JUST eaten that and nothing else. Paired with a lovely red, this was pure heaven.

We got the pasta dish...and Janet ordered a Cattlemen's special that looked pretty dang good.


Lewmandels!


Choppy writing...I could write a masterpiece but i'm tired. We got home at 9:30pm and I had to get up and come to f*****g work becuase I didn't win that million I had planned on winning.

It really was an amazing weekend. I haven't gotten out of my house and had fun like that in WAY too long...I might not have a million bucks but I like to spend my off-time acting like I do.

Thanks Janet....you ROCK!