The pandemic has grounded us mostly for air travel. After ruling out international travel, we researched for a fall foliage trip to the East Coast, or a trip to Hawaii. We have our own doubts about travel safety for ourselves and for others, so we started with small short trips that are within driving distance. We went to North Lake Tahoe to celebrate a birthday and mid-Autumn festival.
Pandemic reminds us how we miss the treasure in our lives. Lake Tahoe is such an illustration that we miss beauty right in front of us. We occasionally go there skiing in winter. Yet in spite of its natural beauty, and its offering of many summer lakeside activities, we used to have too many choices in summer to consider Lake Tahoe.
Incline Village, a small community of around 9,000, is located north of Lake Tahoe. It offers plenty of outdoor activities from hiking, to biking to skiing; and it has a slight feel of Hawaii, but not quite as touristy. The mansion, facing the Lake with its private dock, can still cost close to ten millions. Yet compared to the Bay Area, it is still much cheaper to own a home and stay during summer months.
Day 1
We got concerned with the unpredictable air quality due to the wildfire throughout California, it was too late to change plans. We got our rental car in the morning and packed up to go. On our way, we stopped for lunch at Hanami Sushi in Auburn, we enjoyed the food, the warmth of the sun and the outdoor setting.
Shortly after crossing the California-Nevada state line, we arrived and were pleased to find that the weather was great with blue sky, the air quality was moderate, and good enough for outdoor activities. The airbnb is a 765 sq. ft 1 bedroom 1 bathroom, built in 1982. I like its room layout and can imagine living in a compatible home during my retirement years. It has nice touches and thoughtful designs such as the high ceilings above the dinner table, and the space-efficient fully equipped kitchen.
After settling down, we went to explore Lake Tahoe. Hidden Beach is 2.3 miles from our airbnb. We got tricked by the Google Map ,which first stated we were 7 minutes away, then it changed its mind and claimed we were 30 minutes away. We got lost with Google Map. With the technology, we were so used to following step-by-step instructions, and no longer had that big map in our mind. In hindsight, it was simply Google Map could not guide us to make an unusual (and possibly illegal) U-turn. Once we missed the destination, we had to drive another 20+ miles for a big loop on the highway to get back to the beach. Hidden Beach is beautiful, we dipped our feet in the cold-but-not-freezing water, it was refreshing, there were only a handful of swimmers, while a few others relaxed at the beach, quietly enjoying themselves, without wearing masks. We took some pictures and watched a very beautiful sunset over Lake Tahoe. The sunset happened quickly, from the full sun to its disappearing, it only took 2 minutes.
We bought some food from a nearby grocery market, and had dinner at the airbnb while whatsapping with our children on the birthday of my husband.
Day 2
We planned to do some hiking and picked the 7-mile moderate Tunnel Creek Trail. After parking at the Bullwheel Parking Lot, there was no sign of the trail head, and we asked and got in the wrong direction. After 30 minutes or so of walking, we finally asked another person, and discovered that we were on a different trail. We were reluctant to backtrack, and decided to continue on this easy and flat East Shore Trail. The trail is paved with concrete, and offers plenty of picture moments along Lake Tahoe. We passed by Hidden Beach, the Emerald cove, the Sunset cove and to the Sand Harbour. The East Shore Trail is a 5-miles round trip from the Bullwheel parking lot. It is one of the most scenic trails, with beautiful views of the piers, beaches and the lake. If you only have time for one hike in North Lake Tahoe, this probably should be the one.
After the hike, we had burgers and some delicious garlic fries at the nearby Burgers and Brews. After some rest, we went to the nearby Inclined Beach, a private beach, to do nothing. The lake water is super clear and cool. It is a bit rocky at the waterline, the sand becomes silky smooth just a few feet into the water. My husband did a short swim and I told a picture of him sharing the lake with a paddling of ducks. We were tired after the hike and the beach outings, we barely finished a movie before retiring to bed early.
Day 3
We gave another try to the Tunnel Creek Trail for a panoramic view of Lake Tahoe. The weather and the air quality both cooperated. The air outside was cold and refreshing, the streets were quiet with one or two athletic looking joggers.
There were hardly any cars in the Bullwheel Parking Lot and it almost felt too quiet. At the trailhead, we saw and heard some California blue jays happily chirping with each other. The trail is well paved, just like walking on fine and hard sand, and easy for the feet. It shapes like many consecutive S-letters, sloping upwards. We were rewarded with the gorgeous Lake Tahoe views among the clusters of Jeffery Pines.
There are occasional signposts on the tree species and the effort to return the environment to how it has been; and how fires are sometimes planned to burn down some trees to create better forest spacing. There were pine cones almost everywhere. It was early in the morning, so we saw just a few hikers. We listened to the radio stations of Hong Kong and Spotify music along the way. The lake looks peaceful and calm from afar. We stopped often to take pictures, or called on Google Assistant to take our selfies. We could only afford two hours on the hike to be back at the airbnb to checkout.
We stopped for lunch near Donner Lake, had deep fried pickles, salad and smoky meat. The fried pickle was good and reminded us of the movie “An American Pickle” The smoky meat was too salty. Next to the restaurant is a Boba Tea shop, I could not have imagined a Boba Tea shop in this location, and spent $6 to get a Lavender Boba Tea.
I just booked another trip to South Lake Tahoe next May, and would look forward to visiting Lake Tahoe in the upcoming summer season.
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Hooked – how to build habit-forming products
By Nir Eyal
I recently joined a product development group for a high tech product. After several years in the market, the product still faces significant headwinds to find product market fit. Amassing millions of users is no longer good enough, the economic value of a product is a function of the strength of the habits it creates. Increasing addiction to a product is key to drive sustained value. This book covers a recursive framework from trigger, to user action, to variable reward, to investment of users, and back to trigger. It is simple to understand and is a great read.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine
By Gail Honeyman.
My children’s pediatrician is retiring from her practice and will go volunteer in Kenya. A friend, recently retired from various NGOs, suggested a book would make a good gift. This book has great Amazon reviews. I bought two copies, one for her and one for myself. I really enjoyed reading it. The genius of the author is to pick a seemingly vulnerable and unappealing woman as its main character. Eleanor is competent but lonely and antisocial with a childhood trauma that has left a scar on her face as well as her mind. After she gets off work on Friday, she spends her weekends drinking vodka until she is back to work on Monday. Everything changes as she and Raymond, her IT office support, save this kind old man Sammy . Through the kindness of Raymond and Sammy, Eleanor is able to get out of her isolation and face her past. The author weaves together a funny and charming story while portraying the loneliness and mental vulnerability of many living in a city.
十二週,練出慢跑肌力
12 weeks of Muscle Training Stretching
I did it without missing a day in the last 12 weeks. The daily exercise only takes a few minutes. I am ready to restart again soon.
oliviatamccue 
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