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Our best ski day so far..........
We had to be up early to get to Squaw Valley for our last ski day in the Tahoe basin. It was an hours drive through dense woodland sparkling bays and impressive lake front properties.
We picked out our favourite near the resort of homewood, where the piste descends to the lakeside. Unfortunately it was closed for the season.
Squaw valley was an olympic village in 1960 so had an amazing network of lifts and varied skiing terrain and although we had a full day exploring the mountains and bowls, we only just scratched the surface of the ski area. The day we skied the resort they also announced that they were opening a trial offpiste link to Alpine Meadows which would have increased the overall area by a further third.
We had a timely stop for lunch when no.2 son re-wrenched his already sprained thumb, The strapping came out of the medical bag again and some paracetamol distributed to help suppress the pain enough to hit the slopes after beef burritos.
In the end it was hubbie and I who were the first off the slopes to indulge in some après ski while we dried out our feet in front of the giant outdoor fires.
While the boys did a few more runs we relaxed in the sunshine dreaming of how awesome the resort would be with fresh waist deep powder.
It had been our cheapest ski day of the whole holiday thanks to a very nice cashier and some research on the web the night before. The boys qualified for a reduction on their day passes because they had their french season passes with them and the teller took pity on hubbie and I as we had left ours at home and gave us a two for one ticket which someone had left behind the day before. It was a welcome bonus as during our après ski glass of Chardonnay we calculated that we had spent over a thousand dollars on lift passes alone. It was certainly cheaper to ski in La Clusaz!
We drove back home on a different route around the lake to absorb the full flavour of the area. Because of their proximity to the main freeway, the towns which bordered the north side were more commercial and geared up for an influx of summer visitors and not quite as appealing as villages on the west side of the lake.
As it was our last night at Tahoe we treated ourselves to our first night out in America and dined out at Fire and Ice in the centre of Heavenly. It was a novelty 'all you can eat' hot stone experience recommended by our host.
The concept was simple. For a fixed price you filled your bowl with a variety of vegetables, cooked noodles, pasta or raw meats and selected a sauce to accompany your concoction, then gave it to the chef who threw it (literally) onto a giant hot surface which resembled a mill stone. The chef then entertained the waiting diners by tossing and chopping the ingredients on the hot slab and making small talk.
The staff were very accomodating and when we expressed concerns over hubbies' severe prawn allergy, they weren't phased at all and cooked his selections on a seperate hot plate in the kitchen.
The record by our host was to consume six full bowls in an evening. The gauntlet had been laid down to my sons who are both big eaters and it was no.1 son who managed to step up to the plate and take on the challenge.
I had no chance of matching the record and gave up in pain after three bowls. One chinese and one thai curry melanges chased down with a final round of steak and ribs and a side salad. I have pledged to myself that I will NEVER suffer the same discomforrt from over eating ever again!
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