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We left San Francisco behind after crossing the Oakland Bay Bridge and headed north on Highway 80. We passed Berkeley and Greg told me about a scene from the movie 'The Graduate' starring Dustin Hoffman that was filmed there - check it out for yourself.
Sacramento was next, but having spent several days there in 2009 we decided to stay on the freeway and skirt around the city. Our only stop on the way was at a Maccas for lunch and we arrived about 3pm in South Lake Tahoe which is in California. We then crossed the state border into Stateline, Nevada about 3 miles past South Lake Tahoe. After checking in to The Lakeside Inn and Casino we set off to have a look around the immediate area.
Our last visit to this area was also in 2009. Since then the streetscape of both South Lake Tahoe and Stateline have changed drastically. Once you cross the border into Nevada you are confronted with huge casinos such as Harrahs, Harveys and Hard Rock Casino as well as our more modest Lakeside Inn. Nevada is a casino approved State and the resorts try to entice you to gamble by offering deals. You sign up for a free players card and earn point for playing the tables. The points can be redeemed for food, drinks and accommodation discounts. Not being gamblers, the deals were pretty much wasted on us but we did enjoy the free $3 drinks each day and the $5 discount on our dinner. Our hotel had a lovely pool and hot tub but it was a bit chilly to strip off to take a dip.
After a late start next morning we started our route around the lake. Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in fact it is the largest alpine lake in North America. It straddles the border of California and Nevada and is known for its beaches and ski resorts, luckily there was no snow today and it was too chilly for a beach visit. The area is about 6200 feet above sea level. At its deepest, the lake is 501 m deep and covers an area of 191.5 square miles.
We drove around around the lake in a clockwise direction with many stops to take photos of the natural beauty, Emerald Bay State Park was our favourite stopping spot. We had lunch at Tahoe City which is on the west side of the lake.
After lunch we decided to take a detour to Carson City, the State Capital of Nevada, about 25 miles away. After a lap of the main, stopping to take photos of the beautiful government buildings, we retraced our route and returned to South Lake Tahoe for a look around the casinos and shopping area.
Dinner was at our hotel (after all we did have discount vouchers to use) before watching "Sweet Home Alabama" on TV - one of Greg's favourite movies.......why? Because it has the right ending!
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