Quick Snow Trip

Dear Logan,

We had a quick 3-day trip up the mountains to Reno.  I was hoping to get Aidan to take a ski lesson and introduce him to skiing, esp. since he's played it on the Wii and has watched the Winter Olympics.  I didn't make reservations for any lessons, because I didn't want to waste money in case we had to cancel our trip due to the winter storms we've been having.  And you know what, this turned out to be the most frustrating mistake I've made during this whole trip.

So, on the 27th, we drove to Reno and the weather was beautiful.  We left the house at around 9 a.m., stopped by Auburn for a quick Mc D lunch and then headed to our regular stop at Nyack.  Here, we did some sledding, just like last year.  As it turned out, this became our only snow playing experience.  Sledding was fun and Aidan was totally into it, and not scared at all.  He still enjoyed throwing snowballs at us and at the sled.  We tried to build a snowman, but without any tools, it proved to be extremely difficult.  We continued our trip to Reno and luckily, snow chains were not required.  We arrived at the Eldorado Hotel at around 4 p.m.

I guess because Mommy has been so addicted to Facebook (been checking-in along the way), Uncle Stanley called me and asked if we wanted to meet up for dinner.  The Neng family were also there the same days and staying at the same hotel.  So, we met up for dinner at The Buffet and played at Midway in Circus Circus.  Aidan and Matthew hit it off real well.  They were like long-lost best buddies.

Our plan for Tuesday was to have Aidan take a ski lesson at Mt. Rose.  As I mentioned, I didn't sign up for a lesson.  So by the time we got there at around 10 a.m., only the 2:00 p.m class was available.  It was a little too late for us, as it was snowing and we didn't have any snow chains.  Daddy was very worried about the driving condition.  So we decided to just rent the ski equipment and had Aidan played in the snow for a while.  We waited in line for TWO hours at the Rosebuds (kids ski camps) for ski rental and was turned away once we reached the counter.  The staff told us that they barely had enough equipment for the lessons and couldn't rent us the skiis.  I was PISSED!  I've talked to at least 4 different staff members, questioning whether I could rent the equipment from the Rosebuds line and none of them told me otherwise.  By that time, we were all starving and grouchy and pissed off.  I didn't have the energy to argue with anyone.  We just left, got lunch and headed downhill to Starbucks.  While at Starbucks, I went to Mt. Rose's website and filed a complaint about the situation.  I am usually not the type to file a complaint, but I was really angry.  After Mt. Rose, we just headed back to Eldorado, played at Circus Circus and had another buffet dinner.

All night long, Daddy was very worried about the driving condition.  We originally planned to leave early on Wednesday, then to stop by Boreal or Soda Springs for some tubing.  But because of the snow storms, we canceled all plans but left at 8 a.m. for home.  Driving condition was a little crazy and visibility was bad. Luckily, our car is a 4-wheel drive and we didn't need any chains.  We made it back to Milpitas for lunch at around 12:30 p.m and ended our trip without much snow play.



We will probably go back up the mountain some time next year.  This trip is just too disappointing.  Hopefully, next time we won't encounter any snow storm, and I will definitely make reservations for ski lessons.

Love,
Mommy

Reno and Tahoe Trip

Dear Logan,

Since Daddy and your brother had no school or work the week between Christmas and New Year, we (more like *I*) decided to take a trip up to Reno and Tahoe to see some snow. We took your brother up to Tahoe once, but he was only 2 yrs old, and probably didn't remember anything. He's older now, and I think he would enjoy the trip a lot more. I was planning to take him tubing, but was worried that he's scared and wouldn't do it. Sometimes, it's hard to guess what he would and wouldn't do. He always surprises me.

So, we drove up to Reno on Dec 27, and arrived at Eldorado Hotel at around 4 p.m. The four-hour drive was a little longer, since we stopped for lunch and a few pit stops. When we stopped at Nyack Rd for a quick rest break, there were soooo many people. I had to wait in line for a very long time to use the bathroom. However, because of the wait, we also got to see some snowing (instead of just snow). There was already plenty of snow, and many people were playing and sledding. Mommy, personally, loves to see snowing, but your brother didn't quite know what to make of it, and Daddy was too concerned about driving conditions. So, I was the only one happy to see snowing.

The first day, we didn't really do much. We rested for a while after our arrival, and then headed over to Circus Circus Midway for some carnival games. Your brother has been here before, but now that he's played Wii Carnival Games, he's more into the different games and machines. He wanted to play all of the games (mainly only once), but wasn't always strong enough. Then we headed for some dinner, and then back to our room to rest. Later that night, Daddy tried his luck at the casino, and...

Our second day, Dec 28, we had a late start after a long, nice buffet breakfast at Eldorado, ended with delicious gelato. By the time we got to Northstar, it was already 11:30 a.m. Most of the parking spots were taken, and we only parked at the 2-hour village parking. It wasn't quite enough time for us to take the gondola up to mid-mountain to try out snow tubing. Instead, we just did some snow play. It ended to be incredibly fun, and a good way to start and re-introduce your brother to snow. Your brother was especially excited in throwing snowballs at Daddy and Mommy. Daddy showed him how to make snow angels, rolling down the hill, and to do all sorts of silly things. It was definitely a lot of fun. We then headed back to our hotel for an afternoon nap. The rest of the night, we just went back to Circus Circus for more games. It was so cold outside, we really didn't want to step out of the hotel.

Dec 29 was the last day of our mini-vacation. After checking out of the hotel, we headed to Boreal. This time, we really did some snow tubing. Since your brother isn't quite 42inches tall yet, he couldn't go to the adult tubing area, but the mini-tubing area. It ended up not a bad idea, as there was no line to wait, and it's a good introduction. Besides, since there's not magic carpet to take us up the little hill, Daddy and Mommy and your brother got some exercise by dragging the tube up. It's not that bad of a hike, it's just a little difficult to walk as we were wearing hiking boots and not snow boots. Your brother had a lot of fun, and definitely wasn't scare. He actually wanted to head up the magic carpet to the adult area, but I told him he had to be 4 years old to do that. Hopefully, next time we head up to Tahoe again, he would have gained another inch. Actually, no one was actually checking the heights of the kids. If we had gone up, I didn't know anyone would notice. After an hour of tubing, your brother had enough and we left. We could have played for another hour because the ticket is good for 2, but since we're all pretty tired, and I was a little sunburned, we opted to leave early.



That pretty much summed up our trip. After tubing, we just started our long drive back home. It was a short but fun mini-vacation. I am hoping we could go back up to the snow before this season ends. Next time, I think we should try some sledding, or even have your brother take a ski lesson. We'll see.


Love you,
Mommy