Lots of excitement in advance of the visit of Glenny and her friends. This included Dacia and Miller, 4-year-old son Makai and 6-month-old daughter Tayva. The plan was to celebrate Dacia’s birthday, so Glenny made macaroons in advance of the visit and brought all the makings for cake. She also brought all the birthday party accoutrements such as balloons, banners, party blowers, tiny hats and face disguises, which we unpacked when she arrived Thursday. We relaxed over a dinner of grilled veggies and scallops.
Friday was spent in preparation for the weekend…and awaiting the arrival of our guests. Grocery trip, grilled chicken to feed an army, and decorating the cabin. Our guests arrived Friday night. Makai insisted upon Witch stories, and everyone relaxed.
Saturday was a birthday success! The birthday girl was surprised to find the downstairs all decorated, as Glenny and Paula got up early and tiptoed around, placing balloons, banner, etc. After the celebration we all followed Miller and Glenny to the water’s edge where they braved a 5min plunge up to the neck in 60-degree water! Then, a big egg, sausage, and veggie breakfast scramble.
All five adults had decided to make a full-on gargantuan Saturday night dinner, each cook contributing, so we shared the kitchen as each cook did prep work for their portion of the meal. In between was time on the deck, playing with children, etc. Tom and Paula ran, and since Paula’s run was short, she was able to catch up with Glenny and the rest of the group as they took the kids and stroller for a walk around the neighborhood. After an initial encounter with a dog barking from a window, which startled Makai, he was able to pet multiple friendly dogs, which he loved. We talked with the owners, some of whom were local and some of whom had traveled from all over.
We didn’t realize it, but the 2023 American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament took place from Friday to Sunday in Edgewood, Lake Tahoe, only a few miles away. Big planes flew over the cabin many times each day, ferrying (we suspect) folks to and from the event. South Lake Tahoe was awash in cars and tourists, so we felt lucky we didn’t need to drive anywhere.
Saturday night everyone enjoyed and ate the amazing assortment of dishes outside on the big picnic table. Paula only had to contribute one dish: the famous Grandmom Lyons green beans, handed down from Estelle. The rest of the menu was made with love and effort by everyone else!
It included:
Shrimp cocktail, Caeser salad a la Mort, mashed potatoes from scratch, skillet sauteed mushrooms and onions, the beans as stated before, Langostino lobster tails in garlic sauce, grilled filet, marinated rib eye cooked sous vide and finished on the grill, chimichurri sauce to accompany, with Champagne and white wine pairings, red velvet cake for dessert with cream cheese icing.
We all nearly exploded! Goes without saying that Tommy and Paula have been eating delicious leftovers all week.
On Sunday, Paula braved the cold-water plunge with Miller, but she got off easy, as the water felt a few degrees warmer. Later, the adults took Lime scooters to explore the neighborhood beyond walking distance. Tommy and Paula took advantage of the time to act as faux grandparents and had a great time with the kids in the park.
Sadly, the guests had to return to Folsom Sunday afternoon, but we look forward to having them back again this summer, hopefully lots!
Monday, Tommy and Paula tried another warmup hike, the Powerline Trail. It was another “out and back” and was listed as being approximately 7 miles total. We ended up doing an extra mile as we had to park quite a distance from the trailhead. This time, we brought our new lightweight fold-up chairs, and Paula packed a lunch. It was sunny and warm, but with a nice cool breeze. This was a wooded trail, well-marked with blue blazes on the trees, and had lots of varied vegetation which drew many butterflies-none settled long enough for photographs, but Paula saw a Zebra Longwing, many skippers of all kinds, and a Western Tiger Swallowtail. There was also a very touching doggie memorial tree, presumably honoring dogs that hiked with their humans.
The next day was kind of lazy day. We grocery shopped for a few things, read on the porch and generally took it easy.
On Wednesday we hiked the Eagle Lake Trail, an out and back with a spectacular view of Eagle Lake at the end. It was billed as two miles total, but with a significant elevation gain in the first mile, 500 feet. Again, the reviews said it was for “the whole family” but it was fairly technical with lots of stone to climb.
We did see many family groups, including one with a newborn whose Daddy carried her in a front pack, holding an umbrella over her to shield her from sun. Many of the kids were doing the “are we there yet?” whine, and we saw a lot of eye-rolling from the kids as their parents exclaimed, “Isn’t this fun?”
The views of Eagle Lake and the mountains were amazing and truly worth the climb. Plus, the place was again teaming with butterflies and skippers. We sat on the top of the ridge and had snack and lemonade while enjoying the view of Eagle Lake below and the mountains surrounding us.
Paula is making strides as far as her acrophobia goes. She was able to walk across a bridge suspended high above a waterfall without difficulty, climb rocky ledges, and tolerated the hairpin ascending turns on the car ride to and from the trail with aplomb. We hope these hikes will prepare us for some longer and more strenuous ones in the weeks to come.
