We found what we were looking for............sorta!

We left Texas Wednesday afternoon after a couple of busy but great days.  I was happy to get a chance to visit with just a few folks at the hospital.  The building is looking great and I know the two grand opening events were excellent thanks to an amazing marketing team.  I appreciated the offers to tour the new hospital but didn't want to disturb all the work that is going on in preparation for the move on August 7. I am looking forward to seeing it when we are back in the area in late November after our big trip.
We flew from Dallas to Sacramento (which has an incredibly nice airport) and drove the two hours to Lake Tahoe getting in just after dark.  The temperature when we arrived in Tahoe was very pleasant even though it was close to 100 in Sacramento.  When we woke up it was amazing!  We took our coffee and tea down to the beach around 6:45 and the temperature was in the low 50's!  Man that was a welcome change from the heat of Florida, Arkansas and Texas.  It did warm up pretty quickly but still nothing compared to where we've been the last few weeks.  So I think we pretty much found what we were looking for in terms of cooler weather.
This is our first visit to Tahoe since 1999.  I can remember it because we were here when the Dallas Stars won their first and so far only Stanley Cup.  We were huge hockey fans back then and it was fun following their rise to the championship.  The area has developed quite a bit since then but it still has some amazing views.
It was a pretty low key day for us today.  I think we were both needing a little break although we did a couple of nice hikes including the Eagle Lake Loop Trail and a short but interesting hike at one of the visitors centers on the west side of the lake.
Every Thursday evening during the summer there is a free concert series called Live at Lakeview at a local park on the lake.  The music tonight was a reggae band from Italy (you can't make that up).  They sounded about like you would think a reggae band from Italy would sound.  We stayed a while and did enjoy the dancing of some very well medicated and colorful characters that seem committed to keeping the hippie movement alive and well in spite of the breakup of the Grateful Dead.
All in all a great first day in Tahoe!  More and longer hiking on tap for Friday but plenty of chilling out time built in as well!

Yes, it was 51 degrees and yes, it felt awesome!

Sunrise on Lake Tahoe

The Idiots Enjoying Hammock Time!

When I checked my e-mail this morning I found out I won 2 Million Euro in a raffle that I didn't enter.  I told Beth about it and she had an e-mail letting her know she had won 2 Million Euro as well!............Can you believe our luck!