Tahoe & Nevada City

With so many visitors these last few months, the Chef Family blog has turned more into a vacation journal than a blog. However, this isn't going to change for a few weeks. :) We have more visitors in store and actually just finished up with a trip to Napa Valley and San Francisco. So ... hop aboard another "vacation" journey with me.

One of our first stops along the way was the Donner Pass Memorial. Do you know what that's about? If not, google "Donner Pass, Donner Party, etc" ... it's a historical sight with significance that everyone should have in their historical bank. Plus, it's a good trivia question, too. Never hurts to learn more about our country, especially with my dad the history buff and the Iron Chef, a knowledge seeker.



After Donner Pass, we actually headed to Truckee to eat breakfast. We managed to get a table and eat at "Squeeze-In." Ever heard of it? Food Network Recommended? Bob Flay competition held there? The historical Truckee? Well, if not, we ate there and we were stuffed! It looks as divey as you'd think but it was one of those restaurants that came with HIGH reviews so it was a must on our list. However, for a $15 omelet, I must admit, I'm not sure if I'd return here. I've definitely had better breakfasts with a price tag of around $70. Gulp, I know. I guess that's Tahoe for you!!! Truckee is a "suburb" of Tahoe.

From there we just headed into the mountains and drove around Tahoe. Explored Squaw Valley, Tahoe Lake and enjoyed the snow. It was beautiful.











Our mini trip wasn't over after Tahoe. We took a different route back home and decided to drive through the mountains to a little shopping district called Nevada City. The drive from Tahoe to Nevada City was GORGEOUS! Through the mountains and begin our downhill climb back to the foothills. Here's the view.



In Nevada City, we indulged in ice cream desserts (the girls) while the men checked out one of the local saloons in town. We ventured in tee-pee's and loved the quaint little city. Apparently this town has a spectacular Christmas "village" in December. We'll most likely be up here again to see the carolers and sip on hot chocolate. Also, just as information, this city of almost 1,000 people has been named one of the top "Green" cities in California. I actually just read that last week in the newspaper.





You can imagine how tired we all were after such a long day. We fit all of this into a one-day car trip. :)