Fri Oct 15th: Turning Twenty-six at Tahoe

We finally slept in a bit, thank goodness.  Terry had to go "run some errands", so I stayed an lounged and got many birthday calls.  When he got back, I had to go finish getting ready in the bathroom....he's smooth.  I came out to a cake that he decorated with the mountains and the lake as well as 26 candles and a really sentimental card.  I instantly ruined it when I asked if it was the only birthday card they had left in the store because that kind of card is so unlike him.....he was not AT ALL amused.  He's a good boyfriend.

That cake was SLAMMIN!!!  It was Boston-creme-esque. We devoured our slices.  Great Breakfast!!

 Our hotel- Harveys Hotel and Casino

Perfect name

The Gondola wasn't running until November, we were pretty bummed out, but instead we went walking through all of the shops.

Fall is my favorite season

favorite shot #5

There were several art galleries that we went perusing.  The last one that we walked through, and mind you this was the gallery that I didn't want to go into because it boasted a Dr. Seuss Certified Gallery (whaaa???), ended up being the one we bought our first piece of fine art!!

This was the first piece that we saw that we both loved.  The artist, John-Mark Gleadow, who as a sidenote is from and still lives in Delaware, painted the book set below.  He has several different sets and purposes in the books he groups and paints, but this one was spot on for us.  I think this could easily be a contender for the next piece of art we buy.

On to OUR painting though!!  We got to the back corner of the gallery, and it was a corner filled with paintings wine.  Last year at the St. Louis Wine Festival, we came across an artist named Thomas Arvid, and we both fell in love with his style of painting, called hyper-realism.  Basically, although the painting is watercolor, it looks like a photograph.  It's so incredible up close.  The artist they had showcased, Eric Christensen, had the same style, and where he won out is that his painting was of Grgich Hills.  Flash back to the day before, where we met Mike Grgich, and you see why the stars seemed to align. 

We found out that Eric had been commissioned by Grgich Hills to commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the winery.  She said that the original is at the winery in one of the back rooms.  The following hour or so went somewhat along these lines: 

T: I really like that painting

L: Me too....one day we'll buy one

Our Art Guide: Why don't I hang it in a private room for you two to look at

T: Eh, it won't do any harm to look at it in good lighting

L: Sure! ::whispering to T:: I hope she doesn't think we're going to buy this

T: That looks amazing in the right light

L: I'm a little bit in love. Oh my god, we aren't really considering this?!  We can't buy this right now.
Our Art Guide: Can I get you both some wine while you talk it over?
L: She thinks we're serious......Terry are we serious??

T: Well at some point we're going to have to pull the trigger and be big kids.

L: Oh my god, we ARE considering this! 

Our Art Guide: So should I be congratulating the two of you?
We look at each other, smile, and say: T: I think so. L: Oh My God!!!
 

We Own Art!! (But I still don't want to be a big kid)

We left the gallery on cloud nine and headed back to spend time with Mike and Shannon.  They were coming up to Tahoe for the weekend as well, so we got to spend time with them.  We got in the car to do a little sight-seeing around Tahoe.

shots during the drive

I wish that these shots below were the other way around, but with how much time I just wasted trying to get them to be next to each other, they will stay as is.  The one on the right is the original photo, which is also favorite photo #4 of the trip.  I wanted to try and doctor it a little bit (picture on left), but I think I still need to work on it a bit to be just right.  Still, just love it!

At one point on the drive there were all kinds of people overlooking a bridge, so we, like the good little tourists we were, pulled over to see what all the fuss was about.  I forget the proper name for the fish, but some species of salmon was spawning in the creek and there were 1000's of them.  I've never seen anything like it in my life. 

close-ups

We drove around to Emerald Bay, which was breath-taking.   

The drive back during the sunset

We got back to Harvey's and went to grab some food with Mike and Shannon.  We ate at  Cabo Wabo inside the Hotel and Casino.  Random sidenote, we also met Sammy Hagar's son, Aaron.

brothers

with Aaron Hagar

Late into the night

Much later into the night with Brian and Cindy

We did a little bit of gambling. We both came out ahead, so that's always a plus.  For the record, on Roulette, on one of the rolls, we both bet on 26 (26th birthday), and it hit!!  Lots of squeals.  Also for the record, I am pretty legit at guessing red or black hitting on Roulette.  Finally, for the last record, Terry is a stud at Craps.  It was a fun night!!  We got to bed wayyyy to late, but it was a great 26th birthday bash!!