One of my favorite places on this earth is Lake Tahoe in Northern California. As a child my family and I would drive up to Lake Tahoe so often that it felt like a second home to me. My grandfather owns a cabin in Tahoe and over the years it has become a family and friends cabin for all to stay in. We would go up in the summer to swim in the lake, take the boat out for a cruise on the water, or barbeque a big feast by the water. Tahoe has the most beautiful crystal blue waters though even on the warmest days the water is still pretty cold from the runoff of snow. My sisters and I would brave the chill and be out in the water for hours which are some of my fondest memories.
In the winter my family and I would go up to Tahoe for the snow and ski season because we never got snow in Sacramento. My father loved to ski and had been going up to Tahoe since we has a little kid in this same cabin; a passing a tradition form generation to generation if you will. My father taught me how to ski and I can still remember the tricks he told me for a successful, fall-free ride down the mountain. The first was to make a slice of pie shape with my skis when I wanted to stop and to inch my butt up to the end of the seat when approaching the end of the chair lift. My dad always had patience with me as I learned how to ski and eventually I got to be very good. My father and I would ski together when I was older and we’d go down some of the hardest runs just for the challenge. If you know anything about skiing a diamond run in a very difficult run and a double diamond is the hardest run. I was able to do diamonds without too much trouble, unless it was icy than you could forget about it. I’ve done only a couple double diamonds and let’s just say I wasn’t breaking any records getting down the mountain. I loved skiing with my dad and after years later I still love hanging out with my dad.
