Weekend

It was a proper weekend, away from the House O' Mold, away from our well-worn path to Target and IKEA. Bigbro was supposed to take a look at said House O' Mold when he got in on Friday afternoon, but his plane was interminably delayed, and so Sunday became the new day for the expert inspection.

My dad and I had talked about going for a mini-break from Saturday to Tuesday or so, but with this change in plans, it made more sense to be back for the house inspection on Sunday. So with very little preparation or ado, we decided to take off. Crater Lake? Awesome, but too far. Yosemite? Undoubtedly no camping space left. Lake Tahoe? Call 'em. KOA has a space on their campground? Take it.

And off we went.
My grandmother, in the back of the Caravan, en route. Roomy!

















A pleasant glade for camping...

















... and a beautiful lake for viewing.













The following was caught by my dad.




I think to myself, "Hm. A log half in and half out of the water. How picturesque. I shall walk on it."








I realize, "Hm. Now I have gone as far as I can go. But turning around on this slippery log may be somewhat difficult."








Ack! I have fallen into the chilly waters of Lake Tahoe!







I ruefully survey the extent of the damage: soaked sneakers, socks, and jeans.


Walking back to the Grand Caravan, my grandmother whispered to me, "They say that if you embrace a pine tree, you get its energy."










My grandmother grew up in the country. Can't you just picture her as a little girl, in the mountains of Korea, going around hugging pine trees?



Yes, it's a rice cooker. It is, in fact, a rice cooker hooked up to an electric post meant for an RV.


What? When Koreans go camping, they still need rice.










I don't know how she clambered up there, but I turned around and there she was.


We drove around Lake Tahoe, took in a couple vistas, went to a market where we bought $30 of fruit, and then -- well, it's Tahoe, baby, Tahoe! You know what happens in Tahoe.

Go, Grandma, go!

I've never enjoyed gambling, but it was plenty amusing playing with my dad and grandmother. I also got in a good hour of playing House of the Dead III and IV in Harrah's arcade room. I love that game.

We came back in the early evening, and I immediately noticed something missing from the table, where we had left the icebox and about a cup of uncooked rice, in a plastic bag, which was in turn in a plastic container. Looking around, I notice something in the woods about 20 feet away.

Some mischief had clearly taken place in our absence.

Not one grain of rice was left in the bag or container. There were about 7 grains on the ground where we found it.

Best guess? One or more of the chipmunks we saw sniffing around the table later.


Night fell, and we gathered some fallen wood for a fire. The acquisition of marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers had taken place earlier in the evening. But the pieces of wood were a mite too long for the stone circle. We had brought no axe. What to do?

Not to worry. Resourceful, he is, my dad.













Success! S'mores were enjoyed by all (sorry, no pics of that).











And the next morning, we went home. But not before we stopped at a flea market and bought $40 of glassware, including an amber glass fairy lamp for me, for $5.50. It was an impulse purchase, which I usually don't indulge in. But part of the relief about definitiveness in regard to where I'll be for the next 2 years is the realization that hey, I can buy stuff to outfit my own place. Not my grandmother's apartment (2 years in Korea), not a dorm (3 years in Crimson City), not my friend's house where I'm renting a room (2 months this summer) -- my own place. Part of floating around, residentially, was trying to avoid acquiring things, since I'd just have to move it (across the globe, down to the basement for summer storage, etc.). But now, I feel like I can acquire a few things. It's freeing.