Day IV: Vikingsholm at Lake Tahoe

Made a short off-road trek today by Emerald Bay on Lake Tahoe to see Vikingsholm, a 38-room castle built in 1929.  The building shows off classic Scandinavian architecture, and is surrounded by towering cedars and pines, while sitting between steep granite cliffs and the water front.

Vikingsholm; South Lake Tahoe, CA

Day III: San Francisco

Actually didn't take too many pictures today in San Francisco.  Just went to the beach, walked around, and enjoyed the town.  Failed to get close enough to the site of the San Bruno gas explosion (which destroyed nearly 50 homes) to capture any worthwhile pictures.

Day II: Hiking

Freel Peak (10,881'), Job's Sister (10,823'), and Jobs Peak (10,633').

Day I: Yosemite

Travel Day

Apparently I don't travel as well as I used to. My day started with nearly missing my flight because, despite being early to my gate, I became entranced with all the different food options lining the terminal, and like a child separated from a nirvana of candy by just a thin piece of glass, I found my face pressed up to the window of each, drooling with anticipation over all the possibilities. It wasn't until I heard the words, “last call to Dulles. We are closing the doors momentarily,” that I snapped out of it.

Matters only got more complicated when I arrived in Dulles and found my cell phone decided that a life of servitude to me was a life it no longer wanted to be a part of. Given the dependency on my phone for maps, sights, hotels, food, gas, and all else, a dead phone wasn't exactly the best way to start the trip.

I boarded the next plane with a liter of water. I still have absolutely no idea how I managed to do this, but the first thing I did when I got to my seat was somehow hit the cap in such a way that it became entirely unscrewed and that whole liter of water went everywhere, completely drenching me in the process. I was in shock. The previously nice couple that I was sitting next to was in shock (they would have nothing to do with me the rest of the flight). Everyone else was just staring. It was very hard not to laugh.

Lessons Learned:

After traveling for 18-straight hours--sick and with little food all day--mountain biking 9-miles up an 8,000 foot mountain without being acclimated, on a bike where only a third of the gears worked (and barely worked at that), and with brakes that were stuck partially engaged the entire way was probably pretty stupid.

It was pretty awesome too.

Jet Engine up-close

Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion

The Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion was the 40-room house that was the home/office/farm of Colonial Governor Benning Wentworth, son of Lieutenant-Governor John Wentworth.  It's a National Park and National Historical Monument.

Tripyramids

Definitely a hike that gives me a new appreciation for the term 'slide' when describing a trail.  I'll try to break free of all my black & white shots of late, but for the time being, here's some more...

South Slide

A hiker who would soon be disappointed when he realized he was not near the summit 

North Slide trail

Isles of Shoals - Star Island

The Isles of Shoals are a group of small islands approximately ten miles off the Atlantic cost, split between the boundary lines of Maine and New Hampshire.  The islands used to be seasonal fishing camps used by Native Americans before being settled by European explorers in the early 1600s.  I took a boat out to the second largest land mass, Star Island, and toured 46 acre religious and conference center that it is today.

Star Island Art House

Overlooking Gosport Harbor to Appledore Island

Looking over towards White Island Light

The Star Island Fire Station