One Last Photo

We are particularly proud of this photo of Lake Tahoe and the mountains taken from the deck at our cabin. Doesn't it look like something from a postcard?

Return to the Heat

Today we returned to scorching Phoenix, Arizona. We were sad to leave Lake Tahoe, but that is just a good reason to come back! Thanks to all of you who kept up with our blog. The honeymoon is over and the real marriage begins! :)

Love,

Robert and Clara

Locked Out!

After a long day of physical activity, we decided to relax in the hot tub. Unfortunately, afterward we realized that we had locked ourselves out! It was windy and about 55 and we were wet and cold! So, the hero Robert climbed down off the deck to see if the front door was open. It wasn't, but he was able to climb under the garage door since the bears had ripped it open for us. How kind of them! The door from the garage to the house was also locked, but Robert found a drill bit that he brought back up to the deck and successfully jimmied the sliding glass door open! What a hero!

Biking

Friday, we drove east to Camp Richardson where we took a bike ride along a path with several sights to see. First, we stopped at some old estates from the 1900s. Apparently, a few wealthy families decided to build some summer estates right next to the lake. These were not just little summer cottages, they were huge estates with separate servant houses. We read that the families employed more than 20 servants per household - and these were just their summer retreats! Here are some photos:

Along the bike path was also a nature trail that led to a nice little stream and some beautiful preserved wetlands.

On the way back, we stopped at the Camp Richardson General Store for a treat. :) This area has some little cottage shops and campgrounds.

Virginia City

On Thursday, we drove to Virginia City, Nevada, an old western mining town. We learned a lot about the town's history and visited a few museums. Here are some photos:

Yum! Pickles! Clara would have had a lot of these if she had lived in the 1800s.

An interesting antique bureau

An old pump organ

No caption needed

A view of the main street through Virginia City

Inside Piper's Opera House

An old Chickering piano inside the opera house

The Delta Saloon, one of the oldest in Virginia City

Hiking along the lake

On Wednesday, we drove north up the lakeshore to Incline Village, a popular ski resort (though not currently in season). On the way, we stopped along a scenic area that had a short trail and hiked along the shore. Below are some photos from that excursion.

Go, Robert, go!

An interesting bird we saw. Donald, can you tell us what it is?

After our day trip, we went to karaoke night at a local bar. Here is Clara singing Etta James' "At Last" dedicated to her new husband. :)

Wedding Day

Before the wedding, Robert was starting to understand why a bride needs bridesmaids. However, he made a very good Maid of Honor helping Clara with her hair and jewelry. Below are some photos before the ceremony.

The ceremony itself went off without a hitch. We had a professional photographer and videographer, so you all will be able to see for yourself later. We decided to have the wedding inside the chapel in front of a large picture window overlooking Lake Tahoe. We were going to have it on the outside terrace, but it was very windy and we decided just to take photos out there after the ceremony.

The wedding began with Bach's Air on the G String (which for some reason Robert thinks is about underwear!). The non-denominational minister was very warm and calming. She had a soothing demeanor and an eloquent speaking voice. Included in the ceremony was an Irish blessing, a reading from 1st Corinthians, and reciting our vows that we wrote ourselves. We both actually got through it without choking up too much! The ceremony ended with Robert's musical selection of "It's a Beautiful Day" by U2.

After the wedding, we decided to walk around Heavenly Valley for a bit and take some photos. For those of you who have never been to Lake Tahoe (first of all, you have no idea what you are missing!), Heavenly Valley is located near the south shore of the lake, boasting one of the area's most popular ski resorts. You can see the ski lift behind us in some of the following photos.
For our wedding dinner, Robert made reservations at Kitchen 19, a popular restaurant on the 19th floor of Harvey's Resort and Casino with unbelievable views of Lake Tahoe and the mountains. We had an elegant dinner and received many congratulations from people dining at the restaurant.

When we returned to the cabin, we took some more photos with our mini wedding cake and champagne.

We are both pleased with the way our wedding day turned out. It was a wonderful day and evening that we will remember forever. It does sadden us that our loved ones were not here to share in our happiness, but we have to admit that having a wedding without guests to worry about helped us to focus each other and on our love and committment to our marriage. We are looking forward to celebrating with all of you in Indianapolis and Phoenix at later dates. We want to thank you all for your support and love for us and we will see you soon!

Love,

Mr. and Mrs. Row

Bear in the hot tub!

Yesterday morning, Frank (the maintenance guy) came over to clean and refill the hot tub. He told us an interesting story about a bear in the hot tub! Apparently, the previous tenants were hanging out in the hot tub when they spotted a bear below the deck. Seeing as they must have been PhDs in wildlife ecology, they decided to feed the bear from above. For some reason, they were surprised when the bear began to climb the deck to the hot tub. According to Frank (though we haven't yet found evidence of this), there is a video somewhere on the Internet of the bear in the hot tub! Below is a photo of the bear's damage to the hot tub cover and also a photo of the garage door which we mentioned in yesterday's blog.

Arriving at our cabin

We arrived at our cabin at Lake Tahoe just in time for sunset. When we pulled up in the driveway, however, we noticed that the garage door had been damaged as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it. We were told that the front door would be open, but of course, it wasn't. So, Robert went around to the back, climbed up to the deck, and was able to get in the sliding glass door. Great! We're in! So, what's with the garage door? As we stood in the living room with the glass door open, we got a call from a neighbor who wanted to let us know about the black bear who has been making its way through the neighborhood. Clara frantically motioned to Robert to shut the door, but of course, there was no bear in sight...yet. Stay tuned to find out if we spot it! Anyway, we were informed that the bear had mauled the garage door to get to the garbage that had been left there by some previous visitors. We have decided to keep our trash in the kitchen until it is full and then take it ourselves to a dumpster! We'll see how it goes!

The cabin has three decks attached, each one at a higher level. The second deck has a hot tub (which we haven't tried out yet) and the top deck has amazing views of the lake...

On the way to Tahoe

We flew standby to Reno, Nevada on Sunday evening and got seats in First Class! We stayed in Reno the first night and went to pick up Robert's tux before hitting the road to our cabin at Lake Tahoe (about an hour drive). Of course, there are always mishaps in adventures, right? We had a hard time finding the tux shop because the salesperson forgot to mention that it was actually inside the mall. Also, there was a problem with the tux...the sleeves on the jacket were too short. Luckily, they lengthened them in a matter of minutes and we were on our way.

Following are some photos taken on the road to Lake Tahoe.

View of the mountains in the distance from I-395

First sight of the lake with the late afternoon sun shimmering down

We made a stop along the way to take a closer look at the lake. Robert is very contemplative. Hmm...I wonder if there is any way I can get out of this...

Another view of the lake

Interesting rock formation along Highway 50