Lake Tahoe Archives - Page 7 of 8

The Red Hut Cafe, South Lake Tahoe

January 3, 2011 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

The Red Hut Cafe is too great to pass up when you’re in South Lake Tahoe! With 3 restaurants open now, the newest location on Hwy 50 and Ski Run Blvd is now serving dinner! A family run establishment around since 1959, the Red Hut has been know for it’s famous waffles and has a fountain where the soda jerks can put on great show while making an Old Fashion Sundae or Root Beer Float!

Upon entering the restaurant you get a old-time 50’s diner feel, yet you know when you are in Lake Tahoe when you look up and see the full-sized ski-lift chairs as decor, it’s simply awesome. The red and black seats and booths match the red and black of the ski lift chairs and add a modern color scheme. (Photo to the left is the lift seat outside the restaurant). The soda fountain is adjacent to the restaurant as well as a gift shop.

The staff is as friendly as can be and we were treated to speaking with one of the owners, Kelly Gardner who took time while we awaited our meal to give us some history of the restaurant. As we watched her that night, she took time to go around to all the tables and speak with the patrons, it was a great way to touch base with clientele and assure return customers for sure. The atmosphere feels so homey, and you feel like part of the family and not just a number.

There were a number of dinner specials available, all coming with a salad which was fresh and crisp and just enough not to fill you up before the main course. Luckily for the little ones, the breakfast and lunch menus are offered all day as well, the pancakes are huge and delicious especially for a four year old! My husband had a chicken parmesean sandwich which was cooked perfectly and tasted like pizza in a bun he said! I had the spaghetti and meat sauce with french bread, and it tasted so homemade, the flavor was amazing! My daughter and son had burgers that were HUGE and cooked perfectly, maybe next time they will share.

Since we visit often over the course of the year, I’m looking forward heading back to The Red Hut for one of those delicious desserts! Check out the menus (dinner menu is not online yet) and visit when you get the chance!
We were treated to dinner thanks to the owner. The opinions are our 100% honest tried and true experience.

South Lake Tahoe Lodging: Camp Richardson Resort

December 23, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Two weekends ago we left the rain of central California and headed to the Sierras. South Lake Tahoe in fact. It’s one of the very few times we’ve been to the area during the winter with snow on the ground in the past 8 years!

Our goal was to give my youngest her first experience in the snow, my nephews were heading up as well to ski, and my parents were going to get a little gambling in. We stayed at a spot we’d been to many times in the Summer time, Camp Richardson Resort. Our friends have camped in the campground before, we’ve hit the beaches in July, and we’ve also hiked nearby at the Tallac Historical Site/Taylor Creek.

*all photos can be clicked to enlarge!* A year-round destination resort of pure relaxation offering historic lodging, camping, boating, biking, beach-going, lakeside dining, cross-country skiing, sleigh rides, and more, Camp Richardson is going to be our new go-to resort when we make our Tahoe plans. With an assortment of rustic cabins (no TV is rustic to us!!) spread about the property, a hotel, an inn, a marina duplex, and the Richardson House (sleeps 20) for a family reunion, a stay during the winter months can meet all your budget and lodging needs.

We stayed as a family in the Marina Duplex, two side by side condos that sleep six people each. Rented separately or for a larger family, they each have a room, loft, one full bathroom, kitchen, dining and living room with an adjoining door. During the summer the duplex is available at a weekly rental rate, during the winter, rental is on a daily basis ($165 Su-Thurs), with weekends being slightly higher per night ($210).

The best part of the duplex, it sits just yards away from the shore of Lake Tahoe. The piers and boat docks are literally steps away, the scenery, unmatched and literally breathtaking! Look at these adjoining photos, the view from our deck!! We felt like we were in heaven. The silence was golden and if it weren’t for being in the 30-degree range, I could sit on the deck with coffee or a cocktail all day long and admire the lake! Also I appreciate that the duplex is decorated very conservatively, with kids, you don’t ever want to feel that they can move around the place without breaking something expensive. I do wish there was less carpet (or adding a floormat) inside the front door as we had to remove boots each time we went in and out to avoid soaking the floor with snow. Later in the day when we’re in for the night, wearing socks or barefeet across that wet floor was uncomfortable.

Having 3 kids with us, and our car holding our sleds, we had to look no further than the front yard to have activities for the weekend! The natural slope from the duplex to the water provided the perfect hill for sledding! The kids spent hours going up and down and thankfully to the sand at the shore, it stopped the sleds naturally before they’d hit the water. Not used to the cold, we could enjoy the warmth indoors and also watch the kids from the windows!

Indoors in the duplexes, to the kids liking, there were televisions with all the essential channels. The kitchen had everything needed to make a meal in and save some money by not eating out (a grocery store can be found at the Y, about 2 miles away). Upstairs you’ll find a double bed in a room with a door and a double in a loft with plenty of drawer and closet space. Downstairs, there is a sofa bed, chair, and gas fireplace that keeps the place plenty warm. Despite the below freezing temps at night, keep the heat to about 68 at night, especially if everyone is sleeping upstairs. Heat rises and we found ourselves actually cracking a window on the first night!

While staying at Camp Richardson you have access to the nearby General Store, Ice Cream and Coffee Shops, The Beacon Grill located just steps from the duplex, and also Mountain Sports Center for all your outdoor activity needs. Had we not brought sleds, they have them available to rent. We did though have the opportunity to try out something we’ve never done, showshoeing! Due to lack of packed snow, our other option of cross country skiing was out, but we grabbed sets of snow shoes for the five of us and tried it out!

Snowshoes work by distributing the weight of the person over a larger area so that the person’s foot does not sink completely into the snow, the heel is left free so you have normal range of motion when you walk. It takes a little while to get the coordination of it all, but boy is it a great work out, just think of some added weights with each step. There are trails in and around Camp Richardson. We decided to walk down the beach and back for our first experience, having a half-day rental is just the right amount of time to tire out a family of five!
During the winter Camp Richardson is a fabulous place to take your family for some snow fun! I can’t wait to look into staying there on our annual summer trip, whether it be in a cabin or possibly at the campground. Next time you’re in the area, check it out!

We were treated to our stay and 1/2 day showshoeing. The opinions expressed are our 100% tried and true experience.

A Great Meal at Squeeze In Restaurant in Truckee, CA

September 2, 2010 by The Mom Jen 2 Comments

I love to go out for breakfast. I’ve never been a good home chef and let’s face it, my sign in my kitchen that reads, “My Favorite Recipe: Eat Out!” rings true. So when I was planning on visiting the North Lake Tahoe area, I searched around online for a fabulous breakfast spot and came across Squeeze In in downtown Truckee, CA!

My favorite channel to watch, ironically, is the Food Network and when I realized that the restaurant (sister location in Reno)had been featured on a “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” episode, the deal was sealed, I had to visit!

Known for the Best Omelets on the Planet, you know automatically when you reach your destination that the place is great when you see tons of people milling about outside waiting their turn to be seated. It was a gorgeous day in Truckee, and I had been warned that on a Sunday morning, the wait would be a little bit. Luckily the Squeeze is located in a row of fabulous shopping spots and my family and friends and I took a nice stroll downtown while we waited.

The restaurant isn’t called the Squeeze for nothing, when you walk in the restaurant, you literally squeeze your way around to get to your table, another reason why the wait is a little longer, they only have so much room in their narrow location. But, again, the atmosphere was booming and the wait was going to be worth it, I know it!

The decor was fabulous, my kids loved it, bicycles hanging from the ceiling, and the walls were full of fun and unique graffiti by means of people actually signing the walls (permanent markers are given to you as you’re seated)! We actually even found that the tables were signed and we spotted a person from our home town by her signature!
The kids got to signing the walls and my friend and I ordered drinks. Mimosa for her and Hibiscus for me (champagne and cranberry juice). We got a nice serving as well and they were delicious! Since it was closer to lunch when we were there, but some of us were hungry for breakfast, we ordered a little of both. Hubby and I ordered salad and sandwiches, oldest ordered a burger and my two younger kids had bacon and eggs and pancakes (comes with a drink and plenty of food!).

I get a little hesitant when I see a burger and fries for $10 for my almost-12-year old, but she promised she’d eat it all and did and the burger was large! It was juicy and cooked well and my daughter said, “this is a good burger!”

My husband ordered the grilled ham and cheese and was pleasantly surprised when the sandwich came and the ham was actually grilled, not just the outside of the sandwich! The salad (an option vs soup, fries, cottage cheese, sliced tomatoes) was large, and not just an afterthought. Full of flavor and “just right” by my husband.

Now I have a local deli that serves a cranberry turkey sandwich and when I saw “The Day After” meal as something similar, I knew it was for me! Not only did it come packed with cranberry sauce and turkey, it was loaded with the very best part, cream cheese!! It was a triple decker of goodness, they don’t skimp on the meat or flavor! Suprisingly the bread held up and didn’t fall apart on me and I was a happy camper!

Despite the wait, and the tight-quarters, the service was top-notch and the food was excellent for the price. My family and our friends that joined us all left with full stomachs! If you are in Reno you can find another location of Squeeze In with a 3rd coming soon! Locals and travelers to North Tahoe and Reno can join the EggHead Breakfast Club to gain points on every visit towards gift cards as well as a newsletter with bonus info and deals at all Squeeze In Restaurants! Our friends that joined us live in the Reno area, so we’ll definitely be back when we’re in the area and we’ll know to get there early!

We were guests of the Squeeze In and were compensated for our meal for our family of 5. The opinions were our tried-and-true experience and were not influenced by any source.

Summer Mountain Biking at Northstar at Tahoe

August 27, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Thanks to my husband, “The Dad,” for the following awesome review, click on any of the photos to enlarge!…

I’ve been mountain biking around the Tahoe area for the past 8 years and I finally got around to checking out the Northstar Resort Mountain Bike Park. I was worried that once I started riding a chairlift to the top of the mountain I would be too lazy to continue trying to climb the hills myself. This is not the case….the mountain bike park is an entirely different experience. Six hours of downhill riding only really wore me out, in a good way, and I still got up early the next morning to tackle a portion of the Rim trail I had not yet ridden.

First stop was the Plaza Bikes shop in the Northstar village which offers state of the art, full suspension mountain bikes from Giant, helmets gloves and just about anything else you may need.. I was completely satisfied with my rental bike and it took the bumps and bounces without complaint.Lift ticket in hand I took a ride up the gondola to the Lodge at Big Springs where I picked up my bike rental.

Next to the calm ride up the mountain on the Tahoe Zephyr Express (they have replaced every third or fourth ski lifts with a rack that holds four bikes so its basically just like skiing, you ride up to the lift, toss your bike on a rack and hop into a chairlift just behind the bike and off you go) views views and views of the sierras.

A quick hop off the chairlift, bike in hand I hit the trails not knowing what to expect I played it conservative started on an intermediate trail. The trails are marked similar to skiing with a green circle representing easy, blue square for intermediate, black diamond for difficult and double black diamond for crazy.
This first trail was basically a dirt road with some steep spots but totally appropriate for my 9 year old son who will definitely be accompanying me next time.

After getting halfway down the mountain I jumped onto a single-track intermediate trail which is just plain fun, it included numerous berms and jumps and you could basically go as fast as your constitution would allow. 20 minutes later I reached the chairlift again, this time I took the Vista Express chair to the top and was rewarded with a view of Lake Tahoe to the south.

Now comfortable with the intermediate, I decided to take on a black diamond and was thoroughly pleased. This trail was fast, technical and exhilarating all at once, lucky for me I got the chance to catch my breath every 10 minutes or so at trail junctions before dropping off to the next segment. These black diamond trails were challenging yet ride able.

Another ride up the chairlift and a little over confident I decided to see what the double black diamond had to offer. Lets just say that I ended up walking a few sections and wondering how the tire marks made it onto some of those rocks. A quick ride down the mountain to our condo for the weekend for a quick lunch, then back up the mountain with a buddy to ride as much of the mountain as possible.

There are a wide variety of trails to challenge any rider’s ability level, and I noticed that even the most advanced riders are able to challenge themselves by going faster and faster. A number of trails include manmade features such as big air jumps and obstacles, beyond my level of expertise but they always had a safe and sane way around. At the end of the day the entire body feels a little shaky but well worth the dust, sweat and tears.

My husband was given a lift ticket and bike rental to facilitate this review. All the opinions are his tried-and-true experience and was not influence by any source.

Northstar at Tahoe: Family Activities in the Village

August 26, 2010 by The Mom Jen Leave a Comment

Just less than a mile from our Northstar at Tahoe Condo is the Village at Northstar, the main event area of the resort. Here during the winter is where skiers and snowboarders take the gondola up the slopes. During the summer, the mountain bikers take that same ride up to the trails and lifts to the higher runs. If you are visiting during the summer without a bike, you can get hiking passes at any of the ticket booths around the Village and ride the gondola to some great walking paths. The scenery on the ride is top notch!

In the center of the Village is the ice skating/roller skating rink. Our 3 kids all had the chance to skate and had a wobbly time of it! It was their first experience on four wheels and let’s say thank goodness for the rails. The Saturday afternoon we skated a band played some great 80’s music and it was a great time. The rink is open noon-8pm most days and is a $5 charge for skate rental.

Surrounding the rink are both covered and non-covered lounging areas with couches and some spots with fire pits. Evenings even in the summer are cool, grab your favorite spirit at a few of the great free-standing kiosks selling food and drinks and hang out, it’s a gorgeous area!

There are some great shopping stores in the Village like Ambassador Toys and The North Face. During the summer, on Friday and Saturday nights you can watch an outdoor movie with your family in the fresh night air! Herbie Fully Loaded played on Friday night, while Fame played Saturday. Chairs are available on a first come first serve basis, the movie is free!

My youngest tried out the Apex Bungy featuring the Bungy Trampoline, channeling her inner gymnast/acrobat. For $12 you get 5 minutes of excitement as you bounce up and down on a trampoline. I hear from my 4 year old that it makes your tummy feel “wiggly!”

The dining in the Village runs a little higher than if you were to go into nearby Truckee, but it’s convenient and pretty delicious! You will find a common Starbucks available, Earthly Delights (deli/grocery), Mikuni Sushi, and North of the Boarder (Mexican).

I suggest Rubicon Pizza Company! The pizza was fabulous, and we dined again a second night (my girlfriend and I) and the spaghetti bolognese was divine! Great appetizers (wings, mozz sticks) and kitchy mason jar drinks! Rubicon has a fabulous kids menu as well!

Enjoy the Village at Northstar during your stay, there’s something for the whole family!

I was given a $25 GC to spend in the Village along with skating and hiking passes included in our lodging package. The opinions are our tried-and-true experience and was not influenced by any source.