With less than ideal snow conditions at the Heavenly Resort a few weeks back, we decided to replace one of our snowboarding days with a snowmobile tour. My brother-in-law had never ridden a snowmobile before, so this was the perfect opportunity.

Chip

We had some difficulty finding a place that was open with the early season conditions, but eventually found Lake Tahoe Adventures.

Follow The Leader

The tour group for the day was very large, so they split us into three or four smaller groups of around ten riders. The experienced riders were placed at the back of the group, and since I had ridden a snowmobile before we were among the more experienced.

Hope Valley

Our tour was throughout the picturesque Hope Valley staring at 7,200 feet, just south of Lake Tahoe. The trail climbs rapidly, quickly heading deep into the back-country.

My Sled

Due to early season conditions, we didn’t veer from the trail and with some timid riders up front our speeds were fairly slow, especially at the start of the trip.

Chip

We took a ten minute break half way through the two-hour tour. After the break we were able to speed up and I think I may have hit 40 m.p.h. at one point. Since I was second from the rear, I could slow down a bit to let the group get ahead of me and then punch it to see how fast I could go.

Bright Lights!

Though the trip wasn’t as exciting as the other snowmobile tour that I took in the past, this was still a good time and I would definitely go back to Lake Tahoe Adventures in the future, but I’d make sure the more advanced tours were offered.

South Lake Tahoe on Dwellable

Another meal that I really enjoyed while out in the Sacramento area a few weeks back was courtesy of Samuel Horne’s in the suburb of Folsom. This bar and restaurant is in the very neat Folsom Historic District, just around the corner from the public plaza and light rail station.

Bar

Samuel Horne’s is primarily a beer bar, but they also have some affordable meals for lunch and dinner. The roughly twenty taps offered a great selection of mostly local beer, some that I’ve heard of and other’s that I wasn’t as familiar with. I would say nearly 90% of the list was from California, and had everything from a few IPA choices to lagers and ciders.

Respect Beer

Just as with Burgers & Brew in Sacramento, all orders are placed at the bar. For lunch it is very hard to pass up their $5 lunch baskets. I went with the BLT and fries. Others in our group had the chicken apple sausage, 2 horne dogs, and the grilled cheese. My BLT was loaded with thick applewood bacon and fresh veggies.

BLT Lunch Basket

Samuel Horne’s is definitely a “better beer” bar, but it is perfectly suitable for a nice family lunch on the cheap. Highly recommended!

After discovering that the snow conditions at the Heavenly Resort weren’t the best, we decided to skip the slopes for a day and took a paddle-wheel boat tour of the Lake Tahoe.

Pier

The two-hour tour was on-board the M.S. Dixie II, the largest cruising vessel in South Lake Tahoe.

The M.S. Dixie II

The cruise left from Zephyr Cove Resort, which I’m sure is a very popular place in the warmer months. We took some time while we waiting for boarding to begin to take some photos on the beach.

Chip and Kim

My brother-in-law was brave enough to take off his boats and dip his feet into the chilly water.

Cold Water

Once on the boat we were treated to breathtaking views of the Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe

We cruised west toward Emerald Bay and the Heavenly Resort quickly came into view.

Heavenly Resort

The boat has a small glass bottom window that was very cool to watch as we entered the shallow waters of Emerald Bay, named after the greenish hue the water takes on with decreased depth.

Emerald Bay

The bay is about 1.7 miles in length, and about two-thirds of a mile wide at its widest point. It is almost completely surrounded by steep mountains.

Group Shot

Emerald Bay is one of Lake Tahoe’s most photographed and popular locations.

Fannette Island Tea House

The only island on the lake, Fannette Island, is found inside Emerald Bay. The stone structure on top that looks like a miniature castle is called the Tea House and was built during the same time that Vikingsholm was constructed, from 1928-29.

Vikingsholm Castle

Vikingsholm is one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the western hemisphere. This served as the summer home for Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight and was completed in 1929.

After enjoying the views in Emerald Bay, we cruised back to our starting point and enjoyed a couple of drinks from the bar. Food is also available for purchase and everything we had tasted very good. I would definitely recommend this cruise to anyone visiting South Lake Tahoe.

Zephyr Cove on Dwellable

Our first stop after landing in Sacramento, California a couple of weeks back was for lunch. Our friends who had recently moved to the area offered to meet us at a burger and brew place. When we arrived at the address they had given us the sign above the door said Burgers & Brew, which is exactly what we found inside.

Inside

After entering the front door, menus can be found in a nearby bucket. All orders are placed at the bar and the food is brought to your table when ready. Drinks are poured right away and can be picked up at the opposite end of the bar. I started with a fresh pour of Pliny the Elder, one of the highest rated beers around. The draft beer selection definitely does not disappoint!

Turkey Avocado Melt

For lunch I went with the turkey avocado melt on sourdough ($7.25) and upgraded my side to onion rings ($.75 more). This sandwich was packed full of avocado goodness and I really enjoyed it. The beer battered onion rings were fresh and tasted great. My plates came with two different sauces on the side. I’m not sure which was for what, but I really liked the spicy mayonnaise with the onion rings.

Turkey Burger

My wife ordered the 1/2 pound turkey burger with sweet potato fries ($7.75). I didn’t sample any of her sandwich, but I didn’t hear any complaints from her. She did comment that the roasted red pepper mayonnaise was tasty. I did sample the crinkle cut sweet potato fries, which were good, but I was really jealous of the garlic curly fries that I saw others order.

Burgers & Brew combines great food with an excellent selection of beer. It’s a win-win in my book!

Ei8ht Ball Brewing is the newest brewery in town. They opened at the end of November and operate their brewing operations and tasting room from inside The Party Source in Bellevue. If you’ve never been to The Party Source, you are really missing out, as their selection of beer, alcohol, and wine is excellent. Now you have even more reasons to visit, 42 reasons actually.

Tasting Room

The tasting room has 42 taps for on premise consumption or for growlers to go. The brewery itself is currently only producing three beers of their own, but I expect that number to continue to grow. That leaves plenty of room for other craft beer from across the globe.

Logo Wall

On my first visit to Ei8ht Ball Brewing I sampled their imperial stout, K-Hole, which is brewed with coffee, cocoa and lactose. I really enjoyed this dark beauty and hope to have many more in the future. It was also great to be able to enjoy the beer while shopping throughout the store. Hopefully they will add some kind of cup holder to their shopping carts to make it even easier. I know that I will definitely stop at the tap-room first on all future trips to The Party Source.

Happy New Year! Below is the list of cities that I visited in 2013 with at least one night spent in each place.

• Cincinnati, Ohio *
• Columbus, Ohio
• French Lick, Indiana
• Williamstown, Kentucky *
• Englewood, Colorado
• Lee’s Summit, Missouri
• Noblesville, Indiana
• Hilton Head Island, South Carolina
• Loveland, Ohio *
• Troy, Ohio
• Louisville, Kentucky
• West Portsmouth, Ohio
• El Dorado Hills, California *
• Stateline, Nevada
• Indianapolis, Indiana

Those cities marked with an asterisk were visited multiple times on non-consecutive days.

See also: 2012 | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 | 2006