I arrived at about 7pm Monday night, after a long day of flying and a beautiful drive up over Mt. Rose. After I parked outside of Erik's apartment building, his girlfriend Kelly met me on the walkway, her hair already a colorful riot of yarn in anticipation of Burning Man. She welcomed me to Incline and led me up the stairs to Erik's place, where I was immediately greeted by Erik's dog Lucy and Kelly's dog Bailey. Erik emerged from the kitchen behind them and, after saying hi, let Kelly show me around the place.
The apartment is gorgeous, a spacious layout of rooms, each with the high, sloped ceiling of a chalet. Off the living room is a balcony looking out over trees and a babbling brook, with another off of the master suite, giving the place an aesthetic that is half ski lodge, half treehouse. Kelly showed me my bedroom and bathroom, both really nice digs for a substantial stay, and the loft above the living room where Erik has a desk. Then, after some catching up, we all put sweatshirts on and took the pups out for a ride.
The roads in Incline Village cut through fairly dense woods, making it hard to remember that Tahoe is nearby, but it only took a short drive south to draw back the curtain of trees and reveal the blue of the lake, already tinging with the colors of the sunset. All along the road, the high bluffs on the east side seemed to have tilted cars to the opposite shoulder so that the people inside could clamber down stacks of boulders to the water's edge. Erik chose Hidden Beach for us, leading us down a thin trail to a somewhat rocky slope. Navigating the rocks was tricky at first, certainly difficult enough without having the lake constantly demanding my attention. There is something so soothing about looking out over Tahoe, perhaps the staggering clarity that removes any question of what lies beneath. All of the refreshment of other lakes, less plant and animal life to share it with. It's a shame there's no fish to net, but it's not the worst trade-off.
Erik and I talked about the wedding weekend and the gang back home, as well as their upcoming trip to Burning Man and his work. I also learned about Kelly's studies for her MBA and her work as a civil engineer. The dogs put on quite a show as they hopped from boulder to boulder, all the while seeking out strangers for pets and investigating other dogs. I doubt that in my time here I will ever get as adept on the rocks as they are.
After the walk, we went back to the apartment. Kelly got some school reading in while I chatted with Erik as he cooked an excellent steak dinner, with grilled peppers and spinach. After the meal, we settled into the living room to watch several episodes of Breaking Bad before bed.
The next morning, Kelly headed back to Reno after breakfast for meetings and class, while Erik took me on a complete counterclockwise tour around Tahoe. We blew through the resort towns on the California side, skirted the jaw-dropping views on Emerald Bay, and made a quick stop at one of the adventure parks Erik's company built. Erik works as the Director of Design for a company that designs and builds adventure parks. Think of a ropes course plus a series of ziplines, all through the towering trees of Northern California (except that the Tahoe trees are smaller than other NorCal trees of a similar age due to short growing periods). Erik walked me beneath the various courses, showing me how the safety system worked (double clips for adults, a single locked clip for kids) and how the various events were constructed. We discussed his enjoyment of the work and his success in doing it; it's one of the purest examples I've come across of getting paid well to do what you love.
After our drive, we settled back at home for a bit, then went out for a tour of Incline Village itself as Erik did some last minute errands for Burning Man. Along the way, he pointed out the grocery stores, coffee places, and bars...all the necessities, of course. Returning home, we unpacked the supplies and Erik cooked a quick lunch of brats, cheese, and crackers, along with a breakfast scramble to bring to the burn.
As Erik cooked, I took a look at local jobs. There was a wide variety, from Social Media Intern at a local startup to an army of positions at the nearby ski lodges. Though it was nice to see options, it feels too early to make a decision and, as Erik said as I rattled off ideas, the first decision is actually whether or not I'm staying in the Tahoe area beyond September. I was still rolling that over in my head towards sunset as we piled the dogs in the car again and took them out for a swim.
The water in Tahoe is probably about as cold as Champlain, but it's been a long time since Champlain felt at all unfamiliar, so I felt more aware of the cold as I felt my way from the shoreline rocks to an island of boulders using my bare feet. Once there, Erik and I climbed out of the water and hopped from rock to rock with the dogs in tow until we came to a tall boulder standing maybe ten or fifteen feet above the water below. Erik pointed out a specific place to jump into the water, where the lake bed was sand instead of rock, then demonstrated with a leap out over the pure blue. He nailed his landing and was immediately accosted by Lucy, who swam over to him in rescue mode.
Meanwhile, I stared at the jump from up above. It was a little nerve-wracking to be jumping to a specific place, with a margin of error that mean rocks instead of sand. As I looked at it, however, I realized that I had every intention of jumping. What I was doing in my hesitation was trying to let fear run its course so that it did not induce any quick and stupid motions on the way down. Having run through the necessary processing, I leapt off and Tahoe came rushing up to greet me. I landed perfectly fine and emerged from the water to hear Bailey whining at being the only one still stuck up on the tall boulder.
While Erik coaxed Bailey down, I pulled my goggles out of my pocket and slipped them on. Seth had told me that one could open one's eyes underwater and see clearly, but I have to imagine said person wouldn't have contact lenses. With the goggles, though, my hesitance in getting from stone pile to shore evaporated. After years in the much murkier Lake Champlain, now I was in my element, and I dove under the water, pulling myself along the stony bed as though rock climbing horizontally. We all made our way to the shore and scuttled over the rocks back to the car.
Once home and changed, we made our last trip out into Incline, picking up a pizza at Mofo's and bringing it with us to Alibi Ale Works. We each got one of their self-brewed beers and Erik led me past the expanding brewing setup to a relaxed back patio where we ate our pizza and listened to the trivia game we'd walked into. After listening to the answers to a round we would have smoked, Erik mentioned that the score is cumulative by month so if we wanted to play, it would probably be a few points to start with. We came in after the first two rounds of four and actually gave our answers to round 3 in a blitz after telling the host we wanted to play. After scoring one point off the best score in round 3 (sports) and winning round 4 (Presidents), we felt we had made a decent impact. We finished with 27 points; the winning score was 45. Not bad for missing two rounds. But perhaps trivia recaps are as interesting as fishing stories.
After Alibi, it was time for Erik to go and so it was just me and the pups, winding down the day with a beer and the first few episodes of Silicon Valley. It was hard to conceive of Tuesday being my first full day in Tahoe, having crammed so much into it.
It is truly beautiful here and I understand the draw for not only Erik, but all the vacationers and seasonal residents that Tahoe plays host to. It will certainly be an inspiring place to write and a good opportunity for Erik and I to hang out outside of some sort of high-speed event. Still, I find my brain is chugging away at next steps. Though, financially, I could probably stand to spend the month focused on the book and figure out the future later, I'm learning that thinking that way causes anxiety. I don't like not knowing the next step as much as I thought I would. I had to create a daily schedule just to prove to myself that I have plenty of time to write AND figure out a plan, and thank god I did, because otherwise, I couldn't do one without feeling like I should be doing the other, in both directions.
It has helped to have some time in the place to myself, taking the dogs out for walks, doing my own shopping, and getting more stuff I need to work out of the car. I think I have a good approach to the month and, in addition to using my freedom to write, I can also use it to be picky about the path I want to take. Like the jump into the lake, I don't mind the feeling of fear, because I know I'll make my way through it, but I have to be careful in my search for a path so I don't do anything stupid (like get a job here before I know if I want to stay) out of fear.
The roads in Incline Village cut through fairly dense woods, making it hard to remember that Tahoe is nearby, but it only took a short drive south to draw back the curtain of trees and reveal the blue of the lake, already tinging with the colors of the sunset. All along the road, the high bluffs on the east side seemed to have tilted cars to the opposite shoulder so that the people inside could clamber down stacks of boulders to the water's edge. Erik chose Hidden Beach for us, leading us down a thin trail to a somewhat rocky slope. Navigating the rocks was tricky at first, certainly difficult enough without having the lake constantly demanding my attention. There is something so soothing about looking out over Tahoe, perhaps the staggering clarity that removes any question of what lies beneath. All of the refreshment of other lakes, less plant and animal life to share it with. It's a shame there's no fish to net, but it's not the worst trade-off.
Erik and I talked about the wedding weekend and the gang back home, as well as their upcoming trip to Burning Man and his work. I also learned about Kelly's studies for her MBA and her work as a civil engineer. The dogs put on quite a show as they hopped from boulder to boulder, all the while seeking out strangers for pets and investigating other dogs. I doubt that in my time here I will ever get as adept on the rocks as they are.
After the walk, we went back to the apartment. Kelly got some school reading in while I chatted with Erik as he cooked an excellent steak dinner, with grilled peppers and spinach. After the meal, we settled into the living room to watch several episodes of Breaking Bad before bed.
The next morning, Kelly headed back to Reno after breakfast for meetings and class, while Erik took me on a complete counterclockwise tour around Tahoe. We blew through the resort towns on the California side, skirted the jaw-dropping views on Emerald Bay, and made a quick stop at one of the adventure parks Erik's company built. Erik works as the Director of Design for a company that designs and builds adventure parks. Think of a ropes course plus a series of ziplines, all through the towering trees of Northern California (except that the Tahoe trees are smaller than other NorCal trees of a similar age due to short growing periods). Erik walked me beneath the various courses, showing me how the safety system worked (double clips for adults, a single locked clip for kids) and how the various events were constructed. We discussed his enjoyment of the work and his success in doing it; it's one of the purest examples I've come across of getting paid well to do what you love.
After our drive, we settled back at home for a bit, then went out for a tour of Incline Village itself as Erik did some last minute errands for Burning Man. Along the way, he pointed out the grocery stores, coffee places, and bars...all the necessities, of course. Returning home, we unpacked the supplies and Erik cooked a quick lunch of brats, cheese, and crackers, along with a breakfast scramble to bring to the burn.
As Erik cooked, I took a look at local jobs. There was a wide variety, from Social Media Intern at a local startup to an army of positions at the nearby ski lodges. Though it was nice to see options, it feels too early to make a decision and, as Erik said as I rattled off ideas, the first decision is actually whether or not I'm staying in the Tahoe area beyond September. I was still rolling that over in my head towards sunset as we piled the dogs in the car again and took them out for a swim.
The water in Tahoe is probably about as cold as Champlain, but it's been a long time since Champlain felt at all unfamiliar, so I felt more aware of the cold as I felt my way from the shoreline rocks to an island of boulders using my bare feet. Once there, Erik and I climbed out of the water and hopped from rock to rock with the dogs in tow until we came to a tall boulder standing maybe ten or fifteen feet above the water below. Erik pointed out a specific place to jump into the water, where the lake bed was sand instead of rock, then demonstrated with a leap out over the pure blue. He nailed his landing and was immediately accosted by Lucy, who swam over to him in rescue mode.
Meanwhile, I stared at the jump from up above. It was a little nerve-wracking to be jumping to a specific place, with a margin of error that mean rocks instead of sand. As I looked at it, however, I realized that I had every intention of jumping. What I was doing in my hesitation was trying to let fear run its course so that it did not induce any quick and stupid motions on the way down. Having run through the necessary processing, I leapt off and Tahoe came rushing up to greet me. I landed perfectly fine and emerged from the water to hear Bailey whining at being the only one still stuck up on the tall boulder.
While Erik coaxed Bailey down, I pulled my goggles out of my pocket and slipped them on. Seth had told me that one could open one's eyes underwater and see clearly, but I have to imagine said person wouldn't have contact lenses. With the goggles, though, my hesitance in getting from stone pile to shore evaporated. After years in the much murkier Lake Champlain, now I was in my element, and I dove under the water, pulling myself along the stony bed as though rock climbing horizontally. We all made our way to the shore and scuttled over the rocks back to the car.
Once home and changed, we made our last trip out into Incline, picking up a pizza at Mofo's and bringing it with us to Alibi Ale Works. We each got one of their self-brewed beers and Erik led me past the expanding brewing setup to a relaxed back patio where we ate our pizza and listened to the trivia game we'd walked into. After listening to the answers to a round we would have smoked, Erik mentioned that the score is cumulative by month so if we wanted to play, it would probably be a few points to start with. We came in after the first two rounds of four and actually gave our answers to round 3 in a blitz after telling the host we wanted to play. After scoring one point off the best score in round 3 (sports) and winning round 4 (Presidents), we felt we had made a decent impact. We finished with 27 points; the winning score was 45. Not bad for missing two rounds. But perhaps trivia recaps are as interesting as fishing stories.
After Alibi, it was time for Erik to go and so it was just me and the pups, winding down the day with a beer and the first few episodes of Silicon Valley. It was hard to conceive of Tuesday being my first full day in Tahoe, having crammed so much into it.
It is truly beautiful here and I understand the draw for not only Erik, but all the vacationers and seasonal residents that Tahoe plays host to. It will certainly be an inspiring place to write and a good opportunity for Erik and I to hang out outside of some sort of high-speed event. Still, I find my brain is chugging away at next steps. Though, financially, I could probably stand to spend the month focused on the book and figure out the future later, I'm learning that thinking that way causes anxiety. I don't like not knowing the next step as much as I thought I would. I had to create a daily schedule just to prove to myself that I have plenty of time to write AND figure out a plan, and thank god I did, because otherwise, I couldn't do one without feeling like I should be doing the other, in both directions.
It has helped to have some time in the place to myself, taking the dogs out for walks, doing my own shopping, and getting more stuff I need to work out of the car. I think I have a good approach to the month and, in addition to using my freedom to write, I can also use it to be picky about the path I want to take. Like the jump into the lake, I don't mind the feeling of fear, because I know I'll make my way through it, but I have to be careful in my search for a path so I don't do anything stupid (like get a job here before I know if I want to stay) out of fear.
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