How to Stuff Three Days of Venice Into Just 24 Hours

Hotel Campiello. It took the fading sunlight at dusk to unmask its mysterious location.

 

Part Two: Sweet Anticipation. Getting There is Half the Fun, Right?!

“Is this it?” A little dazed and confused we all four traded frantic looks.

“No,” Jay exhaled, standing now.

Statue of Victor Emmanuel II in Venice at San Zaccaria Photo by Stephen Howard

Is this it?

None of us knew exactly what we were looking for.

We collectively lost our confidence in our ability to recognize our destination in time.

“No,” Jay said less sure than he let on.

But, then it was.

And as we feared, we almost missed our harbor stop struggling and lugging, well, luggage,  up the steps to the deck and then walking across the gang plank before the public boat pulled away.

Transportation

Public Boat Alilaguna Line – 30 Euros for Two

Then the fishing began.

We fished through our notes, both printed and in my iPhone, for directions from the harbor to the Hotel Campiello.

We wandered around in crowds of tourists like us and in tour groups unlike us.

You know how it is when you rush around searching for something so urgently  that every other sense shuts down?

We almost missed the unique smells of salty air and ignored the clean ocean breezes on our skin.

Even back home in California there’s something unique about the mix of diesel fuel and vacation smells you notice when crossing the bay between Balboa Island and Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach.

Venice delivered its own brand, a type of pungent fragrance lingering lightly in the air.

Elle shot an apprehensive glance to Emma and whispered, “I don’t see any street names, do you?

No,” Emma replied looking uneasy now.

We approached an open air cafe.

I wandered down an alley next to it just at dusk with a few dark shadows beginning to linger.

Jay and I shared puzzled looks.  Shouldn’t it be here?

Up and down the harbor we strolled looking for clues, our rolling suitcases trailing us like a shadow.

Rolling suitcases trailing us like a shadow over pedestrian bridges. Photo by Stephen Howard

Something smelled fishy.

Emma looked doubtful. “Aren’t we staying just east of St. Mark’s Square?”

“I think so,” I said feeling confused and mildly annoyed.

It’s supposed to be near the Bridge of Sighs, where is that?” Jay asked scratching his head.

We’re supposed to see a half of dozen boutique hotels recommended by Rick Steves.” Elle said with a look that signaled her energy was draining.

Any more clues?” I wondered.

This is the Riva degli Schiavoni waterfront promenade, right?” Emma confirmed. Looking at her notes as she continued,

Entrance to Hotel Danieli on San Zaccaria harbor. Photo by Stephen Howard

Steves says to look for hotels, like ours, that rub drainpipes with five-star, palatial hotels where the wealthy stay in Venice.

Its 16 rooms lie just 50 yards off the waterfront in a tiny square.

And it used to be a convent in the 1800s.

Did Mark Twain Visit the Convent?

My mind drifted sideways from its purpose at the thought of the 19th century.

I wonder if Mark Twain strolled along this very water front?

I vaguely recalled he too traveled to Venice, Florence and Rome.

In the fall of 1878 Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) stayed in Venice with his family.

Mark Twain

According to his three volume Autobiography, “They arrived on the evening of 25 September after an exhausting day’s travel from Bellagio, on Lake Como.  They stayed at the Grand Hotel d’Italie, whose south side was on the Grand Canal.

Now what about us?

We too felt exhausted and frustrated.

Our own hotel shouldn’t be this difficult to find.

Shouldn’t we ask?” Emma and Elle offered.

C’mon, you’re kidding, right?” the two totally lost, cave-dwelling, hunter-gathering guys sheepishly snapped.

Finally, we returned in defeat to where we started, to the open air cafe.

The ladies politely asked for directions hoping the server would understand English and be willing to aid pathetic tourists yet again.

He pointed to “my alley” which served to shore up my fragile instincts.

We retraced my steps thirty minutes earlier on uneven cobblestones when I concluded we were nowhere close to the hotel supposedly yards away from the water front.

Great instincts, horrible observation skills.

But, there it was down one of the kinds of “alleys” we were destined to appreciate in every other Italian destination we visited.

A lit sign above a doorway.

“Hotel Campiello.”

Italian Speakeasy

It took the fading sunlight at dusk to unmask its mysterious location.

It felt like a scene out of a roaring twenties flick.

A hidden door.

A secret knock.

A buzz and we were in.

Lobby of Hotel Campiello. Photo by Stephen Howard

Once inside we became charmed by the hotel keeper, who quietly demurred when I asked if she were the owner – “Not yet,” she said, “but someday.

We instantly agreed with how Rick Steves described it as “lacy and bright” decor with the feeling of tranquility that fills you.

Two things were on our collective minds – dinner and bed.

We found our rooms and quickly returned to the lobby for a local restaurant recommendation, not too far away so we could find our way back by following Italian bread crumbs.

Wait Until 7, Never Leave

Di Foffani Francesca,” she said.

We discovered something new to us.

Most Italian restaurants don’t serve until after 7pm.

Di Foffani Francesca http://sestantevenezia.com

And, while the good old truck stop rule of thumb applies in the US, it doesn’t here.

No crowd at seven means nothing about the quality of food.

Locals don’t seem to show up until 8 or 8:30 pm.

And that’s just the beginning of the trickle until the noise and fun begins later in the evening.

Oh, and Rick Steves was right when he said, in Italy you can order a meal and linger all evening.

No manager or restaurant owner expects to turn the table as many times as she can to boost her profits.

There was this small, intimate restaurant somewhere in LA or maybe Beverly Hills whose gimmick was to take your order, choose not to fill your water glass unless you insisted (during the multiyear drought and all) and then turn an hour glass over when your server returned with your order.

As the sands of time obeyed the physics of gravity and the last particle fell, she returned with your bill and shoed you out so someone else having waited an hour eagerly took your spot.

Patrons loved it.

Go figure.

Meals

Di Foffani Francesca, Castello 4687, Venezia : 82 Euros / 41 Couple

  • Coperto (Cover Charge) – 3 Euros each
  • Pizza Margherita Gourmet – 15 Euros
  • Calamarta Frutti Di Mare – 15 Euros
  • Lasagna Melanzane – 16 Euros
  • Cabernet – 21 Euros
  • Acqua Nat 1LT – 4 Euros

But, here in Venice at Di Foffani Francesca we couldn’t even get our server’s attention even when our patience wore out.

Nor for that matter after other meals in Venice, or later in Florence or Sienna or Cinque Terra or any of the Tuscany towns or at the end of our trip in Rome.

Even when we felt patient, relaxed and mellowed out (by American standards) we still couldn’t figure out the protocol for settling our bill.

But, here we were exhausted by the fourteen hour flight, jet lag, and we just wanted to pay.

But, enough about that now.

A Day Ahead

Was it Wednesday night or did I wait until Thursday morning?

We intended to stay a day ahead of our itinerary, so with a train trip coming up, our first in Italy, I went online using the hotel’s WIFI to book a train.

Which was an epic fail.

A no go with my iPhone, even after getting help from the new guy at the front desk who also lost his patience.

Let the Vacay Begin

1st full day in Venice, Italy at breakfast in the Hotel Campiello. Photo by Stephen Howard

At our prearranged time we huddled around a small table in the lobby to eat a version of what each of our other hotels offered free for breakfast.

Twelve months ago we debated where we would go, what we would see, which hotels we’d book, how much time we’d enjoy at each destination and how much we wanted to spend for the whole vacation.

We’d meet and discuss where we should go, why we were interested and how much time we wanted to devote – two to three days at the most – so we didn’t feel rushed.

Six months had gone by.

Our itinerary had been locked down.

Life Happened

We didn’t know much about Venice other than stories about Casanova and gondolas attracting us originally for a romantic celebration of our anniversary.

After the Delta – KLM – Air France – Customs – windshield-less beginnings, could we regain that feeling?

Or would this be more of a task?

Check it off your bucket list because, “they” told us we had to.

That was in our planning stage.

But here we were, day one in Venice.

We pulled out notes and began recalling bits and pieces between bites.

Elle and Emma fumbled through their separate, but well-worn pages of identical guide books to answer the question, “What did Rick Steves tell us we should know to fully appreciate and experience everything we could?

He wrote that Venice is the best preserved, medieval-to-Renaissance, big city in Europe.

Leonardo

I’m a fan of the Renaissance and Leonardo da Vinci.

So, I wedged in a little history into the conversation, “As the Second Italian War broke out in 1499, Leonardo da Vinci fled Milan for Venice, where he was employed as a military architect and engineer, devising methods to defend the city from naval attack.

Really?” Jay shrugged.

Portrait of Leonardo Da Vinci by Francesco Melzi

I missed his body language and continued to lecture everyone.

Leonardo had left Florence when his patron, Lorenzo de’ Medici, sent him on a mission of peace to his rival, the Duke of Milan.

But over the ensuing years Leonardo became a “hired gun” to Italy’s feuding powers, such as the Borgias and the Doges of Venice shoring up defenses and creating maps of their regions.

I concluded my exposition with, “His keen mind was very much in demand.

Who knew,” Jay said while reaching for a banana.

More about Leonardo when we reach our next destination, Florence I promised.

Arriving in Venice by boat tipped us off to some other facts.

Just the FAQs Ma’am

Elle and Emma brought Jay and me up-to-date according to their guide books.

We’re surrounded by hundreds of islands.

And over 400 bridges and 2000 alleys

The “reversed-S” Grand Canal, 2 miles long 150 feet wide in some places and about 15 feet deep. Photo by Stephen Howard

About 25 miles of canals drain Venice proper into the Grand Canal.

Those 45 small waterways are known as rivers to the locals, “Rio Novo”.

They reminded us that we chose to base our accommodations in San Marco, the heart of the city as a convenient way for our launching romantic adventures.

And, shopping.

A Little History for Context

We wanted to experience the Piazza San Marco, the Rialto Bridge and maybe the Accademia Bridge.

Oh, and the Campanile – the dramatic bell tower in St. Mark’s Square.

About 1500 years ago in 518 A.D. Venice provided refuge from marauding barbarians protected by its lagoon.

During the middle ages Venice managed a profitable East-West trading route and prospered.

About three hundred years later, the bones of San Marco (St. Mark) were smuggled to Venice in 828 A.D.

Marco Polo

If you were a fan of the Netflix’s series about Marco Polo like Jay and I were, aside from the airport’s name, we wanted to know what his connection to Venice was?

Jay said he remembered Netflix focused on the trade routes into Kublai Khan’s Asia, but didn’t remember anything about Venice.

Me either,” I said

I found out later that Marco Polo joined his father and uncle for almost two and half decades before returning to Venice.

Their epic journey ended in 1295.

Marco Polo returned with his fortune converted into gemstones.

By then the Republic of Venice had been embroiled in several wars with the Republic of Genoa for dominance in the Mediterranean Sea, each having established their claims on foreign lands.

Feeling patriotic, Marco funded a galley and went to war.

He was captured in 1296 and spent several months imprisoned.

During his jail time he dictated his adventures to his cellmate, Rustichello da Pisa, which became “The Travels of Marco Polo.”

While some of the tales may have been embellished, exaggerated or supplemented by da Pisa’s own accounts, Christopher Columbus found enough inspiration in the Far East descriptions that he wrote annotations in his copy planning to visit China, India and Japan himself.

Time is of the Essence

Footbridge with Emma posing and Bridge of Sighs over the canal in the background. Photo by Stephen Howard

Facts are facts and history is history, but we didn’t have much time allotted for Venice as it was.

So, we quickly grabbed our maps and tour books off the table and struck out for St Mark’s Square which was almost around the corner from Hotel Campiello.

Back to the wide stone promenade, the Riva degli Schiavoni, along the water’s edge.

Okay, one more fact.

In the ninth century the promenade was constructed from the silt dredged from the lagoon, with enough to cover the distance between the Old Arenal and St. Mark’s Square.

In the 21st century, we marched with purpose up and over bridges with ramps.

We dodged in and out of the flows and globs of bunched up tour groups taking selfies.

A Day and a Half’s Worth of Exploring St. Mark’s Square by Noon

Standing in front of the Basilica, eyeing the heavy door of wrought iron and glass, Emma and I popped in our ear buds to take Rick Steves tour from his app.

In our rush, Jay and Elle forgot their earphones back at the Campiello and tried to share one set with a left in Jay’s and a right in Elle’s ear.

First day with St. Mark’s Basilica under construction in the background

We saw the line forming at the Basilica, but decided to follow Rick’s numbered itinerary full of descriptions of museums, cafes, and sights to take in within the square.

But, our tour didn’t sync with Elle’s and Jay’s.

And it became more difficult to follow the clues to where Rick was taking us.

So, Jay pointed to the opposite corner and we followed his lead. 

We employed the Disneyland strategy.  Board the train at Main Street station.  Circle the park checking out where shortest lines prevailed. Disembark and head to that attraction.

We circled the square without a train, but with lines of people all around us.

Exploring the shops and alley ways by Osteria Enoteca San Marco. Photo by Stephen Howard

We found some shops.

Or I should say Minnie and Daisy did.

We guys, Mickey and Donald, focused on where all four of us needed to be with enough time to tour the Grand Canal by boat, as if there was any other way.

And take a Gondola ride.

Oh, and tour the Basilica.

Which Emma and I did by ourselves, since Elle had met her stamina limit walking all four sides of the square and in alley way offshoots during our morning exploration.

Elle and Jay returned to a cafe near our hotel for rest.

Emma and I quickly moved through the line.

Entrance to St. Mark’s Basilica (Basilica di San Marco) built in 11th century replacing earlier church. Bones of St. Mark have been in the church since around A.D. 830. Photo by Stephen Howard

We couldn’t believe our luck as we caught a break when various groups thinned out.

Inside small clusters of tourists clogged the way, but we found room to maneuver weaving in and out of the throngs.

Rick Steves whispered highlights in our ears and sometimes Emma and I were synched to the “same page.”

He told us about how the basilica had been constructed less like the elongated St. Peter’s cathedral that we were yet to see at the end of our itinerary in Rome. 

We glanced in amazement with each other listening intently.

Not having anything else as a comparison, we moved on with the flow of tourists, and barely noted that the sanctuary epitomized a Greek Cross.

I recall in Dan Brown’s “Inferno” he writes a lengthy passage describing a critical plot point about St. Marks.

Brown’s main character, Robert Langdon, waxes poetically or better yet scholarly about, “St. Mark’s was so eastern in style that guidebooks often suggested it as a viable alternative to visiting Turkish mosques, many of which were Byzantine cathedrals … one’s passion for Byzantine art could be satisfied with a visit to the secret suite of rooms just off the right transept in this church, in which was hidden the so-called Treasure of St. Mark—a glittering collection of 283 precious icons, jewels, and chalices acquired during the looting of Constantinople.

Nearly completing the tour within the flow of other tourists, we paused momentarily to admire the splendor of the Pala d’Oro — the Basilica’s altar — a “fused tapestry of previous works” like Byzantine enamel in a Gothic frame.

And, according to Langdon aka Brown it is, “adorned with some thirteen hundred pearls, four hundred garnets, three hundred sapphires, as well as emeralds, amethysts, and rubies ….

With its interior lined in solid gold tiles, it’s no wonder that St. Mark’s was known locally for centuries as the Church of Gold.

Doge’s Palace

Emerging from the dark interior of St. Mark’s Basilica into the bright sunlight signaled it was time to return to the harbor and meet up with Jay and Elle for the second half of the days activities – returning to the lagoon and adventuring into the Grand Canal.

Doge’s Palace in Venice Photo: Wikimedia Commons

What Emma and I hadn’t realized as we passed the massive, sprawling complex of buildings on our left towards the harbor where tourists queued in wrap-around-the-block lines was the Doge’s Palace.

Where did we go wrong?

Someone once said that St. Mark’s Basilica and the Doge’s Palace were built by the doges for the doges.

Like dukes who controlled the territories in places we hadn’t yet visited on our itinerary, Doges ruled Venice — possibly numbering as many as 100 over the ten centuries which first began in 697 A.D.

While their dynasty came to an abrupt end in the late 1700s when Napoleon conquered Venice, historians (and clued in travelers) find their story of power and glory riveting.

  • We missed visiting the huge museum in the palace for one, and the opportunity to experience its chambers, living quarters, courtyards and prison network.
  • We missed making the connection to the Doge’s Palace while taking one of our first scenic photos, behind Emma in a tight canal bridged by an enclosed tunnel — the Bridge of Sighs.

Apparently those sighs weren’t passionate sighs from couples in love, but from misery, as the walkway connected the palace with the prison.

Prisoners died in their cells and others cried out in anguish and moans which echoed out into the canal.

Casanova and Campanile

Casanova Museum of Experience

One prisoner held for over 15 months, but who escaped with the help of his keeper was the great lover, Casanova.

We had been so intent on finding our way to St. Mark’s Square that we paid little attention to anything else.

And that included the towering redbrick bell tower, Campanile di San Marco, which served as a beacon so lost travelers navigating the maze of canals could instantly find their way back to St. Mark’s Square.

Demonstrating that one cat had exhausted eight lives previously, it became the only victim in 1902 when the entire 300-foot tall tower collapsed including with the golden Archangel Gabriel previously perched at the top.

The Basilica and 325-foot-tall Campanile in the square almost two foot fields long. Photo by Stephen Howard

Hours later the line to tour St. Mark’s Basilica itself had started and stopped differently.

This time tourists lined up on raised platforms.

Yes, I was right.

The others hadn’t believed me when first puddles began appearing in the square.

And eventually deeper water followed.

So the line needed to be elevated to keep their shoes and socks high and dry.

Dan Brown’s Robert Langdon character supposedly had visited St. Mark’s Square on a research trip.

In the novel he had made an off handed comment, “No worse than Venice in flood season.  (The square) had been under a foot of water, and he had walked from the Hotel Danieli to the basilica on wooden planks propped between cinder blocks and inverted buckets.

Part Four: 

 

Celebrate Leonardo da Vinci Life on the 500th Anniversary of his Death

Timing is everything.

Just in case you haven’t heard Italian towns and European museums have scheduled events in 2019 celebrating Leonardo da Vinci’s art and amazing genius marking the 500th anniversary of his death.

Travel is the best  way to gain worldly experience learning about other cultures, languages and cuisines.

And we all know how wonderful it is to travel to Italy anyway.

But this year is special. If you had a chance to ask Leonardo, he would have told you to never go too long without a sunset.

You are never too old, and it is never too late. But, you’d better book the flight.

Planning and Timing

Is there any bad time to visit Italy?

Italy’s fall, which runs from September through November, is one of the shoulder seasons, though September can still be quite busy in some areas. Nevertheless, the weather cools off in these months, making it far more pleasant than the sweltering summer. However, beaches may be less alluring once the sea temps drop. By late October, a huge chunk of hotels — especially those around the coast or on islands — close for the winter season. 

What can go wrong?

“Over 70% of Venice  in late October 2018 was underwater. People in the lagoon city were trying to deal with the water damage, while wading through over knee-high water. Spread across dozens of islands and known as “the floating city” for its ubiquitous canals and bridges, Venice has grappled with inundation for centuries. But due to natural subsidence and the higher tides caused by global warming.

Packing and Unpacking

One bag or two?

“Where I live, it’s just cobblestone, and that’s very annoying with the rolling suitcase. A lighter bag can make your next trip less stressful and more joyful — sometimes in unexpected ways. Because they don’t check bags, they also don’t need to pay checked-bag fees when flying, which typically run about $25 per bag.”

Legends and Geniuses 

Curated by Steve Howard for the “Western Skies and Island Currents” digital magazine.

Mark Twain visited Italy four times in four decades: the initial foray took place in the summer of 1867, the last stay in 1903-04. In 1867 he visited Genoa, Italy. From there, Twain and two companions went to Milan and Lake Como and visited Bellagio, moving on toward Venice and continuing to Florence and Rome before rejoining the ship in Naples.

Leonardo da Vinci’s 500th Anniversary

“In Florence: Events at the Museo Galileo include a spotlight on Leonardo’s library (June to late September 2019) and the quest for perpetual motion (mid-October 2019 to mid-January 2020). The Palazzo Vecchio explores Leonardo’s relationship with Florence (late March to late June 2019) and probes the mystery of his lost painting The Battle of Anghiari (late February 2019 to mid-January 2020).”

Two-Week Bucket List Itinerary

Trip of a Lifetime.

“If you are planning your first trip to Italy, this itinerary is a great place to start. With two weeks in Italy, you can visit the highlights…Rome, Florence, Venice, the Amalfi Coast, Tuscany, and the Cinque Terre. Visit ancient historical sites, cruise the canals in Venice, dine on Italian food, go wine tasting in Tuscany, relax on the beach, walk through the heart of Rome, and watch the sunset from the Cinque Terre. It’s the trip of a lifetime.”

Vacation Planning Timeline (Source LA Times, 2011)

One Year Ahead

1.    Research Websites, Guidebooks and Travel Agents

2.    Budget Room, Food, Sightseeing and Entertainment Per Day

3.    Refer to Per Diem Allocations for Estimates

4.    Open a Savings Account

5.    Find Calendars of Events for Timing Better Deals

Six Months Ahead

6.    Optional for Traveling Abroad  — Passport

7.    Shop for Appropriate Shoes and Break Them In

8.    Schedule Medical Appointments for Shots

9.    Get Information and Maps from Tourism Offices

10.  Inspect Camera Gear and Use New Equipment Twice

11.   Request Vacation Dates from Work

 

Is Tahoe’s Real Estate Market About to Repeat Itself? Will You Miss Out?

Luke Curran compared the cost of living in Lake Tahoe to other real estate markets.

Google Maps
“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” – Mark Twain

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

Part One: Market

5-Year Time Frames 2015 -2020

In the summer of 2015 an article quoted Chase International’s take on home prices.

Lake Tahoe home prices continue to rise 14 percent to $525,000. Overall sales around the lake dipped slightly from this time last year, with Incline Village seeing decreases across the board and Tahoe City seeing healthy improvements.

Courtesy VanceFox.com

Sotheby’s International Realty Sierra compared 2015 Incline Village/Crystal Bay Real Estate Market

  • Non-Lakefront Properties improved since our first post recession, come-back  year in 2013.
  • A relatively strong supply of inventory exists in our Incline Village and Crystal Bay
  • Lakefront condo sales dropped from 14 in 2013, to 13 in 2014, down to just 7 in 2015.

In the winter of 2016 Deb Howard & Co of South Tahoe Real Estate described the South Shore Lake Tahoe market as experiencing

… slow but steady growth, both in sales and pricing projected at 5%

Courtesy of Tahoe Luxury Properties
  • Tahoe-Truckee real estate market for luxury home sales decline at end of 2015
  • Luxury home sales in North Lake Tahoe and the Truckee area down 39 percent from the 82 high-end sales during the fourth quarter of 2014 20 percent decline

But, overall 2015 was a good year for the housing market in general in this region.

“Inventory levels are starting out 2016 traditionally low.”

Courtesy of Tahoe Luxury Properties

In terms of luxury sales, Truckee communities boasted the most with 24, followed by North Lake Tahoe, West Tahoe Olympic Valley and then Alpine Meadows.

Realtors looked favorably towards 2016.

Why?

South Tahoe Real Estate explained it this way.

With the inventory available coupled with homes still priced at 5-6 year lows and very favorable interest rates, the conditions are attractive for savvy real estate investors who want to get into the Tahoe-Truckee market

When things start to normalize again both the buyer and seller have peace of mind.

The good news –  at the macro level:

  • US underlying economic fundamentals are forecast to be stable
  • GDP at 3%,
  • unemployment decreasing to 5% and
  • interest rates hovering at historic lows of 4-5%
  • all of which contribute to consumer confidence uptick!

The good news – at the overall Lake Tahoe Real Estate Market level:

  • Stabilized values remove years of uncertainty and drive a new infusion of qualified home buyers, investors and vacation lifestyle buyers.
  • Value pricing coupled with low interest rates favors a diversification of a financial portfolio toward tangible investment – read “real estate.”
  • Attractive investment property opportunities with  favorable returns on investment (ROI). Lake Tahoe’s lack of inventory keeps prices moving up.
  • Lake Tahoe emerges again as a revitalized resort community with four season to enjoy quality-of-life and lifestyle desires.
  • The beauty of the area draws investors and second-home owners heavily from the San Francisco Bay Area where record amounts of wealth have been created over the last few years.

And that translates into demand for Lake Tahoe real estate and drives growth at a rapid rate.

Luke Curran compared the cost of living in Lake Tahoe to other real estate markets.

www.SeniorLiving.Org

When you add up the major expenses – housing costs, groceries, utilities and transportation –  because of the area’s small population, the cost of living is lower here than in most cities.

In fact he says …

  • The cost of living is 15% higher in San Francisco than it is in the Lake Tahoe area.
  • The housing costs 49% higher in San Fran.

But, according to Chase International

Photo credit: Selbe. on Best Running / CC BY-NC-ND

Mark Twain agreed when he wrote in “Roughing It” in 1880.

“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”

Approaching Lake Tahoe today, there’s no denying the unique rural atmosphere with small lakeside towns.

Whether you travel to the North Shore via I-80 or to the South Shore via US 50.

Steps:

22) Selectively evaluate the best quality-of-life communities to live in and weigh the tradeoffs of risk and rewards for accruing real estate appreciation along a progression of rural and small towns that meet what your pocket books can afford.

30) Review headlines and relevant news as far back as you can find online to surface each community’s unique pulse and identify information necessary to make your decision. Is there a “ticking time bomb” issue you may uncover that eliminates the resort from your bucket list? Search on Topix.com.

34) On your visits look for any newer developments that may trigger changes in neighborhood patterns. New construction in or around the neighborhood? Major regional economic adjustments? Transition from households with children to ones that are empty nests? Rezoning, and dramatically rising/falling land values?

Time to Circle the Lake and Discover Your Next Adventure

Packed in SUVs like sardines, they imagine sliding and skiing and all the fun they bring chasing runs when the lifts open.

 

Yup, Gold Hill. And, then finally Virginia City, brief home of Samuel Clemens where he became Mark Twain.

Part One: Tahoe

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

What if your designer spouse, roommate or mother felt the Washoe clock was so valuable that it proudly sat on your contemporary living room wall, but in a square designer frame?

If you took your marker and drew a line from the center of the lake to the upper left-hand corner at the top of the frame through the clock – lake’s “9” and “10” you’d find Tahoe City on the lake’s border.

And, Olympic Valley (Squaw Valley and Alpine Meadows resorts) Northstar Resort and Truckee.

Most of the tourists originating in Silicon Valley and Sacramento take I-80 northeast to Truckee for quick access.

Packed in SUVs like sardines, they imagine sliding and skiing and all the fun they bring chasing runs when the lifts open.

They connect to Northstar and the lake by taking SR 267 from Truckee and on to Olympic Valley over CA 89.

Actually, if they craved fresh powder at Kirkwood, or at Sierra-at-Tahoe Resort they’d opt for the southern route choosing US 50 leaving Sacramento.

Many choose that route to take them into South Lake Tahoe at the “6” on our Washoe clock.

You can too.

Check first with Siri.

No law against it.

But, after a stop at Sierra-at-Tahoe, and continuing on, you eventually connect with the 89.

The road.

Not on your loved one’s square-bordered contemporary clock face.

Following Lake Tahoe’s western border travel south, between the “9” and the “6,” you’ll come to the intersection where the US 50 and CA 89 meet.

Which is a good thing, trust me.

The 50 north takes you to the southern corner of the lake where Stateline (Nevada) and South Lake Tahoe (California) border each other again at “5” on the clock.

There you’ll find the gondola taking you to Heavenly Mountain Resort just on the California side of the border.

Slowly glide up the mountain top to where you can snowboard and ski all the runs that crisscross back and forth across the state lines.

Then 50 connects the south lake with the north lake following  the eastern Nevada shore until “3” on the ticking clock face, near Glenbrook.

It picks up Route 28 to complete the circle once you pass Lake Tahoe State Park and pull into Incline Village.

But, forget all that.

The part about traveling north.

When US 50 connects to the Luther Pass Road (CA 89) (formerly known as Emerald Bay Road and West Lake Boulevard) somewhere between Echo Lake and Meyers, you travel south for a while until near Sorensen you exit onto Carson Pass Highway (88).

From there it’s a long hop and a skip past Caples Lake until you find Kirkwood Meadows Dr. and Kirkwood Mountain Resort, duh.

Oh, and while we’ve mentioned Glenbrook, the 50 these days takes you east where you can connect with US 395.

You go north on the merged US 50 and US 395 until just south of Carson City, NV.

Then the 50 continues east, now called Lincoln Highway, until just beyond Mound House.

Drive to Route 341 and take it north from the 50 intersection.

Continue until the Route 341 forks and take Route 342 just south of Silver City.

Guess what’s up next?

Yup, Gold Hill.

And, then finally Virginia City, brief home of Samuel Clemens where he became Mark Twain.

And, if you are still playing along with us, Virginia City sits almost directly east of Truckee.

In the upper right hand corner of your spouse’s, roommate’s or mother’s framed Washoe-manufactured leaf-shaped tick tock clock.

Enough about that for now.

During the summer of 2015, you’ll recall we noticed an emerging trend first in Durango and then in the Summit County, Colorado, ski and snowboard resort towns.

The local real estate markets began heating up.

Before we continue our story about Lake Tahoe (and later Mammoth Lakes, California) let’s visit the pros and cons of investing in real estate.

Especially in light of the equity locked up in Baby Boomer households given some of the reverse mortgage scenarios and calculated risks.

Steps:

(32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.

Tahoe

Somebody estimated the sheer volume of water could cover the an area as large as the entire state of California more than 12 inches deep.

 

Nevada owns the water, the shoreline and the gambling on the right, eastern side — roughly a third of Lake Tahoe itself.

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

In the Sierra Nevada mountains Lake Tahoe closely resembles Summit County’s proximity to pristine beauty and ski resorts. 

  • Is now the time to invest your equity in a home or rental bordering both California and Nevada?
  • What do you need to know before taking the plunge into the Lake Tahoe market?

Recall both lifestyle bucket lists — of seven zip codes — on the California itinerary for former Whitefish, Montana “birds of a feather” (BOF) flocking to new nests. 

Four of them you’ll remember border Lake Tahoe.

California Itinerary: Sierra Nevada –

  • Truckee, 96161, 96162;
  • Squaw Valley, 96146; and
  • Tahoe City, 96145

But, first the stats.

Lake Tahoe itself.

  • Elevation – 6,229 feet above sea level
  • Length 22 miles 
  • Width – varies from 10 to 12 miles 
  • Depth – 1,685 feet at its deepest
  • On the list of deepest lakes in North America, Lake Tahoe ranks #3.  
Heading for the Beach

Somebody estimated the sheer volume of water could cover the an area as large as the entire state of California more than 12 inches deep.  

The Washoe Tribe of Native Americans named it “Big Water.” 

A tug of war between the Great and Evil Spirit threw off falling leaves and created Lake Tahoe and a few others nearby including our favorite, Fallen Leaf Lake.

Proud locals, realtors and visitor bureau-types claimed Lake Tahoe is (or was) 97% pure, at least as of the 2003 timeframe when we first checked it out.

Adventures in the Eastern Sierras

The Lake attracted tourists dating as far back as the 1860s, when Mark Twain wrote a few admiring words now etched on a North Tahoe Beach boulder

 “… the fairest picture the whole Earth affords” 

Historically it’s unclear if his inscription occurred before or after he accidentally set a big chunk of the north shore on fire. 

At least, that’s what he confesses to in “Roughing It.”

If you understand the local traffic patterns – when to start and when to finish –  you can drive around the lake in about three hours. 

Or you can hike all or portions of the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail.  

You’d need 15 days to circle the lake, especially if you stopped to enjoy the fairest picture.

Imagine an old-fashioned tick tock clock hanging on your parents or grandparents wall.  

You know the kind with a short hand (why did they call them hands?) for hours and a longer second-hand (not for seconds) but, for minutes.

Now imagine that those poor pioneer families who survived the infamous Donner Party cannibalism led their wagon train into the promised land, to what is now Lake Tahoe.  

And imagine further that their precious clock endured the grueling trek with them from Independence, Missouri.  

But, the harrowing ordeal stretched it lengthwise (ok, like in a classic “Mickey Mouse” cartoon) and ended with an uneven elongated face.

And, if the Washoes manufactured it you might say the clock resembled a leaf, right?

Straighter edged on the right side (eastern) and a half circle on the opposite western side.

Got it?

Good.  

Here’s the artistic part.

Now, if you took a marker (not a permanent marker) and you slowly start to draw a straight line on the clock face you could connect where the elongated “12” should be found straight down towards where the “6” could be found.

Kids. (Or grandkids).

Don’t try this at home.

But, if you stopped drawing the line to a point almost even with “4” and continued to draw it to the right at a slight downward angle you would complete the line at the clock’s edge between the “4” and “5”.

Taking the Scenic Route

Guess what?

You would have drawn the Nevada – California border on a map of the lake. 

It’s that western border you notice on maps of Nevada.  

Where Nevada is wider and boxier at the top, but slices back eastward near the bottom.

Or on the eastern edge of California. 

Where it curves and slides in a laid-back fashion frolicking in the Pacific Ocean and spooning and cuddling Nevada’s vertical, then angled edge.

Except for the part of their bed that is rocky, full of spikier mountain peaks and ancient volcanic cliffs.

The imagined line in reality separates ownership of Lake Tahoe.  

Nevada owns the water, the shoreline and the gambling on the right, eastern side — roughly a third of Lake Tahoe itself.

The north shore boundary between California to the left (ha ha) and Nevada to the right  (ha ha) neatly bisects the top of the clock between the “1” and the “2” in “12.”   

On the Nevada side you find Crystal Bay at the split and Incline Village as you move clockwise on Route 28.

Wanna play some more?

Part Two: Time to Circle the Lake and Discover Your Next Adventure

Steps:

(32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.

Stranded in Mono Lake

At the end of an hour it approached a jutting cape, and Higby ran ahead and posted himself on the utmost verge and prepared for the assault. 

 

On Hwy. 395 between Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes
The agony that alkali water inflicts on bruises, chafes and blistered hands, is unspeakable, and nothing but greasing all over will modify it– but we ate, drank and slept well, that night, notwithstanding.

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

Calvin Higby and Mark Twain decided to explore the area in and around  Mono Lake.

They surveyed all its wonders in a small boat to explore the lake, just as a storm brewed.

Things go from bad to worse.

Adventures in the Eastern Sierras

But we found nothing but solitude, ashes and a heart-breaking silence. 

Finally we noticed that the wind had risen, and we forgot our thirst in a solicitude of greater importance; for, the lake being quiet, we had not taken pains about securing the boat. 

We hurried back to a point overlooking our landing place, and then–but mere words cannot describe our dismay–the boat was gone! 

 

 

Surely, they felt.  There’s couldn’t be the only boat on the lake today.

The situation was not comfortable–in truth, to speak plainly, it was frightful. 

You Can Imagine Twain Hiking the Terrain

We were prisoners on a desolate island, in aggravating proximity to friends who were for the present helpless to aid us; and what was still more uncomfortable was the reflection that we had neither food nor water. 

But presently we sighted the boat. 

For over an hour Twain and Higby paced up and down the shoreline.

It drifted, and continued to drift, but at the same safe distance from land, and we walked along abreast it and waited for fortune to favor us. 

At the end of an hour it approached a jutting cape, and Higby ran ahead and posted himself on the utmost verge and prepared for the assault. 

If we failed there, there was no hope for us. 

The winds didn’t cooperate as hoped for.

But when he gave a great spring, the next instant, and lit fairly in the stern, I discharged a war-whoop that woke the solitudes!

But it dulled my enthusiasm, presently, when he told me he had not been caring whether the boat came within jumping distance or not, so that it passed within eight or ten yards of him, for he had made up his mind to shut his eyes and mouth and swim that trifling distance. 

Only a long swim would probably do them in, but safe in the boat they made little progress.

Boating on Mono Lake in “Roughing It”.

When we had pulled a mile, laboriously, we were evidently in serious peril, for the storm had greatly augmented; the billows ran very high and were capped with foaming crests, the heavens were hung with black, and the wind blew with great fury. 

We would have gone back, now, but we did not dare to turn the boat around, because as soon as she got in the trough of the sea she would upset, of course. 

Our only hope lay in keeping her head-on to the seas. 

It was hard work to do this, she plunged so, and so beat and belabored the billows with her rising and falling bows. 

Both drenched by the alkaline sprays they pushed on forward, against the storm winds.

But things cannot last always. 

Just as the darkness shut down we came booming into port, head on. 

Higby dropped his oars to hurrah–I dropped mine to help–the sea gave the boat a twist, and over she went!

The agony that alkali water inflicts on bruises, chafes and blistered hands, is unspeakable, and nothing but greasing all over will modify it– but we ate, drank and slept well, that night, notwithstanding.

But Twain surveys Mono Lake’s near unchanging landscape and asks an almost universal question on every visitor’s lips.

Mysterious Nature of Mono Lake

… picturesque turret-looking masses and clusters of a whitish, coarse-grained rock that resembles inferior mortar dried hard; and if one breaks off fragments of this rock he will find perfectly shaped and thoroughly petrified gulls’ eggs deeply imbedded in the mass

How did they get there? 

Well, of course, if he were alive in the winter of 2009, he’d have his answer.

Tufa is rock composed of calcium carbonate, or common limestone. 

It is formed when calcium-rich underwater springs in the lake combine with carbonates, known to cooks as baking soda, in the water. 

The result is calcium carbonate, which settles around the springs. 

Decades or even centuries later, these tufa formations slowly grow into towers that may climb to more than 30 feet tall. 

All this takes place underwater.” 

Steps:

(32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.

Twain

“… picturesque turret-looking masses and clusters of a whitish, coarse-grained rock that resembles inferior mortar dried hard …”

Mark Twain
Shuttling as much as he did between Carson City and Virginia City, it was San Francisco that captured his imagination – but it was Mono Lake that almost killed him – and his curiosity.

 

An excerpt from Book Five in “The Knowledge Path Series” dedicated to helping you find the place of your dreams in the Sierra Mountain resorts.

On Hwy. 395 between Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes

We had just visited Lake Tahoe, where Mark Twain set the forest on fire and now Mono Lake appeared before us – the scene of another of his misadventures –

According to the 2009 LA Times article, Twain once said

“There are no fish in Mono Lake – no frogs, no snakes, no pollywogs – nothing, in fact, that goes to make life desirable.” 

Adventures in the Eastern Sierras

He and Calvin Higby – his mining partner — in “Roughing It”-

“… made a walking trip to Yosemite, carrying their packs, camping and fishing in that far, tremendous isolation, which in those days few human beings had ever visited at all. 

Such trips furnished a delicious respite from the fevered struggle around tunnel and shaft. 

Amid mountain-peaks and giant forests and by tumbling falls the quest for gold hardly seemed worthwhile”. 

More than once that summer he went alone into the wilderness “to find his balance and to get away entirely from humankind.”

Get rich schemes and tall tales – both consumed and sustained Mark Twain.

Shuttling as much as he did between Carson City and Virginia City, it was San Francisco that captured his imagination – but it was Mono Lake that almost killed him – and his curiosity.

Mono Lake at Dawn

Higby and Twain decided to explore the area in and around  Mono Lake.

They surveyed all its wonders in a small boat to explore the lake, just as a storm brewed.

Things go from bad to worse.

Twain actually said “They go from worse to a near fatal accident.”

First there’s the matter of all those seagulls.

Twain Least Expected to Find Sea Gulls

Mono Lake is a hundred miles in a straight line from the ocean–and between it and the ocean are one or two ranges of mountains–yet thousands of sea-gulls go there every season to lay their eggs and rear their young. 

One would as soon expect to find sea-gulls in Kansas. 

Then there’s the alien landscape with both hot and cold water.

Hard Boiled and Fossilized Sea Gull Eggs

The islands in the lake being merely huge masses of lava, coated over with ashes and pumice-stone, and utterly innocent of vegetation or anything that would burn; and sea-gull’s eggs being entirely useless to anybody unless they be cooked. 

Nature has provided an unfailing spring of boiling water on the largest island, and you can put your eggs in there, and in four minutes you can boil them as hard as any statement I have made during the past fifteen years. 

Within ten feet of the boiling spring is a spring of pure cold water, sweet and wholesome.

And that’s not the only odd thing.

Half a dozen little mountain brooks flow into Mono Lake, but not a stream of any kind flows out of it. 

It neither rises nor falls, apparently, and what it does with its surplus water is a dark and bloody mystery.

Though they arrived in the July, Twain and Higby couldn’t resist rowing 12 miles to the “big island.”

Curious “Big Island”

About seven o’clock one blistering hot morning–for it was now dead summer time–Higby and I took the boat and started on a voyage of discovery to the two islands. 

We had often longed to do this, but had been deterred by the fear of storms; for they were frequent, and severe enough to capsize an ordinary row-boat like ours without great difficulty–and once capsized, death would ensue in spite of the bravest swimming, for that venomous water would eat a man’s eyes out like fire, and burn him out inside, too, if he shipped a sea. 

It was called twelve miles, straight out to the islands–a long pull and a warm one–but the morning was so quiet and sunny, and the lake so smooth and glassy and dead, that we could not resist the temptation. 

They filled their canteens, just in case as a precaution and pulled ashore at their destination.

You Can Imagine Twain Hiking the Terrain

The island was a long, moderately high hill of ashes–nothing but gray ashes and pumice-stone, in which we sunk to our knees at every step–and all around the top was a forbidding wall of scorched and blasted rocks. 

When we reached the top and got within the wall, we found simply a shallow, far-reaching basin, carpeted with ashes, and here and there a patch of fine sand. 

In places, picturesque jets of steam shot up out of crevices, giving evidence that although this ancient crater had gone out of active business, there was still some fire left in its furnaces. 

Twain found the island’s single brilliantly green pine tree amusing.

It contrasted strangely enough, did this vigorous and beautiful outcast, with its dead and dismal surroundings. 

It was like a cheerful spirit in a mourning household.

Across the two or three miles they explored in vain. And then …

Steps:

(32) Plan extended seasonal vacations during summer and winter months. Group destination locations together in regional trips to explore what several bucket list towns have to offer in the general vicinity – with only a week or two vacation time to spend, we recommend organizing your itinerary by travel regions.