Summer Send-Off

It seems that flipping the calendar page to the month of September is like waving a welcome flag to Fall. My only wish upon returning from my trip was one more weekend at the lake... one more tow behind the boat, one more early morning paddle on Tahoe, one more dinner/drink in a lounge chair on a deck. Fortunately for me, Mother Nature heard my wish and granted me all that I wished and more. And fortunately for me, I have some killer friends.

I've mentioned my lovelies, Chris & Taude, several times throughout my short blogger life and provided peeks into their fantabulous life as caretakers for the Merrill Estate in Tahoe City. This past weekend they extended their wonderful arms to myself and a close crew of their friends to revel in a weekend at the lake. Steven Merrill was kind enough to open his personal home and all it's goodies to us. Being the ever-perfect planners, C & T (as I refer to them in text) lined up a stellar experience complete with food, music, food, relaxation and views of the lake from every angle.

The weekend kicked off on Friday with drinks & dinner at the main house. C & I were greeted at the entrance by Tracy wielding melon margaritas in a cocktail shaker. As we took our first steps onto the back deck, her husband and chef for the weekend, Randy appeared with seared Ahi draped over wasabi guacamole with a slim cracker foundation. A sit, a sip, and a bite in I knew we were in for one hell of a weekend.

With the glorious taste of the Ahi app still resting on my tongue, Randy hollered that dinner was ready. We meandered our way into the dining room to be greeted by our first of many tantalizing spreads. Baby green salad with pear,honey pecans and gorgonzola, spicy baked beans, a blackened pork shoulder (that I am still dreaming about) laid next to two perfectly pink sides of Salmon, warm corn and flour tortillas and a trio of mouthwatering toppings. The next 30-45 minutes were filled with mmms, oh mys, hell yeahs, and "where's Randy so I can kiss him?" I'm sure, tucked in the kitchen, Randy was having a good chuckle knowing that the menu for the rest of the weekend was only going to go from good to great to "ARE YOU F'N KIDDING ME!?"

Once we finished licking our fingers and our plates, it was time to head out for some entertainment via Asylum Street Spankers who were displaying their musical greatness at the Crystal Bay Club. We loaded in the van and hightailed to stateline. Not being familiar with the band at all, I headed in only knowing that the female singer looked like C's sister, Steph (and she totally did if Steph were ready to burst with a baby). We were held captive by the talent through knee slapping at their cornier lyrics and gasping at some of their more off-color numbers.

But the display of musical ingenuity was undebatable. I wish for more visits to our town so that I can further enjoy them. We soon wrapped up our night and sped back to the ranch to hop in bed and dream about what Randy could be making for breakfast.

And what a dream Saturday morning was...reading in the living room as the sun perched over the lake, trying to write about Athens but being distracted by a sight I lived near, sipping coffee and watching the crew wipe the sleep out of their eyes. While Randy cooked and some boated, Chris, Tracy, Kerry & I took to the paddleboards for a leisurely paddle atop the blue. Upon returning, we were greeted with a divine breakfast of egg & meaty goodness paired with unbelievably delicious sweet potato home fries. Once again the moaning of food paradise.

With no plans for the day aside from eating lunch and dinner, we all set out to find our personal happiness whether reading by the boathouse, taking a bike or boat ride, getting a massage from our in-house masseuse, Jen, or just floating about.

We met up later in the afternoon for the 2nd annual tennis "tournament".

Some were competing while others were just goofing.

C was our entertainment with good ol' cheering at the court ("U-G-L-Y, you ain't got no alibi...") and we were kept hydrated by a few batches of refreshing and intoxicating Bourbon Slushies.

Taude won the prize for the best last minute costume and for rocking it so well...

After we rested, showered, slept or whatever everyone did after tennis, we filed into the main living room to mingle, drink, play Rummy, etc.

Randy doesn't like to be duped into singing Eagles cheers ("E-A-G-L-E-S..Whoa, wait a friggin' minute!!")

Randy kept us satisfied with palette cleansing fruit cups until the mussels were ready.

And boy, were they worth the wait. My gift of words can't even begin to describe the treasure trove of greatness he served us. Feeding like we were characters from Lord of the Flies, we dipped, sucked, scraped and sipped every last drop of this dish. We sopped the glory up with bleu cheese garlic bread. We poured the juice into glasses and dreamed of the Bloody Marys we could make. We were cresting on food nirvana.

In a tizzy of food and drink euphoria, we were soon nudged into the dining room for the main course.

Thinking it just couldn't possibly get any better was a huge misunderstanding...chicken roulade with asparagus, Jarlsberg & crab topped with Tracy's delicate yet flavor-FULL curry sauce or a red pepper remoulade, tender fingerling potatoes, sauteed green beans, wine..it's a miracle we didn't start singing or crying!

Once we pulled/rolled ourselves away from the table, the desserts were served. I missed them as I stepped outside to check out the sky (C caught a shooting star that I missed while looking for shooting stars). Full up to my Eve's Apple, I probably wouldn't have been able to indulge in much but I'm sore that I didn't get a forkful of Tracy's Grasshopper Pie or Elizabeth's (seemingly) 6-inch tall cheesecake loaded with berries. But I needed to be free of food coma for dancing and Charades...

I didn't monopolize the games this year (you're welcome, everybody!) but Charades are always a good time. We wrapped up the game without Taude having to act out High School Musical and crept to our beds.

Once again, Randy was there to feed us in the morning. This time, Huevos...and this time still as good! We ate, we paddled, we sunned, we boated, we yoga'd on the lawn, we wished it wasn't Sunday and we could go on living at Steven's house until we were old and fat. However, reality is reality and the weekend had to end.

I wiped the tears away as I packed up my stuff, hung my weekend robe and took one last dip into the lake and into Randy's smooth-as-butter guacamole. "I'll dream of you 'til next year" I said as we put the car in first and pulled away.

To all that were there, thanks for the memories.

To C & T, thanks a million times plus one for every smile I had.

To Randy, the offer to be your 2nd wife in exchange for food is still on the table.

and to Steven Merrill (should his eyes ever spy this), thanks for your kindness in opening your home to us and for allowing me to bask in the glory of the place you and your family have created over generations!

As I sit here on my deck donning a cozy fleece I whisper to Mother Nature "Now bring on Fall!"