Lake Tahoe, Day 1

   My long day started by having to wake up at 3am, shower, dress, grab my things, kiss the animals good-bye, and head to the airport. I flew through Salt Lake City and arrived in Tahoe 9:45 am, right on time. And I was lucky enough to catch an earlier shuttle to South Lake Tahoe. Brett was kind enough to meet me at the drop off at Embassy Suites & walked me to Forest Suites, even carrying my snowboard bag. (Which is taller than me, so that's no small favor.)
   We had a nice lunch together at Driftwood Cafe—I had a delicious bowl of black bean chicken chili, which tasted great, having just stepped out of the icy cold wind. Then we went grocery shopping to pick up a few staples. After that, we walked down to the lake, walking along the beach, which was all lit up and golden from the sun hanging low in the sky.
   Along the way, we talked about travel, and our philosophies on travel and life. We eventually walked back to our suite and shared photos from previous trips, & talked for hours and hours. We have a lot in common, and have each had some great adventures, so it was very enjoyable.
   Before long, I started feeling sick from the altitude (dizzy, headache, getting winded just walking up one flight of stairs, nauseous). So I got online and read that I needed to drink water and eat carbs. So we ordered pizza from Blue Dog, just down the street and walked to pick it up (A Greek pizza with feta cheese , artichokes & my favorite—kalamata olives).
   After that it was time for me to hit the bed; I was feeling drugged & exhausted. (Remember that the previous night I had been up late for the Jay-Z/Kanye West concert and the subsequent car accident, and had scarcely 3 hours sleep. Plus I had to wake up so early this morning. Brett was kind enough to volunteer to walk over to meet Rafael, who arrived after 11 pm. Zzzzz....