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Sledding, Popcorn & Memories: Time in Tahoe is the Best Gift of All
November, 2010 - Issue #73
Fat snowflakes blotted out the gray afternoon sky as we drove through Kings Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe in search of a Christmas tree lot.

April looked out the window as they clumped on the green branches of towering pine trees, and quietly laid a carpet of white on the road in front of us.

"So that's why you come to Tahoe," she said. It hadn't made much sense when I had proposed the idea a few months earlier. After all, there are plenty of places closer to Santa Clarita where you can spend a white Christmas. It wasn't readily apparent when we packed four sleeping kids into the car and began driving north from Santa Clarita at about 4 that morning. And the nine-hour drive didn't bring any clarity either. But with winter's full beauty on display, it finally clicked.

Christmas in Tahoe has been an intermittent family tradition for the Harnishes and Shermans as long as I can remember. My parents and grandparents would rent a house on the North Shore. We would spend the week sledding (even my grandmother!), cross country skiing, eating, and in my grandfather's case, gambling. Hey, nothing says Merry Christmas like being dealt 21.

My grandparents' declining health kept us at home for Christmas the past few years. But after Nana passed away last summer, resuming a dormant family tradition seemed like the perfect way to honor her memory. I think she would have been pleased, as my parents, April and I, and our four kids spent the week slowing down and being together.

We rented two condos on the lakefront in Kings Beach. The living room of our three-bedroom, three-bath unit offered a postcard view of the lake. When it wasn't snowing, we could see the gleaming mountains on the other side of the lake jutting up from Tahoe's deep blue water.

The rock fireplace kept the living room cozy and we sometimes did little more than sit and stare out the window. We read, colored, made popcorn garlands for the Christmas tree, played the Wii and spent countless hours assembling a 2,400-piece K'NEX roller coaster. It was one of those things I never would have finished at home. There was always something more pressing to do. But with a week to ourselves, we put the 8-foot by 3-foot monstrosity together piece by piece. And as with most projects undertaken on the behalf of a 5 year old, the assembly process held Drew's attention for maybe an hour.

Outside, the lawn was slightly pitched and encased with enough crusty snow to serve as a mellow sled run. We pushed the kids along in plastic toboggans until one of them discovered a cache of soft powder and quickly pressed some together into a projectile. The snowball fight was on! Or at least it was until somebody got snow down the back of their jacket and started crying.

The real sledding was to be found around on the other side of the lake. Where Route 28 intersects with Highway 50 on Nevada side, there is a steep, open hillside with snow packed hard by hundreds of sledders' boots. It must have taken us 30 minutes to get our kids stuffed into their jackets and to properly align their fingers inside their gloves. But it was worth it. The runs were fast and bouncy, sometimes leaving us sprawled on the snow at the bottom. But no matter how the ride ended, we were laughing.

And that's why we come to Tahoe.
Eric Harnish is hoping for a white Christmas in Newhall this year.

Christmas in Tahoe
Dozens of real estate offices handle vacation rentals in Lake Tahoe. We worked with Pullen Rental Group; 877-526-5336, www.booklaketahoevacationrentals.com

Another great option is Vacation Rentals By Owner (VRBO), an online listing of owner-managed properties; www.vrbo.com
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