February 23, 2012

Thursday Travel Tips


This week's Thursday Travel Tips 
are inspired by our latest Trip to Lake Tahoe

While most people go up to Tahoe to "shred the gnar",
the husband and I were just looking for a romantic getaway. 
If you're like me,
a.k.a. unsteady on your feet,
or if you're getting ready to head up to the mountain for the first time and you're not sure what to expect,
I hope that these tips will guide you in the right direction. 

Where to stay:
First things first,
I should probably mention that Lake Tahoe is huge!
When looking to book a hotel for this destination,
you will most likely come across two options:
South vs. North.
While the South shore is known for its main strip of hotel casinos,
the North shore is generally more laid back.

The husband and I decided to stay at the Montblue resort in South Lake Tahoe this time around,
so we could play during the day,
and party at night. 
Our hotel was situated right in the middle of the main strip, 
which put us in close proximity with all the touristy attractions.
Again, if you're looking to get away from all the hustle and bustle,
and people in general,
I would recommend you to book a cabin in North Lake Tahoe. 

From what I hear,
both shores are be-au-tiful all year round,
so you're pretty much guaranteed gorgeous scenery no matter where you stay. 

Where to eat:
On our first night in Tahoe,
we met up with some friends who live in the area.
They invited us to an all-you-can-eat sushi restaurant called Sushi Pier.
Not gonna lie, 
I was a little skeptical about this place at first because I'm honestly a bit of a sushi snob,
but the minute our waitress started bringing out platters of fresh nigiri, 
I was sold!
And to think,
you can literally eat as much as you want for only $25! 
Unreal... I wish we had a place like that in San Diego.
Unfortunately, 
we were way too busy chatting and stuffing our faces so I didn't think about taking any pictures,
but you can take my word for it - this place was AWESOME. 

Pulehu Baby Back Pork Ribs - open fired and basted with a savory sesame garlic soy
Pan Caramelized Miso-Yaki Sea Bass - Thai basil mash, wilted kula greens with balsamic ponzu buerre blanc
The next night,
we decided to keep it mellow,
so the husband and I dropped in to Kalani's.
I read a bunch of great reviews about this Hawaiian fusion restaurant,
so I was excited to give it a try.
Fortunately, we were not disappointed.
Both of the entrees we ordered were featured in Bon Appetit magazine,
and for good reason! 
The sea-bass melted in my mouth,
and the ribs were falling off the bone!

The last place I'd like to recommend to you all is Zephyr Cove Lodge Restaurant
Yeah, the food was good - not anything exceptional - but good.
What really made this place stand out,
were the friendly people. 
We came across this place because that's where our snow-mobiling excursion was organized,
and were happy that we got there early enough to sit back and enjoy some bloody marys before going up the mountain. 

What to do:
Like I mentioned above,
we booked our snowmobiling adventure through Zephyr Cove,
and I can honestly tell you it was one of the best experiences!
After about 10 minutes of instructions,
(it was my first time, and I was a bit nervous),
we settled onto our mobiles and proceeded to ride through about 45 miles of mountain terrain,
up to peaks of 9,000 feet above sea level. 
If you're nervous about doing something like this,
DON'T BE!
It took only a few minutes of getting used to,
and made for such a fun ride.

Tahoe is known for being extremely picturesque,
and there's no better way to take in the scenery than by going on a little hike.
The mountain is full of designated trails,
so we decided to pull over a couple of times during our drive, 
to stretch out our bones and breathe in that fresh air. 


Have you ever been to Tahoe?
I'd be happy to answer any questions that you may have!
Feel free to leave a comment below, 
or shoot me an email. 

natasha

4 comments:

Andrea said...

This sounds really great. Thanks for the tips, I've already bookmarked the page. :) I love hiking and all the outdoorsy stuff in general and Tahoe looks sooo beautiful, especially the pictures in your last post.
xoxo
Andrea
Wonderful and Marvelous

Jenna said...

Thanks for the tips! Normally when I've been to northern California, I head to Mammoth for the snow boarding, but this looks like it could make for an incredible weekend away sans hitting the slopes :)

I think we'd opt for the cabins, sounds so cozy!

xxx
Jenna

Alison Kinsey said...

love your suggestions Natasha. I'm trying to squeeze in a Tahoe trip in September - my hope is to stay at the Harrah's, I've heard it's a nice property! That's good to know about the northern side of the lake too, I feel like that would be just as romantic, but more quaint :)

tres chic chica said...

Great post, love all the informatin and the pics.

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