2023 Lake Almanor - Day #XX - Reflections

With the Tomasins and the Snipes in cabin 5 and 6, I felt that it was almost like there were two different groups at the Dorado Inn. They had their own deck and area in front of the cabins. Several times during the week I went over and spent some time connecting with them, but we need a better strategy if/when we go back [horseshoes!?!].

I was disappointed that we didn't play any horseshoes. The game has been a central part of the week. Lisa took out pits from along the road behind the house. The Tomasins brought horseshoes, but no one took the lead in getting it organized.

I didn't go on the Tomasin ski boat during the week. I think that I would have liked to try and get up on the wakeboard. Additionally, it would have been fun to have pulled the tube behind the ski boat.

Although I ran on Sunday, rode bikes on Monday, played golf on Tuesday, kayaked on Wednesday, played golf on Thursday and ran again on Friday, I didn't feel like I pushed myself hard enough physically during the trip. I typically don't sleep late. There were a lot of mornings where I was up and moving for an hour or more before anyone else was stirring. In the past, I would have used this time to go for a run to north along 147. I probably should have done that once or twice. I had also hoped to take my mountain bike to the Bizz Johnson trail and do a longer hike.

At the end of the day, I really enjoyed the week. It was fantastic kickoff to my retirement. Having Drew and Morgan, Morgan, Daniel and Lee and Jack there was special. It was great to connect with Nooter, Tomasin and Snipes.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #8 more

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #8

Up early, I started packing. I tore down the three inflatable kayaks and got them back into their bags. I loaded the golf clubs and the kayaks in the Volvo.

I then started cleaning the kitchen. We had a little bit of mess from making dinner on Friday night.

It took a couple of hours to clean up the cabin and get everything into the car.

One of my goals for the morning was to get some group pictures that I could use for the Christmas Card. We took a lot of pictures of different groups.
Interestingly, everyone seems to be on board for trying to come back again next year. It would be nice to restart the annual tradition! Drew talked to Lisa about coming back next year.

Saying goodbye, Sharon and I rolled from the Dorado Inn about 10:50. We backtracked on 147 to 89. We made a quick stop for gas in Chester. Planning to take 36 all the way to 5, we stopped for lunch at the Highlands Ranch Resort. Although the service was a little slow, we had a nice lunch on the deck. We both had a SPICY TACO SALAD [romaine hearts, five chili spiced beef, pear tomato, roasted corn salsa, black beans, avocado, black olive, chipotle ranch]. It might be interesting to come back to this resort in the winter.

We picked up 5 in Red Bluff and the 80 in Sacramento. We listened to an interesting The Ringer Big Picture podcast about the movie Barbie.

We were back in Sacramento just before 4 pm.

It was a great trip. I will post a number of observations tomorrow.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #7

Sharon and I headed into Chester on Friday morning to shop. We committed to make dinner for the group on Friday night.

After getting back to the Dorado Inn, Sharon and I headed to the Dwyer View parking lot on the Lake Almanor Recreational Trail. We both ran. I covered about 2.7 miles in forty minutes.

When we got back to the Dorado Inn, Carmen's parents Mike and Pam were there. They came up from Chico and are spending the night in Drew and Carmen's cabin.

After getting some lunch, I took a large group out on the patio boat. It included: Jack and Jason; Morgan, Daniel and Lee; Drew and Carmen; Mike and Pam; Nooter, and; Sharon and I. We pulled Drew and Carmen on the tube and stopped to swim.

At some point, we dropped Jason at the cabin so that he could go back to work. We went back out on the lake for a swim.

I dropped everyone back and the cabins about 3 pm. I took off back across the lake to return the patio boat to Knotty Pines Resort. Drew and Lee picked me up.

When I got back to the cabins, Sharon and I organized a pre-dinner cocktail for everyone. I brought a bottle of Harris Gin, Mediterrean Tonic Water and Grapefruit to make Gin & Tonics. This was the combination that bartender served Tom and I when we got to the hotel on the Isle of Skye.

As the cocktail hour was winding down, I started the coals. I barbecued three large tri-tips and some chicken for dinner. I don't consider grilling my strong suit, but everything turned out pretty well. We also grilled some potatoes and corn. Sharon made an interesting corn on the cob recipe.

A large group finished the night laying on the logs along the shore watching the Perseids meteor shower.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #6 more

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #6

The plan for the day was to play golf at the Lake Almanor West Golf Course. We had 1120 and 1130 tee times. Like Tuesday, Sharon, Jack and Jason teed off first and played three man best ball. Nooter and I ended up playing by ourselves.

After playing pretty well on Friday at Ancil Hoffman and Tuesday at Bailey Creek, I played horribly. I couldn't get off the tee and three putted a lot of the greens. My struggles got into my head and I played worse instead of better. Thankfully, it is only a nine hole course! I am not going to post the scorecard...

Afterwards, we had a bite to eat in the clubhouse. Jack and Jason decided to play the course a second time from a different set of tees.

David and Lo, Chris and Cassie and Mikey all took off in the morning. Several of them had to work on Friday. John and Julie spent the day going to Redding to visit John's mom. Chris took the ski boat back to Santa Rosa.

When we got back to the Dorado Inn, I organized a group to go out on the boat, including: Rob and Barb; Drew and Carmen; Morgan, Daniel and Lee; Gail, and Joy. We stopped and everyone went for a swim. Afterwards, we cruised down to Hamilton Branch. There used to be a restaurant called the Hamburger Hut that we went to for years. We floated and tried to figure out where everything used to be. I was surprised to see a large house with a seaplane.

Getting cleaned up, we took 17 people to dinner at the Timber House in Chester. Sharon and I spilt Roasted Brussel Sprouts [Served with fresh herbs, bacon, shaved parmesan, balsamic onions & glaze]. I had Linguine Alfredo [Linguine tossed with a creamy garlic, parmesan sauce, with seasonal vegetables and herbed grilled chicken]. Sharon had Grilled Seabass [With grilled seasonal vegetables, herbed butter and lime basmati rice, and caper beurre blanc sauce]. I really enjoyed the evening.

Nooter and I finished the night with a game of cribbage. He won.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #5 more

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #5

I brought our three inflatable kayaks. While Sharon went to the store with Morgan and Daniel, I blew them up and put them together. Drew took one of the singles and went with Gail for a long paddle south towards the dam.

After Sharon got back, I took one of the singles. I paddled past Chabrier's old house. I was gone for almost exactly an hour. For some reason, I couldn't get Runkeeper to track the distance on my watch. I would guess that I covered a little more than two miles.

After lunch, the Tomasins and Snipes took off for the Almanor West Golf Course. Tomasin, Keith, Chris and Mikey played nine holes.

I took the patio boat out with a large group. We towed Drew, Drew and Carmen and David and Lo on the tube. I had hoped to get Lee in the tube again, but he was not willing. Much to Sharon's chagrin, I buried the front of the boat in a wave making a turn.

We drifted for a while near the Dorado Inn. Everyone, including Lee, went for a swim. It was a fairly windy afternoon.

When we got back to the dock, Gail, Drew and I spent a long time sitting in the boat catching up. I miss Ricky.

Andrew, Carmen, Daniel and Morgan made shrimp and chicken shish kabobs for dinner. While the kids were making dinner, Lee and I watched Walking with Dinosaurs: The Movie on my iPad.

With the kids playing Unstable Unicorns, Nooter and I played a couple of games of cribbage. Getting a number of very good hands, I won two out of the three games.

I had an odd experience with my Volvo. When I went to try and get into the car in the morning, the key wouldn't work. I was a little panicked. Sharon picked up a battery for the key at the store. Thankfully, after replacing the battery, everything worked fine.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #4 more

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #4

The plan for the day was to play golf at Bailey Creek. We had 930 and 940 tee times. Although I thought some of the Tomasins or Snipes might join us, it ended up being Sharon, Jack, Jason, Nooter and I.

Sharon, Jack and Jason went off in front of us. They spent the day playing three man best ball. Nooter and I played with John Babcock, a retired PG&E electrician.

Although I felt pretty good on the driving range, I started off very rough. I settled down and parred three holes on the front nine. I ended up with a 108. Nooter had a 100.

We were playing match play and ended up even. Each of us won eight holes and we tied on two others.

The course is beautiful. It was in pretty nice shape. The starter said that the course is usually in the best shape in September. [Note to self], Sharon and I might need to come back in September some year.
When we got back to the cabins, I spent some time in cabin 5 talking with Tomasin and Snipes.

The Nooters made a great dinner of deconstructed shish kabobs.

Given that we are all older, everyone seems to be crashing before 10 pm. It is a much different rhythm than it was 20 to 30 years ago.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #3

I struggled over the first two days to get people moving very early. After breakfast, Sharon and I took our bikes to the Lake Almanor Recreational Trail. Starting from the Rocky Point Campground, we rode just over seven miles in an hour and twelve minutes. It was a very leisurely ride over some gently rolling terrain.

When we got back to the cabins, we organized everyone to go to Plumas Pines for lunch. Getting twenty people going in the same direction is difficult. Eventually, we got the patio boat, Tomasin's ski boat and a car heading across and around the lake.

We had one table with adults and another with all of the kids. I had a turkey, avocado and bacon sandwich, while Sharon had a burger.

On the way back to the Dorado Inn, both boats stopped. Everyone jumped in the water and swam for a while.

When we got back to the dock, Gail had arrived. I spent some time on the deck in front of Cabin 5 and 6 catching up with Tomasin and Snipes discussing the state of our friendships.

For dinner, the Snipes served burritos with rice, beans and a salad.

I played cribbage against Barb and then Nooter. I won both games. I finished the night listening to Drew and Morgan play music.

Several people were planning to work using the wireless over the course of the week. While the iPhones and Macs can connect, we can't seem to get any of the PCs connected to the internet...

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #2

Everyone was moving slow. I had hoped to run early in the morning, but couldn't get everyone going.

I finally got Jack, Sharon and I organized to drive over to the Knotty Pines Resort to pick up a patio boat. We took Lee with us. I rented a 20' foot patio boat for the week. I ended up buying a toy that we can pull behind the boat.

There was a small kerfuffle getting the boat. When they test drove the boat before they gave it to us, they weren't happy with how it was running. They ended up pulling it out of the water and draining the pantoon. Sharon, Lee and I took a leisurely ride back to the Dorado Inn along the shore.

Before lunch, I got Sharon and Barb to go with me to the Lake Almanor Recreation Trail. I ran about three miles in forty minutes, while Sharon and Barb walked two miles.

After lunch, I organized a large group to take the patio boat out. We pulled a number of people, including Lee behind the boat on tube. We stopped and everyone went for a swim. We cruised up to the damm and back to the resort. With the weather warm in the valley, it was a very calm afternoon on the lake.


The Tomasins made dinner. Lo made a couple of great charcuterie plates. For dinner, they served chicken, sausage, salad and beans.

Sharon and I finished the night visiting with Nooter and Barb in their cabin. Nooter and I played one game of cribbage. I skunked him.

2023 Lake Almanor - Day #1

From 1988 to 2009, a group of families spent a week every summer at the Dorado Inn at Lake Almanor. The venue switched to the Tsasdi Resort at Lake Shasta for 2010 and 2011 and then back to the Dorado Inn from 2012 to 2014. The annual event fell apart as kids were in college and priorities changed. The week was an important part of my life for a long time.

Last fall, Drew took it upon himself to see if we could get the band back together for a year. I was surprised when the Tomasins, Snipes, Nooters and Wallens all committed and put down a deposit. Something happened over the last couple of months and the Wallens backed out; I need to sit down with Wallen and understand what happened.

I planned my retirement to fall just as we were taking off for the trip. It is going to be special to have Jack, Drew and Carmen, Morgan, Lee and Daniel with us for the week.

Sharon and I spent the morning packing and loading the car. We rolled from Carmichael about 1245 pm. Going 80 to 5 to 99 to 32 to 36 with a stop for gas in Gridley, we were at the Dorado Inn about 420 pm.

We are staying in cabin 4 this year. Over the next hour, everyone showed up. It is going to be a large group. There are eight Heringers: Sharon and I; Drew and Carmen; Morgan, Lee and Daniel; and, Jack. Jack's roommate Jason is also with us for the week. The Nooters are in Cabin 3. Drew and Carmen are in Cabin 1, while Morgan and Daniel are in Cabin 2.

The Tomasins and Snipes are in the large cabin south of the main resort. There are nine Tomasins in Cabin 5, including: John and Julie; David and Lo, Chris and Cassie; Mikey; and, Tomasin's nephew Nick and his girlfriend Blakely. The Snipes in Cabin 6 include: Kurt and Joy; and, Keith and his girlfriend Lizette.

I tried to rally the group to go for pizza in Westwood, but the concensus was just to order pizza and pick them up. Splitting into two groups, Drew, Carmen, Jack and Jason ran into Chester and picked up pizza for the main cabins from the Pizza Factory.

Jack and I finished the night playing cribbage. He beat me handily...