Gee, that's tough, you're thinking. She has to go to one of the most beautiful recreational areas in the state. Pull the other one, it has bells on. But you have to understand, there's a reason I've never been to Lake Tahoe in all my years of living in California. It's a four hour drive from here. I hate long car rides. I hate other drivers, especially those with SUVs because they think they're all that and they block my view. It means dealing with some of the worst traffic in Northern California. But most of all it means I-80, a bone-rattling, badly rutted, poorly maintained stretch between here and whatever's after Sacramento. Hours of it.

I repeat: I'm not wildly excited about the trip.

But it must be done. The Huntzinger family reunion is taking place at South Lake Tahoe next year and my generation of cousins is running it. We need to have a meeting, check out the site Cousin Brian has selected, plan some kind of extravaganza, and figure out the timeline for what needs to be done as well as assigning duties. I'm the web person, so I already know I'll be in charge of information and timely updates.

So what the heck. If I have to spend half a day getting up there I'm not going to turn around and go back the next. John and I are taking Jasper (which reminds me, I need to find a motel that takes pets). I've already lined up our usual sitters for the cats and gotten my vacation day approved. I'm going to have a good look around and just hang out once the meeting is over.

See, Tahoe is where people in the Bay Area have vacation homes the way Midwesterners have lake cottages and folks in the Pacific Northwest have either a beach place or a sailboat. I don't do much in the way of Tahoe or Reno vacations because everyone drives up there, but occasionally someone decides to fly and asks my opinion on where to stay. I make up my answer based on what's available, which is not precisely wrong but is intellectually dishonest. It would be useful to not rely on guesswork.

Also, Jasper will probably like the mountains. He needs a break from city streets as much as we do. It will undoutedly be very pretty. I like my cousins, though I'm not close to any of them. And hanging out with my two boys is always fun. So I'll stop complaining about having to go.

Besides, it means a three day weekend. Gotta love that.

Wow! Check out the list of attendees!

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