Vacation Rentals

This is the third year that the SacTownGuy, Kitty Kat and the kids have been able to join our great neighbors for a week in Lake Tahoe. This year, we changed it up and are staying in Truckee. Just a "cabin." Here's a picture (obviously not taken right now) which may show why they get eight C notes a night. We are sharing it with our neighbors and two other neighbors are sharing a house in this same neighborhood.

I can remember vacation homes as kid down on Balboa Island. I was 5 and 6 years old but still remember those frozen bananas down there. As I got older I have many fond memories of vacation homes in college. After college have had a few opportunities to partake in enjoying someone else's home.
This year it's the cabin in Truckee. Ok, full story is it's in the Old Greenwood golf course community with country club amenities like a Jack Nicklaus golf course, huge pool for the kids with water slide, bar/restaurant with great pool side service (thanks Danny for keeping the iced tea flowing all day) and incredible out door resources to enjoy.

Here's another picture from the rental's website. Notice anything funny in it? YES, the wine bottles which are not locked up. Most rental houses have ANYTHING of ANY value locked up... and with good reason. I remember my frat bros destroyed a few houses in Bodega Bay during our frat "retreats." Sometimes just one night and never more than 2 but I guarantee those people reconsidered renting their house out after that hurricane went through there.

One year I remember breaking the hot tub after 12 (or was it 15?) guys piled into their little hot tub. Not sure what happened but it was broken. Of course, broke a lamp but that almost goes without saying when a group of frat boys takes over a house for the weekend. The best though was the year "Jethro," wearing his wet suit (for no good reason), driving his BMW (when he should not have been) and got all 4 wheels off the ground after hitting a median at the end of the street. I beleive he broke all four wheels on that move. However, you know what? It was worth it. The guys that were there can remember it, the guys that weren't can keep telling it as well, and all of us can use it as a good story of what not to do when talking to our kids when they head off to college. That lecture will be long!

Or maybe the time "J.C." kept betting double or nothing with "Turtle" after he lost a one dollar bet. It got up to $200 or some such number at which point J.C. stopped betting and, half assuming, Turtle would never make him pay. Well, J.C. was wrong. Took some years but I believe J.C. did finally pay Turtle for that gambling debt.

Ok, but back to the present so they left a bunch of bottles of wine as the picture above shows. Then we found the cabinet full of liquor. Oh my! Can you imagine if a group of frat bros found that in their rental house? It's not just that the liquor would be consumed (and I mean every ounce) but it would HAVE to be consumed because it was there and it was free and it was sort of rule breaking because no doubt the owner did not intend their renters to drink their booze. Of course, however, the cheap dumps the frat boys used to rent in Bodgea did not have a booze cabinet. They were pretty bare bones.

Seriously though, I can just picture Turtle and Flounder, among others, emptying the last drop of obscure liquor at about 4:30 AM. They would start with the tequilla and vodka the night before and by 4:00 it would have been a battle of attrition to see who was more "manly" to stay up later, drink more and drink whatever it was. The SacTownGuy would have been sleeping at that hour! Of course, I can remember trips where "Hacker" would be in with the blender going at 6:00 AM for the next day's drinks to start. Yikes! I am glad that was a long time ago... seems like a lifetime ago actually.

Anyway, the house in Old Greenwood is a tad nicer than the frat dumps in Bodega and probably out of the price range of most frat boys... except maybe those at U$C!? I should add that we probably won't touch a drop of their liquor or their wine... nor all the condiments and stuff they left here. Yuck! I don't know about you but I don't like the idea of eating some stranger's food. Especially condiments that might have been there for a year or two!? With that it's almost dinner time so time for the major "partying" to begin. I am sure I will drink a beer... if not TWO tonight. Oh times change.

peace out.