Winter Wonderland

After hearing Leila talk about snow for the last six months or so, we finally decided to take the family to see some snow. We bought and borrowed snow clothes for Leila and Nina, and packed up all of our necessary gear. We packed up all the food we would need for a thirty-six hour trip—we can’t eat out due to Nina’s allergy trinity. We stocked the car with water and blankets, in case we might get stuck on the road, in a blizzard. I went out and bought two pairs of chains, since our car has all wheel drive. And Carrie made lunches for all of us for the car ride up to Donner Lake.

So off we went on Sunday morning, over the Oakland Bay and the Carquinas bridges, on I-80 east, through Sacramento to the Sierras. When we got to the snow, it was early afternoon, so we got off I-80 at the Norden exit—the way to Sugar Bowl—which used to be our default place to go back in the pre-kids days. I went into the rental shop, to get a sled and some information about where to go to use it. When I came back out, Leila was a mess of tears, snot and drool. She was terrified by the snow flakes that came into the car when her door was opened. Scratch the sledding in the winter wonderland idea. We went straight to check-in to our hotel, a few miles down the road, at Donner Lake.

Leila proceeded to relive the traumatizing snow attack of 2008, sobbing uncontrollably, until we finally got into our hotel suite, about an hour later. I had to carry her from the car to the suite, with my jacket over her head, to protect her from the falling snow. Carrie and I were thinking: In some cases your child will recoil in horror at the things that regular kids run towards with excitement.

Here are some pictures of the scenery around Donner Lake, our winter wonderland:

We did manage to get the girls on the sled for about 5 minutes, late on Sunday afternoon. Nina, in the pink space suit, sort of enjoyed it. Leila, in the back, liked the sled but not its proximity to the snow.

The area around Donner Lake is really pretty and I recommend considering it as an alternative to Lake Tahoe.