Brace yourselves, winter is coming.....~~~ (Part 3)

Dec 8th, 2013

Ari nie kena bangun pagi2 pasal ada masa smpi tengahari jer nk round2, sightseeing at Lake Tahoe. Lepas da siap2 mandi apa semua, kitorang kluar g bfast.. Even Inn tu ada provide breakfast (cereals and biscuits) untuk guests, kitorang plan nk bfast kt Driftwood Cafe.... Before drive ke cafe tu, kena set GPS dulu supaya senang ckit nk cari... lepas tu follow ler direction dari GPS tu... agak jauh la rasanya dari Inn kitorang tu.. dalam 2-3 miles kot... dah la kena drive slow, disebabkan tyre chains tu... tp perjalanan tetap diteruskan... "Pecah Puasa", here we come...

And then, bila da nak smpi destination, kitorang start rasa pelik... Awat cm jauh sgt nie? kenapa cm kenal jer jalan nie? One of us immediately checked the GPS destination. Ghuper - ghupernya GPS tu set ke ROSS, tempat jual brg murah semalam.... zet zet zet....!!! So, kena set balik GPS tu ke Driftwood Cafe.... Tengok hala tuju kitorang macam ke Inn balik... and bila da betul2 smpi ke cafe tu, baru kitorang tau rupanya2 Cafe tu is just a walking distance away from our Inn.... Jahaneeemm...~~~ Then we parked our car, straigth went to the cafe... bila masuk jer cafe, ramai plak org bfast kt situ.... Back then we need to decide either to wait for our que, or eat elsewhere... discuss punya discuss, last2 kitorang decide untuk let go cafe tu and pergi makan. . . . . . . . . . . . . cereals kt Inn kitorang... (tu la memilih sangat....) Tapi boleh tahan sedap gak cereal dia.. free plak tu...  haha....

Nie jer gambar yg paling clear ak dpt google...

Then, tanpa buang masa, kitorang pack barang sumer, check out, and then gerak balik ke EMERALD BAY... hahha. Hopefully cubaan kali nie lagi baik dari semalam... Ak xsure pukul berapa waktu tu.. Maybe dalam pukol 9 lbey... we all guna track yang sama nak pergi Emerald Bay... so pasti akan jumpa corner durjana tu... haha.. Tapi Alhamdulillah, the sun shone brightly on that day.. xda mist.. xda fog... mmg clear.... "Draw distance to the max" bak kata gamers... boleh nampak gondola belakang Inn... and after we finally reached corner durjana, all of us managed to passed it easily today. but the road was still closed, so we cannot go further anymore, and we decided to just parked our cars at the shoulder of the road and took a hiked to the Emerald Bay Overlook.

Well, enjoy these pics... :)

Tempat kitorang parking untuk bfast kt Driftwood Cafe

See the white line on the mountain there? That is the gondola trail.

Panorama view near the Corner Durjana

Lake Tahoe Im in love

Shine bright like a berlian

montot manyak sejuk maa....~~

Mereka yang telah tumpas...

Scenery at Emerald Bay Overlook
(sebenarnya kiri kanan nie ada tasik...)

INCOMING.......~~!!!!!
(at the right side of the screen)

Basically, kitorang xda smpi EMERALD BAY tu psl jalan nya ditutup.. Ak sampai dekat Overlook nya ajer.... tapi view dia mmg cantik... Kiri kanan overlook tu ada tasik... Memang worth it la lepak sini.. hehe.. Kitorang ada kt sini lebih kurang sejam lebih... Dalam kul 12:45PM, kitorang start gerak balik ke Lake Tahoe town... Ak nek kereta Dodge balik, and KK as the driver... Time taken to reach to Lake Tahoe town was about 30-40 minutes. Before we left Lake Tahoe, we stopped at 7E to buy snacks and drinks. Then we filled up the gas, "small business" and we were good to go.. 

The time was around 1PM and we took another route on the way back. If previously we took I-5 North freeway, which is much faster and easier to get to Lake Tahoe, this time we used Foothill Road.... This route is not a freeway, more like 'jalan kampung'. Along the way boleh nampak ladang2, haiwan ternakan and rumah2 kat sini jarak2.. Jalan pun x selebar laluan pertama ktorang guna.... Ak tak igt sgt apa yg berlaku waktu nie pasal ak da syok tdoq kt seat belakang... HEHEHEH!!!

Dalam pukul 5 petang baru ak tsedar, kitorang decided nak stop kat satu area.. tapi ak da lupa.. checked2 kt google maps tadi, ak boleh katakan yang kitorang stopped dekat Bishop. Jalan kt sini xda snow, tapi lagi bahaya.. Kenapa bahaya? Sebab jalan kt sini dilitupi ais.. so makin licin la... tap nasib baik ais nya xbyk.. stll boleh kawal lagi, tapi kalau silap skit boleh pusing kereta bai...~~~ Then smpi satu town nie, kitorang singgah makan malam kat kedai Italian.. ( xingat nama kedai ).. Time tu aku order Salmon... Seafood is the safest choice of foods over here.. :D

Da setel makan, turn ak plak jadi driver untuk CRUZE.... kasi Zainal relax... lama da dia drive... haha... sepanjang ak drive tu, ada la 3-4 town ak tumpang lalu.. hehe.. mostly, town nyer kecik jer.. mcm Bangi Sek 9 ke Sek 7... then xidup sgt psl da malam... tapi sbnarnya baru kul 8-9 cmtu.... waktu nie yg dlm convoy hanya CRUZE and DODGE.. MAZDA da ilang entah ke mana.... and yg lead the convoy is the DODGE.. so ak just follow jer la dworang... And then dalam kol 10 lbey tu, DODGE da tercari gas station psl da nk abis minyak.. cari 2 3 kali baru jumpa station yang boleh pump.. time dworang pump gas tu, Zainal takeover balik kereta dia, and ak move back to the DODGE car. Macam mana ak ngantuk tulih blog nie, cam tu la ak mengantuk masa tu.... (sebab tu ending post nie nmpk rushing ckit..) After that, ak teruih terlelap.... Sedar2 jer da nk smpi Candlewood Santa Ana da.. haha... Yang ak ingt ak smpai kt Candlewood Sand Canyon dalam kol 1 lbey.. haha.. so perjalanan balik tu mengambil masa sebanyak 12 jam.... Sampai jer hotel, ak teruih naik ke bilik, packing2 jap, mandi ckit... And then terjun atas katil terus... 

"It is time to sleep.. a proper sleep... ". 

Kesimpulannya? Penat memang penat, duit mmg byk guna... but the experience you gained from the trip is worth a thousand more than what you spent..

"  I have died every day 

waiting for you

Darlin' don't be afraid

I have loved you for a

Thousand years

I'll love you for a

Thousand more  "

dah kenapa....? whatever, akhirnya abis gak post untuk Lake Tahoe trip nie... Trip yang giga-awesome and cowabonga....!!!

But there are still more to come............

Brace yourselves, winter is coming.....~~~ (Part 2)

And then, finally muncul pun kelibat kat bawah nie....~~

We all proceed until we reached the town. But when we already there, we didn't know where is the  rendezvous point. Kitorang just drive tanpa hala tuju, in the end decided to stop at STAPLES.

Masa nie pukul 11A.M. and kitorang xtau kereta lagi satu (remember from the last post?) da smpai mana.. So, while some of us was trying to contact them, the rest just rushed straight to the snowy area.... IT'S SNOWBALLING TIME!!!

Nie la 'Snow Angel' Zainal.. 

Camtu la gamaknya kitorang men salji, xsempat nk ambik gambo banyak... haha.. then time tgh syok men salji, Zainal gtau yang Dodge still kena cover lagi 40 miles. So we decided to go somewhere else and meet there instead. If I am not mistaken the place is called Emerald Bay. Kali nie Zainal take over kereta balik. Dia drive, ak duk sobolah. Hehehehehehehehehehehe......~~~

Along the way tu, kiri kanan dipenuhi dengan cabin houses.. Most of the houses are emptied, most probably the resident already traveled elsewhere, 2nd house maybe.... melarikan diri dari winter agaknya... further some more also got a small river, but was frozen... tapi paling byk sekali pine trees la.. obviously... ak xambik gambo sgt.. so hanya boleh describe jer la.. lolz...

lbey kurang cmnie la scenery diaa....

The trail to the Emerald Bay is actually quite challenging.. We need to climbed up the mountain and as you may know, mountainous road usually belok sana, belok sini... plus ngan snow lagi... "nasib bek bukan aku drive.. hehe.." kata aku dalam hati.. The further we drive, the steeper it gets. And sampai satu selekoh tu, one of our group's car, the Mazda one almost fell of the cliff. Siap buat drift lagi depan kitorang.. haha..But luckily, all goes well. Lepas tu, terus Mazda dipandu secara berhemah.. But then, xjauh dari corner drift tu, jumpa lagi satu corner mendaki...Bila kitorang smpi situ, ada satu kereta tgh struggle nk mendaki... ak xigt kereta apa, tapi kereta tu pakai tyre chains... But even with the tyre chains,the car was still not able to drive uphill. Tapi driver tu paksa gak.. tekan minyak gak... and then tyre chains tu putuih..... last2 the driver gave up, and make a u-turn, returned back to the town...

Lepas tu, kitorang plak cuba nasib. Pasal Mazda kat depan, dworang la cuba dulu...tapi still sama gak, tyre chains dworang xckup ketat, and tercabut dari tayar kereta.. so, turn ktorang plak kena struggle ngan snowy mountainous corner nie.. masing2 turun dari kereta nk tolong Mazda tu, and we did some scouting on where the trail will lead us... Rupa2nya depan skit dari corner tu, ada signboard tulis....

"Road closed due to bad condition"

So we decided to turn back and return to the town. By the time kita nk turun tu, Dodge pun smpai... So xya susah2 nk set tmpat nk gather lagi. Before balik semula ka town tu, kitorang sempat la ambik gambo skit2...

Mazda is leading the way

Nun hujung sana tulis "Road Closed"

Kereta sangkut, sempat lagi wat peace.

Corner Durjana

Corner Durjana lagi...

Lake Tahoe's view during winter....

Mari ambik gambar.....

It's DODGE's time to make a u-turn..

All set and ready to go...

 Ak xsure waktu nie pukul berapa... Maybe kol 2 something kot. Perut masing2 da keroncong mat tarbus... And we decided to satisfy our tummy with Thai's delicacies.. Nama restaurant tu Orchid Thai.. For that lunch, ak just order Shrimp Lemongrass Soup (Tom Yam) and Jasmine rice. Time lapaq and sejuk2 nie memang sedap pekena sup2 panas and pedas2 nie... "cirit or die". Tom Yam nyer masam ckit, tapi shrimp dia nice... segar and rangup... ho liao ma..~~

Orchid Authentic Thai Cuisines

Mereka-mereka yang meramaikan majlis..

After masing2 da kenyang, we headed to our booked inn called Stateline Economic Inn. Motel murah jer, saving ckit. Ada 2 queen size beds, heater, microwave, fridge and tv. Still ok la untuk tido semalam..

nie permandangan Inn pagi esoknya...

Waktu nie maybe dalam pukul 5 petang lbey, and bila ak sampai jer bilik, letak barang sumer and g mandi air panas and settled some "big business"... weehooo...!!! And then da setel down kejap, some of us decided to go out again to buy some stuff... Kitorang g beli barang ckit kt ROSS... hehe.. Ak just beli seluar jeans sehelai jer, pasal jeans yang ak pakai tadi da basah and kotoq buat main salji.. After that, balik semula ke bilik and ak tdor kejap la dei... 

Dalam kol 8 something tu, kitorang kuar balik just jalan kaki around Lake Tahoe town. Cuaca memang sejuk gila time nie.. Kalau muka ngadap arah angin tiup, rasa perit jer.... Ak ada la shopping ckit.. beli fridge magnet 3 keping.. tu jer.. haha... But the town is quite nice during nighttime. 

Kedai nie seblah2 jer ngan Inn kitorang... So nie kedai pertama kitorang singgah malam tu...

variety of tshirt... tapi cop nya cam xberapa baguih...

beruang.. beruang everywhere...

lots of souvenirs.....

Mr Zoltar Abra Kadabra

With Mr. Zoltar.... Dia nk interframe...

Basically, not much thing happened during that night... lepas tu ak balik bilik and.. GEDBUM!!.. tidoq....

TO BE CONTINUED....

Brace yourselves, winter is coming.....~~~ (Part 1)

Malam tu, yg jadi driver adalah KK. Aku duk seat belakang jer.... aku difahamkn, the journey would take about 8 hours to reach Lake Tahoe. Normally for a long trip, we switch drivers just to be fair. So supposedly back seat passengers should take this time to sleep. Tapi ak xboleh tdoq... pasal ak teruja kaw2... haha... Lama da ak teringin nk travel using U.S. freeway nie.. Rugi lorh kalau wa tido.. Cuma waktu malam xnmpak sgt la permandangan... lolz.

Dec 7th, 2013

After about 4 hours, halfway of the journey, we stopped at ARCO gas station to fill up the gas, settle a 'small business' at the restroom, buy some stuff, etc...Some of the stuff that I bought are a lip balm, to avoid my lip from getting too dry, and a sunglasses. I bought a cheap one only, around 10 bucks. But it still did a good job of protecting my eyes from the bright shining sun. Then we continued our journey. This time, the driver was Wah Seng. Tapi ak still duk belakang lagi.. So still can relax2 lorh.. haha

Masa nie baru lah ak dpt lelap kejap. Maybe dalam 30 minutes kot. But then psl ada problem ckit dengan gathering point, kitorang berhenti lagi kt ARCO. Tapi xtau kt area mana masa tu. Probably Sacramento. Isi minyak lagi, kasi full and then gerak g McD for breakfast. Menu kt sini sumer ak xleh mkn, except pancake and hash brown jer... Pastu baru kitorang teruskan perjalanan. Kali ni ak plak drive, tapi untuk kereta Chevy Cruze. Owner kereta nie Zainal. So basicaly, he's the only person who 'can' drive in that car. His wife needs to take car of their children. Ak switch driver ngan dia supaya dia boleh relax2.

Waktu nie lbey kurang pukol 6 pagi. Ni lah first time ak driving on a long journey. Dalam perjalanan tu, scenery dia da tukaq skit. Ada bukit2, and snowy2 ckit. Masa nie ak tetiba rasa familiar. Tetiba ada "GAME" moment. Rasa cam dalam GTA plak. Sangat cool. Haha.. Makin ak drive further, makin putih scenery. Snow makin banyak. That was quite a 'WOWZA' moment for me. Before we reach Lake Tahoe town, we need to pass by a small town. Ak xigt nama town tu la, but the environment is quite nice. At least lain dari scenery kt Irvine. We proceed again our journey, but need to stop again because the road over there was covered by snow. So we need to install tyre chains on our car. It was quite hard actually to setup the chains, pasal kitorang xpenah ada pengalaman pun psang before this. Dah tertonggeng2 ak ngan Zainal nk pasang benda alah tu. Nak pasang pun kena bukak glove, psl lagi senang kalau x pakai glove. Tapi tangan jadi beku la makan dia... but it gets easier when we finally know the proper way to setup it.

This is how a tyre chain looks

Bila da setel pasang tu, baru lah kitorang teruskan perjalananan. "Geduk Geduk Geduk.." bunyi kereta sebab tyre chain punya pasal. kalau bawak slow, gegor jer kereta... (gegor tu begegar).... and then xboley bawak laju2.. kena slow2.. dalam 20mph-30mph jer... sebab takut tyre chain tercabut or tayar pancit... lolz.. so even ada lagi 55 miles nak smpi Lake Tahoe town, but it took about 2 hours to get there. Then, dtg lagi "GAME" moment....rasa nak ber'FUS RO DAH' jer.. if you get what I mean.. haha...

Scenery makin lama makin putih.... and then also got snow shower some more. Ak rasa sgt2 teruja bila first time dpt tengok scenery cmni.. Alhamdulillah.... 

Tapi, pasal bwk perlahan sgt, ak jadi makin ngantok.. 20 minit perjalanan dapat cover 1-3 miles jer.. haha..

and then psl kitorang bawak slow sgt, sampai byk kereta yg follow belakang kitorang.. hangin jer dworang agaknya.. haha.. biasa local kat sini pkai 4 wheels jer.. dworang bley bawak laju.. tapi hari ni, dworang terpaksa tahan sabaq follow dua kereta foreigner yang slow... (satu lagi kereta, Dodge, dah tertinggal belakang..) Sampai satu tahap, one of the local hilang kesabaran, iman x kuat, terus potong bila ada peluang.. and then siap sempat gave middle finger kat kitorang.. lolz...

And then, finally......~~~

TO BE CONTINUED....