Virginia City, Nevada

Aloha Everyone,

What fortuitous timing. This 3-day Labor Day weekend is Virginia City's Civil War Days. It is an annual event sponsored by the Comstock Civil War Re-Enactors. J.J. and I first stopped by at the Civil War camp in Miner's Park and spoke to  (from left to right) Dave, Eric, David, Charlie and Bob who were participating as Confederate soldiers. These gentlemen are from out-of-town, many from California. Their love for Civil War history brings them to Virginia City every year.

Special Battle Train departed at 11:30 am and J.J. and I could not miss this opportunity to ride a steam locomotive and witness this battle re-enactment.

Jeannette did an excellent job narrating and explaining the life circa 1860 and the battle between Confederate and Union soldiers.

There were quite a number of children below 10 years old. One boy about 4 years old screamed when the first sound of firing cannon was heard. Seeing soldiers on both sides dropped on the ground to indicate their demise, the boy told his father, "Oh no, they are dead. Are they going to kill everybody? Daddy can we go home now?" Throughout this mocked chaos, the young girl seated beside me in the period costume sat poised and played the part of a young civilian of the period remarkably well.

Going on the Battle Train also gave us opportunity to meet Suzanne and Ernie from Nevada.

Van and his wife Diane were on a holiday. Van is a musician but when he is not on stage, he works for the City of Honolulu. When he told us the department where he works, J.J. immediately mentioned the name of his boss. What a small world. Not only do we know his boss, but we were neighbors.

Walking down the main street of Virginia City is truly as if you have stepped back in time. Virginia City's wealth comes from silver mining.  www.visitvirginiacitynv.com/

Contrary to our assumption that Virginia City is located on the flat topography of Nevada, we found ourselves driving for approximately 25 miles from Carson City through the winding, narrow mountain roads to reach the Virginia City located at 6,220 ft elevation. The route was beautiful though sometimes tense but definitely well worth going there.

Aloha -- Cathi

Carson City Farmer's Market

Aloha Everyone,

Every Saturday between 8:30 am to 1:00 pm during June 7 to Sept 20th, Carson Farmer's Market is held at 3rd and Curry St in downtown, Carson. This morning we went there bright and early to make purchases and meet some interesting people.

Benzler Farms traces back to 4 generation of Benzlers. Hugh is one of the young Benzlers with his girlfriend, Deana. www.benzlerfarms.com

Alina told us that this was her first day working at the LA Bakery. It took some discipline not to buy everything on display as they all looked delicious. J.J. and I settled for Greek Quiche and Cheese Quiche for our lunch.

Kathy was helping mind the booth of Mr. G's Hawaiian-Style Teriyaki for her friends. Anything that says "Hawaii" works like a magnet for us. J.J. purchased Thai Pepper Barbecue Sauce which should go well with stir-fried vegetables and fish.

We strolled down on Carson Street (US 395 where there are a number of government offices. This is also a Historic District with some notable buildings.

The Capitol Building sits on a beautiful well-manicured park with so many trees that it offer a great place to sit and reflect and do yoga.

We are looking forward to a gourmet dinner at home. J.J. is preparing wild salmon from Oregon - a gift from Larry and Mary.

Aloha -- Cathi

Day of Shopping and Organizing

Aloha Everyone,

I think one of the best reasons for traveling is to have the opportunity to meet people like Mary and Larry. We met them yesterday and talked until it was dark. Mary and Larry brought out their iPad and showed us some of the places we should visit. This morning we resumed where we left off and reluctantly said our farewell. They are from Surprise, Arizona. Yes, there is a city called Surprise and we look forward to seeing them again.

Today J.J. and I spent our time organizing Honu, donating extra clothes to Boys and Girls Club and shopping for items we need for our coming adventure to Oregon and Washington.

Walmart is where we purchase special toilet paper for RVs that are rapid-dissolving for our marine toilet. We also purchased chemicals for our gray water pipe (kitchen water) and black water (toilet). By chance, we made a wrong turn and came in front of a Cost-Plus World Market.

World Market is known for importing food, unique and unusual furniture, items for home decorating and the kitchen. There are over 259 Cost Plus World Market retail stores located nationwide. Some of you know that J.J. is a fabulous cook and his paella using the Albert Family Recipe is absolutely wonderful. Living in Honu, we have to make some adjustments and cooking elaborate meals is one of them.  We previously tried the Vigo Paella Valenciana and with fresh seafood, it makes a good Spanish meal.http://www.worldmarket.com/

The afternoon was spent at Fandango Movie Theater to watch "Guardians of the Galaxy." It was far from the classic Star Wars of the same genre and J.J. and I walked out of the theater trying to find something nice to say about the film.

For dinner, we stopped by and purchased a loaf of Mule Bread from Paul Schat's Bakery. The bakery was recommended by Mary and Larry.

Large dinner salad for two. Salami is for J.J.

 Aloha -- Cathi

Day Trip to Lake Tahoe

Aloha Everyone,

Let me begin be sharing with you the photo of Emerald Bay. We were told that this is the most spectacular site when you circle the lake and J.J. and I agree.

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide making it the largest alpine lake in North America. The western half of the lake is in California and the eastern half is in Nevada.

It's approximately 72 miles to drive around the lake from either California or Nevada side.

Today's drive was exciting and nostalgic as this was one of our honeymoon destinations nearly 43 years ago.  Natural scenic beauty of the lake was unchanged. However we were amazed to see how a sleepy alpine town has transformed into a place with mega casino resorts and shopping centers.

Anne works at the visitor center. When she saw Honu, she came out to take a closer look. We exchanged pleasantries and found out that nearly 42 years ago Anne lived and worked on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Following Anne's advice, we chose our picnic site in a pine growth with lake frontage in Kiva Beach Park.

We enjoyed excellent food from a Safeway deli.

Curious and unafraid, this Bluejay flew down and perched on our picnic table to take a closer look.

This chipmunk was very friendly and at one point jumped on the seat next to me. Our policy is no matter how tame or hungry it appears, never feed any animals in the wild. He allowed me to get so close that I was at an arm's length from him.

At 6225 feet above sea level, noon-time temperature was at 73 degrees F. We saw a family from Germany getting ready to swim in the lake.

We also visited Tallac Historic Site located adjacent to our picnic site.

Two items especially caught my eyes  one was this pet carrying case and the second was a sign on the door which read, "Close the door to keep chipmunks out."

Emerald Bay is located in Southwest Lake Tahoe in California. There were several designated "lookout" parking areas but they were all full or too small for Honu to squeeze in.

With J.J.'s professionally trained eyes, he knew exact spot where I can take photos without leaving Honu.

I think that the rocky island in the bay enhances the beauty and charm of Emerald Bay.

Aloha -- Cathi