From the Baltic to the Bay- Day 5
We're Going VERTICAL, Mav
Tuesday, June 22, 2021
Morning
After a long night of on and off AC and "cool" air blowing in the room, we woke up around 8:30AM and got ready for hike around Lake Tahoe. But unfortunately, the casino did not offer a breakfast or buffet. The Alpine Union restaurant did usually offer breakfast but due to being short staffed in the wait staff and chefs departments, they were not offering breakfast. We drove around South Lake Tahoe looking for a restaurant but many were completely packed and had wait times of 20-40 minutes. So that meant we were back at... you guessed it- McDonald's. This was SO aggravating to me but that is ok! This McDonald's was San Francisco prices on steroids'. It was over a $30 bill for breakfast combo meals and coffee upgrades. I was dumbfounded!
The thermostat and AC unit in our room at the Hard Rock.
A view from our room. This clear day was absolutely gorgeous! 
Since Chris had never been to California, we were hoping for a BIG grand "Welcome to California" sign or something! This was the best we could get! After breakfast we went to the Van Sickle Bi- State Park to set up our hike for the morning. We had planned on doing the Barn Trail Loop which was just 1.5 miles total but after speaking to a park ranger we decided to do the much longer (and higher elevation) hike towards the Van Sickle Trail Connector. This was an 8.1 mile out and back trail that went to the very top of the mountain behind Heavenly Village. We did not do the entire trail but just the first 3.6 miles. This took us to a beautiful, albeit small, waterfall about 2/3 of the way up the mountain. This was incredibly difficult and took about 4 hours. We had to stop about every 10 minutes just for me to catch my breath. Between the post-Covid shortness of breath and the altitude change, I was really struggling. The first half of this hike was not bad and all and on a "paved" path. TIP- The second half was on rocky terrain and quite difficult in fact. The trail was labeled moderate but I personally think it was difficult.
I was a little nervous since I was still short of breath but I knew I just needed to do it!
I am so glad I did!
Let's do this... We're ready!
A view from the Vista Point about 1/8 of the way up the trail!
A selfie for Chris at the Vista Point
Chris was so excited, he climbed up on this rock! I was highly impressed.
Selfie on the rock!
We are LOVING this view... Little did we know, it would only get BETTER!
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A view of our hotel, Hard Rock, from the Vista Point.
Once we got to the waterfall, the sights and scenes were absolutely phenomenal. Sights like I have never seen in my life. I just stood in awe of God and His majesty. We stayed at the waterfall for over 30 minutes just taking it all in and relaxing. The water in the waterfall was basically melted snow from the top of the mountain and it was literally FREEZING cold. Many would say it was "refreshing". Nope it was paralyzing!
Shortly after the Vista Point, Chris found a HUGE stick to help with the hike!
This was me about every 8-10 minutes. This was no joke!
This was such an experience and so humbling!
Wait, wait... You want me to climb all the way up there?
No way... Oh Okay! Let's go!
Panorama of our hike about 3/4 of the way up!
The waterfall on the Van Sickle Trail
I felt so accomplished once we arrived at this waterfall! 
Mission Accomplished!
Time to make our way back down the mountain!
Another view from the top of the trail!
Looking south
Chris using his birthday binoculars to see more of the Lake and Mountains!
Oh Beautiful, for Spacious SkiesThen we started to make the trek back down the mountain. Within 5 minutes I was on my back and I fell down. I was looking at the lake and talking about how gorgeous it was and then all of the sudden I was falling. It was pretty scary to say the least. My right arm and elbow caught my fall. Chris had a HUGE walking stick he found so he was all set to get back down the mountain, but not me and my old clumsy self! Even though nobody saw, I was a pretty embarrassed.
What is really bad is that within another 10 minutes, I was on my back again. I fell a total of 4 times before we reached the car at the bottom of the mountain. We decided it was due to the lack of traction in my shoes. While packing I specifically decided to pack some older tennis shoes. I didn't want to take my fancy running shoes or my cute school shoes so I grabbed an older pair not thinking about this crazy 3.6 mile hike in the mountains! I was sore for the next 3 days!
The after picture... Even with 5 falls, I was trying to still smile!
Afternoon
Once we got to the bottom of the mountain we hydrated some more and then went to Heavenly Village to eat at a well known restaurant Basecamp Pizza. There was a 45 minute wait time so we decided to order pizza to go. It took less than 20 minutes and we were on our way back to our hotel. TIP- The sign for Basecamp Pizza is in the front of Heavenly Village on Highway 50 but the actual restaurant is in the CENTER of the Village near the movie theater! It took me about 10 minutes to find it!
And to think we climbed so much higher than this elevation... No wonder I had a headache!
The Basecamp Pizza was worth ALL of the hype, even as to-go pizza. I wouldn't say it was the absolute best we have ever eaten but it was really close. We ordered the Large BaseCamp Pizza (think supreme) and a small Big Mountain (Meat Lovers). These were delectable and we enjoyed them both, especially the BaseCamp. It was a $54 tab including tip but it was well worth it!
The Large Basecamp pizza! Seriously worth the $28!
The small Big Mountain! After lunch we showered to get all of the dirt off of us and then Chris took a nap while I went and explored Heavenly Village. This was much bigger than I expected and offered countless shops, restaurants and stores (many way overpriced) but offered great quality merchandise.
This town was so quaint and friendly! 
Heavenly Village with shops, stores and restaurants!As the afternoon was fading, I went back to the casino to try and play a little video poker and let Chris continue to sleep but I was SO EXHAUSTED. I just had to go back to the room and lie down. Between the hike, the altitude and the post-Covid exhaustion, I was barely able to stand up! I went back to the room and crashed for about an hour and a half before we went out again for the evening!
All of the hotels/ casinos had these huge signs as you entered.
I do not know how they check for this as nobody ever asked us if we were vaccinated.
I will say that about 80-90% of the people were not wearing masks. 
The HardRock pool around 5PM as I walked back to our room! 
The long hallway from the Casino to the Sunset tower!
I did like the decoration of the HardRock with all of the bands, music and instruments! Evening
After my short nap, I really wanted to just chill in the room but I knew that was lame and we were only here for a brief time so I grabbed some more water and Tylenol and then we headed out to check out all of the casinos in Stateline. MontBleu was a really nice and well kept casino. It was a lot smaller than the Hard Rock but you could tell it was better maintained. Chris's brother, John, and his wife stayed here for their honeymoon and I am sure it was gorgeous! It was voted as the best casino and hotel in Lake Tahoe and I can see why just from the brief time we spent in the casino.
Harvey's and Harrah's are both owned by Caesar Properties and they were much bigger and more Vegas like. They still screamed "cheap and trashy" but were much better maintained than the Hard Rock. Think Flamingo or Bally's in Las Vegas. These two casinos also offered more upscale restaurants like Hell's Kitchen. Unfortunately, due to the staff shortage left by the pandemic, Hell's Kitchen was sold out and not taking reservations. TIP- These two casinos will honor Caesar's Loyalty program points and can be redeemed here for comped rooms and etc. We usually are more MLife loyal but had I known this, we would have jumped on the Caesar's bandwagon.
We were not hungry but decided to go to Joe's Sport Bar in Harvey's to watch the College World Series playoff and some MLB. TIP- This was a good sports bar with great daily specials but once again there was only one server, one hostess and one bartender. However, our bartender was OUTSTANDING! We enjoyed our pre-dinner drinks and watching sports. We even met a dealer who gave us tips for our last evening in South Lake Tahoe.
We then went back to the Hard Rock and found another $15 minimum blackjack table. We both set down to play this time and our dealer, Nataly, was doing a FANTASTIC job and even though we only started with enough money to play 5-6 hands each, we still came out ahead. At one point Chris had tripled his money. But as always, any winnings I earn I dump back into the casino. THIS IS VEGAS... OR ANY CASINO! We ended up about $70 up for the entire trip and that, my friends, IS A WIN!
By this point we were starving and wanted to try the Oyster Bar in Hard Rock but the line was 10 parties deep and you HAD TO STAY IN LINE to get a seat. This seemed insane to me. Give me a pager or something. But no... You had to stay in line.
The line for the Oyster Bar at HardRock.
This was a shame because I really wanted to try and eat here. But I was just too tired to STAND in line for an hour+! We put our name in Alpine Union (the Chili's like restaurant in Hard Rock) but the wait time was 50 minutes. We walked back to MontBleu to put our name in a restaurant there but it, too, was an hour long wait. TIP- It seemed EVERYONE in South Lake Tahoe (and California really) were VERY short staffed due to the pandemic. Be sure to bring your patience if you are visiting in the near future (late 2021- 2022).
While we waited for our table we went back to the Center Bar in Hard Rock and played more Video Poker and had pre-dinner drinks before our table was ready. We finally got to our table at Alpine Union at 9:45PM and had to order off the "late night menu" instead of the regular menu. However, Chris was still able to get the $25 Prime Rib special. (Our waiter told us this is the best value and special anywhere around Lake Tahoe. Be sure to check this out if you like prime rib. It is available EVERYDAY 11AM until gone.)
The Alpine Union menu. 
The $25 Prime Rib special!
My Philly Cheesesteak! This was very good, albeit expensive! Our waiter, Mark, was one of only 2 waiters for a restaurant that can house 100+. I just cannot believe the shortage of staff in California! The food and service were great, given the circumstances, and we were "fat and happy" in the end. We were so tired by this point (11PM) that we went to the room and called it a night!
It was such a great day of views and hiking! I am still in awe of God and His gorgeous creations! Thank you Jesus for the chance to see these gorgeous sights and for the recovery to be able to do so! We are so grateful!
UP NEXT... DAY 6, including our commute back to San Francisco and CHINATOWN!
Thanks for following along! We appreciate your support!
God is good... ALL THE TIME!
DID YOU MISS A DAY? Get caught up below:
The Backstory
Do You Know the Way to San Jose- Day 1
Redwoods and Wine Country- Day 2
And Then There Were Four- Day 3
A Capital Day- Day 4
Check out ALL of our LAND travels:
