Tahoe, With Toddler

In case you haven't been following the news, California has been having quite the drought this winter.  We've been glued to the Weather Channel and doing frantic snow dances, but the mountains at Tahoe have pretty much been bone dry through February.  Finally, we bit the bullet and decided we needed to take a trip to Tahoe no matter what.  Little V wanted to ski!

My latest passion has been following all sorts of travel deals blogs (one that all traveling moms out there need to read is MommyPoints), so I decided to find a way to do Tahoe on the cheap using miles and points.  As luck would have it, the Ritz Carlton recently build a slopeside resort at Northstar-at-Tahoe, which is where we wanted to go anyway.  Northstar definitely has the best kids ski programs, and it was pretty much the only resort that had any snow coverage, as they have invested heavily in snow-making.  Even better was the fact we could use our plentiful Marriott points earned from credit card bonuses and business travel for a room at the Ritz.  Score!

We loaded up the car early on a Saturday morning and made it to Tahoe in record time.  We pulled up to the Ritz to find a legion of bellmen who unloaded our skis from the ski rack and took them to the "ski concierge."  We would later find that we would never have to lug skis or boots during our whole stay - the staff takes care of everything, including helping you in and out of your ski boots.  Amazing - and especially helpful when you have a toddler in tow and an extra set of all her ski things.

View from our room:

The pool area and hotel (swanky!):

Virginia had her very own crib (which was stocked with a baby toiletries kit and outlet covers - they think of everything):

After checking into our room and getting a bite of lunch, we managed to get Virginia an early afternoon ski lesson.  She was pretty worn out from the travels and getting close to nap time, so the first lesson was not much of a success.  But it was a start!  Meanwhile, Thomas and I traded off skiing and watching her.  Here she is in her first lesson of 2012 (and waiting to take her first ski lift ride ever):

Thomas hits the slopes (note the totally dry valley behind him and the "thin cover" sign!)

 After (unsuccessful) nap time, we hit the hot tub and then headed to dinner in the Village, a short gondola ride away.  Virginia had a blast watching the ice skaters at the rink there and eating a delicious Japanese dinner.

Ready for a night on the town:

Bento box and chopsticks (before you get too impressed with her exotic culinary taste, you might spot that the kids bento box included french fries!):

By the end of dinner, she was nothing short of WORN OUT.  She fell asleep on my shoulder walking back to the hotel and Virginia never falls asleep anywhere but in a crib!  Here she is upon return to our hotel room:

We got up bright and early Sunday morning in time for Virginia to take a one hour early bird lesson.  Since she isn't quite three, she was too young for ski school and we thought three hours of ski school would be too much anyway at this age.  She took to skiing much better this time... here she is tearing up the slopes:

After Virginia finished her lesson, we went back to the hotel for a swim and to pack up our room while Thomas skied.  We ate a nice lunch at the Ritz and then loaded up the car for the return trip to the Bay Area.  Virginia slept for much of the trip:

It was a great weekend away.  I only fear we've been completely spoiled for next year - once you get used to the Ritz, it is hard to go back!  Guess we'll have to stockpile the Marriott points for 2013.