We had stayed a day longer in Reno than planned and we were getting differing reports as to whether or not a recent dump of snow had melted to the point that the drive through the Sierra Nevada Mountains would be trouble-free. DH has been doing the vast majority of the driving and was not particularly motivated to drive on ice especially since our near term destination was somewhat underwhelming for us- the off-season wine country of Napa Valley (and neither one of us would know a Chardonnay from a Sauvignon Blanc, although I have mastered the red vs white taste test).

When I casually mentioned that an interim stop was going to be The Jelly Belly jelly bean factory, she had a re-think and left me to handle the bags as she quickly had Billy Thunder warming up while honking the horn.

We had a warm, sunny day and not only had the snow on the road disappeared, the roads were dry and the views amazing. We made our way west via the famous resort area of Lake Tahoe. Tahoe City was founded in 1864 as a resort community for the newly rich mining types of Virginia City. And another fun fact includes the idea that after a dispute that included gunshots exchanged between militia, California and Nevada defined a partition that followed geographical coordinates: unbeknownst to the negotiators, this compromise split Lake Tahoe: two-thirds for California, one-third for Nevada.

DH (where the 'D' stands for Downhill Dolly) was really keen on trying her hand at a day of skiing at Heavenly Mountain until she saw the Lake Tahoe prices for equipment rental and a lift ticket. We did spring for an expensive ride on the 2.4 mile gondola ride that delivers unbelievable views of the valley area below.

We eventually make it to the Jelly Belly factory tour (on two wheels most of the way) and DH loaded up on black jelly beans (all others just get in the way of her taste extravaganza), and I made the mistake of going to the edge of the jelly bean experience with a bag of jelly bean tastes including Moldy Cheese, Rotten Fish, Baby Wipes, and Stinky Socks (no kidding- they actually make beans with these tastes/smells). After a bit of gagging, I was eyeing DH’s stash of beans but apparently one does not share black jelly beans. Who knew?

We did make it to the very posh Napa Valley for a California lunch (some sort of bean sprout, avocado, and kale mixture on gluten-free bread), and a glass of Napa Valley white wine. From there it was time to get back on the Pacific Ocean Hwy.