Over President’s Day weekend, we hauled the family to Twain Harte, California where my best friend from law school, Jason Curliano and his better half, Madeline, own a cabin. They graciously invited us for the weekend not knowing how noisy we could be and that they would be subjected to a “Cinnamon Roll Hug” at the end of the trip. Had they known, they may not have invited us.
We played lots of games, and Zack Curliano (13) creamed us all in a great new game called “
Ticket to Ride.” It is a cross between Blockus (one of my favorites) and Risk, but doesn’t take the time of Risk and is not as limiting as Blockus (which requires exactly four players for the best game.) In Ticket to Ride, 2-5 players try to build railroad routes across the United States, while keeping their opponents from successfully doing the same. You get the right to claim segments of a route when you have collected enough colored cards that correspond to the color of the segment you want. If your opponent claims a segment you wanted, you may have to try and take alternate segments to complete your entire route. You get points for claiming segments (the longer the segment you claim, the more points you get) and you get bonus points for completing full routes. If you can’t complete a route you have been assigned, the bonus points get deducted from your final score. One of the best parts of the game is that if you mess up on your scoring during the game, you can easily recount at the end of the game to make sure you got all the points you deserved. The box claims that games take between half hour to one hour. My experience is that the games are closer to an hour if five players are playing, but take less time if less players play. This is easily one of the most entertaining board games I have played. 5 Beavers for Ticket to Ride.
Between games, we enjoyed skiing at
Dodge Ridge, about 15 minutes up Highway 108 from Twain Harte. I had never heard of Dodge Ridge before but was pleasantly surprised. The resort reminded me of the Sundance of my youth – before it began catering to a more ”high end” clientele. Dodge Ridge has no high speed lifts (though I heard they plan to put a couple in next year) or fancy lodges or restaurants, but the mountain was beautiful, there were tons of fun runs, and the atmosphere was very family friendly and laid back. The resort had at least seven lifts and good ski school. There were no crowds, even on Saturday. The days we skied, the weather was unseasonably warm so the snow conditions were not the best, but they groom the runs each night which made the conditions the best possible. The one thing I did not like is that their lifts do not have pull down bars with ski rests. By the end of the day riding the lifts was painful with the weight of the boots, skis and my lower legs themselves pulling down on my knee joint. Julia said she felt like her knee was only being “held together by a vein.” 3 Beavers for Dodge Ridge.
During our stay, Jason and Madeline treated Cathy and I to dinner at “
The Prospector,” a Twain Harte Restaurant that specializes in wood fired pizzas. We learned that the owner, Robert, will serve who he likes and will not serve those he doesn’t like. He doesn’t like big groups either. While we were eating, he told us of a party of ten that tried to pretend they were separate parties of six and four. He gave them the boot. When you place your order, he may decide to give you something different. When we sat down (he knows Jason and Madeline quite well), he took our menus away and told us that he would take care of us. Instead of pizzas, he brought us a delectable Cuban sampler dish that had marinated pork, a cold shrimp salad, yams and plaintain stew that was simply delicious. His Ceasar salad (meant to be eaten with your fingers) and fresh baked bread sticks were incredible. The pizzas we saw being served at other tables looked incredible too. I suppose he can be the Pizza Nazi when the food is that good. He is apparently a certified Neapolitan wood fired oven pizza chef (complete with seal that he boasts on his menu). This was gourmet stuff. The restaurant seems a bit junky because of open boxes of wine stacked around the restaurant for customers to choose from, but with food like that, who cares what the restaurant looks like. The restaurant only seats about 25 or so but if he likes you, you should be able to get a table. Check it out if you are ever in Twain Harte. The Prospector: 23092 Fuller Rd, Twain Harte, CA 95383. 209-586-1313. 4 Beavers.
On Sunday, we attended Church in Sonora, about 15 minutes down the mountain. When we sat down for sacrament meeting, we noticed that the bishop had an uncanny resemblance to David Richardson (tall, dark, handsome… nice hair). When we saw that his name was Richardson too, we couldn’t help but ask him if he was related. Sure enough,
Bishop Richardson of the Sonora 2nd Ward (he also lives in Twain Harte) is David Richardson’s brother. Alright, join with me… “It’s a small world after all…”
Allen, Julia, Cathy, Madeline, Jason, Zack, Adam's head, Allen IV, Jane
Getting ready to ski!!!
Cinamon roll hugs on skis are a lot harder to do.
Julia, Cathy, Ruth and Jane.
Julia was amazing.
Allen uses his surfing skills to outride an avalanche.
Allen and Adam get ready to shred.
