Blown by the wind to Reno, we discover circus acts, tiki bars, and whiskey.
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We caught some early-morning prowlers on our security camera! It was a good reminder for all of us how important it is to STAY AWARE--to stay aware of our local ecology, to stay aware of how our actions affect our wildlife neighbors, to stay aware of how important it is to store food in bear-safe containers and make sure left-overs don't get left outside.
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Our first winter of cabin life inspired some updating. A custom leather sofa for 8 and a dining nook crafted from a live-edge dining table and extra-long dining bench make it easier to host a crowd.
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Happy New Year from Happy Cabin! May this year bring you all that you wish for, along with a few surprises.
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Packing a few extras is often just the thing to make someone else’s second home feel like home to you. Here’s a short list of things to consider packing when you visit Happy Cabin.
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Happy Cabin is a clean slate when it comes to holiday decor. We are still making our traditions as we go. In the meantime, I’m feeding my imagination on other people’s visions of a log cabin holiday.
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The beauty of a destination Thanksgiving is you get to go off-piste a little bit with the fixings. Nobody is going to fault you for cutting a few corners when you are hours away from home in an unfamiliar kitchen.
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At the end of a long workday, Eben snuck away to Sand Harbor State Beach, just over the border in Nevada, for a dip in the now-frigid waters.
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I assumed that the birds would all migrate south in the winter, looking for sunnier climes. I was wrong. While many birds migrate south to escape the Sierra winter, others stay, making Lake Tahoe their year-round home.
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I longed for hand-thrown ceramic mugs from local potters in a variety of shapes and colors, each one signed, each one with a story. The kind of mugs that warm the hands and pique the imagination. Gorgeous mugs.
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In the far corner of the closet in the downstairs bedroom of Happy Cabin, there’s a hand-written note tacked to the cedar log wall. The paper is weathered, browning and curled at the edges. It seems it’s been there for a while, maybe even since the cabin was first built.
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It turns out that the Kings Beach area has always been lively. The town was named after Joe King, who migrated from Texas during the Roaring 20s. Joe was a body guard and bouncer with one eye and a reputation.
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Happy Cabin came with two black-and-white photos, one of Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra from the early 60s, riding around Old Brockway in a golf cart, and the other of Dean Martin and Bing Crosby golfing, maybe even right behind the cabin on the second hole. The stories those Jeffrey pines could tell. . .
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Grandpa toiled for weeks in the hot summer sun over built-in redwood bunks, crafted by hand from pieces of redwood he'd been saving for a special project. Not only are they functional and fun, the smell of linseed oil and old wood takes me back to another happy place we discovered on a trip to Turkey we took when Anaya was only 4-years-old.
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This blog gives me an excuse to slow down and remember the journey. I hope it will also become a place for our guests to learn more about Happy Cabin and its charms.
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