We had some Southwest vouchers to use up before they expired so for spring break, we decided to fly to our new state capitol and then drive to Tahoe/Squaw and see how the snow was up there. :) First time flying out of (and back into!) SD.

Straight to Tahoe. Everything was so GREEN!

Geared up and rarin’ to go.

The first day, a huge snowstorm hit. E still had his lesson but only a couple of lifts were open. Then they closed the whole mountain early due to lightning. :(

A little bummed but we got to walk around the village a bit and found a cool coffee shop.

Jumping in the snow. :)

Obligatory oversized-wooden-chair-at-ski-resort pic. Not many people were out so we didn’t have to wait. :)

Played Jenga and ping pong back at the lodge.

It snowed even more overnight so the next day was a glorious blanket of white!

E had lessons again so it was a mad dash to ride as much as the mountain as we could to make up for lost time. :P

See Lake Tahoe in the background?

Nature has a way of just leaving us speechless at times.

Then we boarded awhile w/ E towards the end of the day.

It started coming down pretty hard as we were walking back so these two decided to make a HUGE snowball and snowman.

We considered extending our time in Squaw another day but unfortunately couldn’t cancel our Sacramento hotel so it was bye-bye for now. Another round of drinks for the road. :)

The next day, it was time to explore the California State Capitol.

Inside was what was considered their museum. They had informative displays for each county in the whole state. Ours!

Met @ the Reagan statue for our tour guide. “Free” tour (paid for by our taxes, they joked).

The green Assembly Chamber.

And the rose Senate Chamber.

The guide was pretty entertaining with lots of interesting tidbits.

This bear was apparently purchased by Arnold Schwarzenegger as a gift to CA.

We strolled the park and gardens outside.

From the World Peace Rose Garden.

Vietnam Memorial.

E had lots of questions about war, why people fight and soldiers dying. Difficult but good conversations.

Memorial Grove, a tribute to the those who lost their lives in the Civil War.

Found a Taiwanese place for lunch.

“Bing”, of course!

We then wandered over to the Old Sacramento State Historic Park.

This riverboat on the waterfront is actually a hotel.

We still had quite a bit of daylight left so found a nearby park to run around. He requested hide and seek.

This monkey loves hanging and dangling.

They call this sculpture the alien tourist trailer. :D

Mommy got up early AM to run on the American River Trail.

It was enjoyable until…

The wild turkey that almost gave her a heart attack. :D Then a homeless old man comes cruising on a bike, right past the turkey without a blink of an eye. Said turkey wanders back into the wild, whew!

Beautiful Saturday morning to check out one of the area’s farmer’s markets. Not as big as some of the ones in SD but lots of fresh goodies. We saw these lion’s mane mushrooms we wish we could’ve brought back.

Our return flight was that evening so we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Powerhouse Science Center.

Fun challenges like build a structure to withstand a simulated earthquake…

Or tornado.

These digital sand maps are making an appearance at many a museum.

The museum seemed kind of small when we walked in but there was actually lots to keep us busy for a few hours. We also saw a short planetarium show.

Airport for our first flight “back home” to SD. We used to be super sad to go home after trips. Now, not so much. :)