A Valentine Adventure
Charlie had a huge grin on his face as he hunched over his keyboard in his Cal Sci office, placing an online reservation. He had asked Amita if she would be up for a little pre-Valentine's Day weekend adventure the upcoming weekend. Upon her confirmation she was open to it and had the time available for a little weekend away, he had started researching. There was snow on the slopes up by Lake Tahoe, so he checked availability at a resort he had been to for snow-boarding before, Granlibakken Resort and Conference Center.
Not wanting to seem to have any agenda beyond some romantic fun, he made reservations for a two bedroom town home, one where one of the bedrooms was upstairs in the loft. It was a wonderful place the professor knew. He had been there before for conferences in the summer and for ski or snowboarding in the winter. The weather looked to be wet the weekend of February 10th and 11th. They could fly into the Reno/Tahoe Airport. He had already arranged to rent a 4-wheel drive Toyota Highlander Hybrid at the airport.
Amita didn't ski or snowboard, but she liked 'playing in the snow'. The facilities were wonderful. He was booking them under a package weekend deal that included three meals a day in the main building; the two bedroom townhomes had full kitchens and dining rooms with all the accoutrements, fireplaces in the full living room. The townhome he booked even had a hot tub off on the balcony off the loft bedroom, if they wanted to make use of it. It was a beautiful romantic place. He arranged for the first evening to have a catered dinner in the room for the two of them, also a welcoming flower arrangement and fruit basket. His grin kept getting wider and wider.
"Oh, now…see a smile like that, Brother of mine, what are you up to on that laptop? Internet porn?" Don was clearly kidding from his doorway.
"Give me a break, older brother. I'm booking a little weekend getaway for Amita and I, so if it isn't a case I can wrap up by tomorrow night, you had better be able to work with me by e-mail or phone."
"So…Valentine's weekend get a way, huh? One bedroom?" Don walked over to look at the screen. "Whoa – Granlibakken! Looks very nice and classy."
"I'm getting us the two bedroom townhome with the second bedroom up in the loft – all meals included."
"My,…you are pulling out all the stops, aren't you? Driving up?"
"No, I've booked us a flight to Reno/Tahoe airport tomorrow. We'll rent a car and off for our winter wonderland adventure. Fresh snow is falling on the hills around Tahoe, you know?"
"Uh-huh, you take your snowboard?"
"Of course! The package includes a learner's class if Amita decides to give it a try – rental equipment and all."
"Very nice. I see you went for the hot tub on the balcony."
Charlie just smiled. "Are you here to drool over my plans, or did you need something?"
"I've got some data I'd like you to work your magic with, but I don't want you to let this interfere with your plans."
Charlie accepted the folder and said. "Summarize?" Even as his eyes began scanning the pages inside, Don quickly explained what he hoped his brother could do with the new case the team had caught. He noticed Charlie was rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he reviewed everything the team had turned up so far. "Sure, Don…this doesn't look like too big a problem. I can see a couple of approaches that should work out for you. Let me run with this for awhile. Come by for dinner at the house tonight. I have a real good cross-rib roast slow cooking in my Crockpot."
The older Eppes smiled. "Sounds like a plan. How big of a roast?"
"Invite any one from the team who wants to join us. We'll have plenty. Amita and Dad will be there. I'm slow cooking it, so it should be really tender. "
"Okay. I'll extend the invite. See you tonight." Don leaned over and quickly skipped around the Granlibakken website. "This place is really nice, Charlie. You guys should have a blast. You drive up thru Truckee from Reno…right? Same turn off as for Squaw Valley. "
"That's the place. We went there with Mom and Dad what, two years after we graduated from high school? "
Remembering that trip, Don grinned. "Oh, yeah. You insisted on going swimming in the outdoor pool – Mom thought you were crazy."
"It was a heated pool. We used the sauna and soaked in the hot tub after skiing at Squaw, remember?"
"Yeah…we all met there the weekend before Christmas – you flew in from Princeton with Mom and Dad drove up from the house, picked me up at college and we drove up to meet you. Dad was so ticked because we came up through Central California and turned left at I- 80, but he had forgotten the chains. And, it was snowing."
"Right…right, he had to let the chain monkeys sell him a new set and they insisted on putting them on and charging you for that, too. He was po'ed."
"He skied off the trail and got stuck, remember? Mom freaked out because we had to send the ski patrol up the mountain after him. We all went night skiing over at Boreal! Remember that – with the torches, skiing down the hill."
"Yeah. Do you think Amita will like Granlibakken?" Charlie looked up at his older brother hopefully.
"Oh, yeah…buddy, she's going to love it. You can take her into South Lake Tahoe for shopping and go across the State line and do some gambling. You'll have lots to do."
The professor grinned. "I thought so. I'm planning real careful so we have a great time."
"You will. So, see you tonight – okay?" Don made a special note of the web address for the sight. Maybe he and Liz could go up some time….yeah that was a really good idea. Some time soon.
End of part the first…..grin