Sad News

Goodbye Grandma Dorothy

Little did we know when we went to Tahoe last month and moved Nanna into her assisted living community, that would be last time we got to see her. She passed away on April 15th, surrounded by family, and free of pain. Again, we drove down to Tahoe to attend her beautiful funeral, and spend time with family and friends.

She was such a wonderful, special lady. In the short time I've known her, and during the four times I have gotten to spend time with her, she made me feel loved and cared for, and definitly like a member of the family. She will be sorely missed, and she will always remain in the hearts of the people who knew and loved her.

Here are some pictures we had taken with her during our trip to Tahoe in March.

Until we meet again Grandma Dorothy.... we will miss you.

Lake Tahoe March 2010

So Grandma Dorothy (Justin's mother's mother) injured her back in February, and could no longer live in her retirement community, so we got her a nice place in an assisted living establishment. It was a lot smaller, so the family had to sort through her things. Justin, his mother, and I took the trip down to help, and it ended up being a great little break from Utah.

Here's the standard travel pic. This is the first five minutes of an eight hour drive...

The drive down wasn't too bad. We all took turns driving.

The landscape sure leaves lots to the imagination.

Once we got down there, we got to work. We went through all Grandma Dorothy's stuff, and took what she wanted to her new pad, and either split the rest between family members, or gave it away. There was a lot to go through, but we got it done, and got Nanna comfortable in her new home, surrounded by all her favorite things.

Nanna Dorothy got to meet Trigger for the first time, and they went together like peas and carrots :) Grandma Dorothy blinked, but it's still such a cute picture. If you can see, Trigger is holding on to her hands.

Trigger loves his great grandma Dot.

We took one night and went out with Shannon and her boyfriend Chris. We went out to dinner, and then decided to go to a casino for a little bit. We drove right under this famous sign, so I snapped a quick pick.

We stopped to gamble for about 45 minutes and this casino had a pretty big fountain.

I can get excited over stupid things, and I love pictures, so here ya go. I'm sharing :)

During our trip, we got to take a break from moving Nanna's stuff, and we took a tour around the lake with Justin's Aunt Sandy. She was such a wonderful tour guide. She has lived at Lake Tahoe for over 30 years, so she knew all the local history. This is overlooking Emerald Bay. It was the most beautiful day! I have totally and completely fallen in love with this lake.

Lots of beautiful snow and forest. It smelled so fresh!

Our little family, overlooking the lake. Trigger is a little distracted.

We stopped at the renowned CalNeva resort, so named because it sits on the California Nevada state line. It was owned from 1960 - 63 by Frank Sinatra. During that time the Rat Pack, Marilyn Monroe, the Kennedy's, and lots of other celebrities and gangers frequented the resort. There were many secret tunnels dug under the resort so that people could get from one place to another without being seen, and gangsters could escape when the authorities made a stop by the casino. Frank Sinatra lost the resort when gangsters were caught gambling there, and authorities took away his gaming and liquor licenses. At that time, most of the tunnels were sealed up. They offer a tunnel tour of the remaining tunnels though, so we went on that.

The CalNeva Resort sits right on the state line. In their huge gathering room, they have a line right down the middle of it. I took the liberty of planting one cheek in each state :)

This is Marilyn Monroe's cabin. Obviously it didn't look like this back in the early 60's when she

frequented the resort, but being in the cabin she stayed in 50 years ago was still an experience.

In her cabin, Frank Sinatra's cabin, and John F. Kennedy's cabin, there was a trap door in the

floor of the closet that led up to the resort. They are sealed up now, but imagine the secret liasons that went on back then.

This might be where Marilyn and JFK's affair began. Crazy!

Marilyn had such a sad life. After going on this trip, I bought a biography of Marilyn Monroe.

She had such a sad life. I highly recommend reading about her one day.

She was a fascinating lady.

Marilyn Monroe is said to haunt this staircase, and a medium who came in a few years ago said she saw Marilyn sitting on the stairs here, right next to where I am.

I really wanted to get her in my picture, but she didn't show up that day :)

Notice how the stairway goes to nowhere now. The trapdoor was sealed up in the 60's.

Getting in deep now! It's pitch black with the lights off back here.

In the deepest part of the tunnel. Over our heads is where the trap door was sealed, and there used to be futher tunnels behind us that were also sealed up the authorities back in the 60's.

Down in the same tunnel, just before leaving it. Notice the "grave" of Jimmie Hoffa LOL.

It is speculated that he is actually buried somewhere on the grounds of the CalNeva Resort.

This trap door was right in front of the stage, and could be hidden from the audience's view when the curtains were dropped. Members of the Rat Pack would use it to escape from the stage area if they got too drunk to perform or just didn't want to be seen before/after performances.

This could have been the exact booth the Rat Pack hung out in!

That was the end of our CalNeva visit. Very interesting place!

And on our way home, I snapped this photo, which pretty much says it all.

It was time to go home.