Planning a Trip to Disney World

Okay I promised you the Jamestowne Settlement, Williamsburg, and more about Washington DC, but as you can see again my efforts have been thwarted by my blog writing time deficient life.  So on I go, onto the next attempt at planning a family trip.
The kids had been bugging us for a while now to go back to Disney World.  The last time we went , we took my oldest daughter, now in tenth grade, out of third grade for a week to enjoy a less crowded time in the park.  My 11 year old son was five the last time we went, which actually was his third
time, but evenso, he barely remembers anything about our vacations there. 
The problem lies in when to go.  There is no way I am going to go across the country in the middle of the summer and fight crowds and heat and there is also no way that we can take the kids out of school for a week anymore.  So February break was the option.  I told the kids that this was an expensive trip and that there would be no skiing this year.  They said 'fine.'  That was the end of the discussion.

A trip to Disney World requires a lot of planning and a lot of advanced reservation.  The hottest tickets in town fill up 180 days in advance.  We are today about four months from the start date of our week long vacation and so far I have already experienced some shut down.  So let's get to planning!!

North to the Oregon Snow Mount Bachelor, Bend, OR February 17-22, 2014

Well, here in California, another drought year was upon us.  We had already cancelled a ski trip the first weekend of January and here we were coming up on ski week and there was still NO SNOW.   On Saturday January 25th, I sat at my son's play dress rehearsal and lamented the 74 degree weather and the clear sky.  Some big decisions were going to need to happen.
We already had a reservation we couldn't get out of at Pinecrest Lake Resort unless someone else rented it (remember my post last year in which I lambasted their rotten cancellation policy?)
As of that sunny day in January, Dodge Ridge, the ski resort affiliated with aforementioned rotten cancellation policy PLR, wasn't even open.  I vowed first that if Dodge Ridge didn't open, there was no way I was wasting my time and money twiddling my thumbs at Pinecrest.  I'd rather stay home and work.  My next vow was that there was no way I was staying home and working, and that if we weren't going to Pinecrest and skiing we were going somewhere else.  I dreamed of Mexico or Florida, but my family was intent on skiing--we were going to where the snow was.  My friend, Julie Mercik, said, "You need to go to Mount Bachelor!"
With three weeks until departure, I took out my phone and released my reservation at Pinecrest Lake Resort...come what may.  It was time to plan a whole new vacation.

On the weekend before we were to depart, Dodge Ridge announced that they would open that week.  One week before we left our condo was re-rented and we were let off the financial hook.

On February 17th, at five thirty in the morning we began our 8.5 hour journey to Bend, OR.

VRBO #201884

Galley Kitchen

There is no lodging at Mount Bachelor, so chances are you are going to be staying in the nearby city of Bend, a 25 minute drive from the mountain.  My friend told us about Mount Bachelor Village Resort, so we turned to our old standby VRBO.  You can rent units of several different floor plans directly from Mount Bachelor Village using their website, but this unit suited us well and we found the prices to be comparable.  The unit is actually managed by Alpenglow Vacation Rentals.  Their number is 1-877-437-5957.  Everyone we dealt with there was super helpful, and it did help to be dealing with an office that answers the phone 24/7 should something go wrong with your rental (I forgot the lock box code!)

Living Room w/ Sofabed

VRBO #201884 is better known as Mount Bachelor Village, Ski House 1, #224.  It is an 850 sq ft, 2BR, 2BA condo.  There is one king bedroom downstairs, a queen bedroom upstairs, and a sleeper sofa.  The kitchen is newly remodeled and well stocked.  Everything is clean and modern.  The rental comes with access to a community pool (though not operational now) and two hot tubs, which we made sure to visit, a washer and dryer, and free Wi-fi.

Master Bedroom

Renting this unit also entitles you to the ski packages available to unit owners.  We purchased lift tickets in advance that allowed us to ski 3 out of 5 days (which came in handy later!) and allowed our children 12 and under to ski for free.  We also purchased a 3 out of 5 ticket for out 14 year old.  All broken down, this allowed us to ski for under 60$ per day, our teen to ski for under 50$, and our other children to ski for free.

Upstairs Bed and Bath

BRASS TACKS:  So what does this lovely rental cost? Well, keeping in mind that we stayed midweek in what was considered "off peak" time as Oregon schools do not have a ski week, the price in my opinion was a genuine steal at $189 per night.  A standard room at Yosemite would cost you this much.  This type of accommodation would cost more than $400 in Northstar Village (see my blog complaining about Northstar last year). With a 10% occupancy tax, a 100$ cleaning fee, a 39$ mandatory damage insurance fee, and the lift tickets for three days for the five of us, this portion of our four night vacation was $1461.00, worth every penny, a downright bargain.

Renting Ski Equipment

Because of our fortunate early arrival, we had time to scope around town for the possibility of renting our skis down in Bend and avoiding one more thing to do at the mountain the next morning.  Only about one mile from our condo (walking distance really) we happened upon Powder House, which offered us a deal better than on the mountain itself.  The guys and gals at Powder House were helpful, polite and quick.  Even though lots of equipment was being returned after the three day weekend, the five of us were able to get out equipment rented and out of there in about 20 minutes.  And it was a good thing too..you should have seen the line for rentals at the mountain the next morning.

Renting equipment at Powder House for three days cost $82 for adults, and $54 for children, including my 14 year old that they counted as a child.  On the mountain, a 3 out of 5 day rental would have cost and adult $105 and a child $87, and Natalya most certainly would have been counted as an adult.  True--if you are really on the ball you can reserve your equipment at the mountain over the internet and save up to 7% bringing your package total to $98 or $81 (non-refundable by the way, and don't forget the line at the mountain), but if you were in our position, the savings were significant.  Even when we decided to rent our skis one extra day the price at Powder House, the price was still less than what we would have paid on the mountain for three days, especially after the break we got on Natalya.

Bottom Line:  Unless you love lines and paying extra, rent your skis in town.  This will also cost you less than renting them in the Bay Area and hauling them up to Bend.

Mount Bachelor Ski Resort

Mount Bachelor Ski Resort, with its 3683 skiable acres, is the largest ski resort in Oregon and the

second largest single mountain resort, second only to Vail, in the United States.  It is located 22 miles west of the town of Bend, a drive of about 25 minutes (as mentioned already).  The base of the mountain sits at 6300 ft of elevation, a nearly 2700 ft elevation gain from Bend.  The short path to the mountain can change from clear, sunny and minimally snow covered in Bend to foggy, white, thoroughly snow covered, and in our case, stormy and windy, at the base of the mountain.  In no way does the weather in Bend dictate the weather on Mount Bachelor.  Typical snowfall at Mount Bachelor is more than 350 inches a year with a mid-season base snowpack of 100 inches.  Good luck matching that in Tahoe.

Mount Bachelor has two lodges, the West Village Lodge and the Sunrise Lodge, at which you can park your car and begin your day of skiing.  However, if you ordered tickets online, you are going to have to pick them up at what is called the Nordic Lodge.  There is quite a crowd at this area.  There is also the Pine Marten Lodge at mid-mountain, which the first day we didn't even realize was there because the conditions were so bad we couldn't see it.

There are 88 runs (60% of which is advanced or expert--though don't let that fool you, as many of these can be closed due to weather/wind/snow coverage) and 5 terrain parks.  There are 10 chairs (7 express quads and 3 triple chairs--all with safety bars).  During the time we were there 6-7 were open, depending again on weather/winds/crowds.  The days with bad weather we were able to get on all lifts with no waiting.  The day the weather was amazing, we probably would have waited nearly half an hour but we always took the singles line so maybe waited 15 minutes max.

Just to give you an idea of how huge this mountain is, the longest run is 1.5 miles!

The Weather

 

 



Seriously, I had to give the weather and our experience with the weather its own subheading.  The  main reason that Mount Bachelor skiing is as good as it is, is because it's COLD and it SNOWS A LOT.  So if you are used to sunny balmy days in the 40s while skiing in California, you are in for a new experience, and not necessarily a pleasant one!

Yeah, this is me!
Look at the ice in my hair and
at the bridge of my nose!

I don't mess around when I ski.  If I expect cold temperatures I wear 6 layers on top, two on my legs, double gloves, double socks, a scarf that covers my face completely, and goggles, topped off with a fleece hat and the hood to my jacket.  Had a not been wearing such a formidable suit of armor, I can probably safely say I would not have survived the conditions that faced us at Mount Bachelor.  Your first wind blast is opening the door to your car in the parking lot, and it just gets worse from there. As you crest each ridge while on the chair lift, some worse than others, but all pretty bad, 40 mph winds carrying snow both falling and being swept off the trees, pummel you and your poor little chair.  As elevation gains, the blanket of fog appears, and now you can't see either.  You just put your hands in fists and your head down and silently pray.
Thank God for the high speed quad.  We rode the Rainbow Chair once quite by accident and its slow speeds nearly flash froze us.
But the chair may not be the worst.  Now you have to ski through the treacherous fog and wind you were previously just riding though.  With me in front and Craig in the back, our single file slow moving line meandered through the white--white sky, white air, white ground--slowing periodically to scrape off the ice forming on our goggles.However, once off the top, about 100 yards, though still snowing, the visibility improves and it is evident that this is perhaps the best snow you have ever experienced, and when you hit the bottom of the hill, something makes you want to brave it again, and again, and again, which we did until 4pm that afternoon.

The next morning it was snowing in BEND--not a good sign!  After not too much deliberation we decided not to ski but rather to ski on Friday, despite the fact we were going to have to rent our skis another day and we had no place to stay after skiing Friday night.  Better weather was forecasted for Friday, and anything was better than three days in a row of arctic torment.
SO, off we went to the COLUMBIA OUTLET! What a godsend!  For some reason they were having a ridiculous sale.  Craig and I turned in our ancient Costco ski gloves for two $80 pairs marked to $19.99 each. Ally got a new hat and a new ski jacket. The whole bill?  Like $120! 
Another too snowy on the mountain but great weather in Bend activity was the Deschutes Brewery tour.  Their free 45 minute tour includes four four ounce samples of their fine offerings for the adults and root beer for the kids.  The tasting room is a fun atmosphere with helpful and friendly staff.  We were hooked!  My favorites--the Inversion IPA and the Hop Henge Ale--looking all over for these in California.  If anyone sees it, please grab me some!

Thursday's skiing was much like Tuesdays, but with our new gear, it was somewhat more tolerable, and out we were again from 9 until 4.  Here's a few photos...

I joked with a few people that this was my husband
and they actually believed me!

But Friday...oh Friday.  On Friday we saw Mount Bachelor for the first time.  By mid morning the sun had burned away the clouds, revealing a winter paradise like no other, a witness to what three days of winter pounding had wrought.  The trees were so heavily covered, they were more like spires, some so buried, they were more like tufts.  The scene was a photographer's dream, the kind of day they wait for for years so they can get shots good enough to put on the brochure.
And oh the snow!  It was still quite cold (no change in my above mentioned attire) so the powder that had fallen stayed dry and soft.
Many locals told us that we were there on the best day of skiing to date that season.  What a blessing!  Runs closed all week due to wind and weather were open and we took advantage!  Though our legs said no, we willed ourselves to make it happen!  We skied a third day all the way until four!
Here is a gallery of beautiful pictures.  Hard to believe this is only 24 hours later...

Though the lofty plan was to drive home after leaving Bend at 5:30, we didn't make it.  After 5 hours we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express in Red Bluff and spent the night.

Dodge Ridge or Mount Bachelor next February??

Thursday night we sat in the hot tub after another icy day of skiing, sipping our Inversion IPA, and discussed this very question.  The reviews were mixed.  I said Mount Bachelor because of a better mountain, better and cheaper accommodations, and no sales tax, but I was reminded about the very long drive and the days with the icicles hanging from my hair.  Hmmm.  Who knows where we will ski next year!?

Thank you for reading this post!  Now I'm not going anywhere for a while! Stand by for upcoming posts about California League Opening Day and tips on planning a Hawaiian vacation!



Northstar at Tahoe: Winter 2013

What is Northstar at Tahoe??
Northstar at Tahoe is a ski area located in the North Lake Tahoe area. Northstar has (when everything is open, of course) 19 lifts, 93 trails, 7 terrain parks, both an 18ft and a 22ft superpipe, and 104 "features" (some nice snowboarder can fill me in here on what "features" are ). The mountain includes a wide variety of terrain for skiers and snowboarders of all abilities. In 2008-2009, thirteen million dollars were invested into the betterment of the mountain, including the construction of the Martis Express quad chair, serving an additional 414 acres of blues and blacks on the far side of Lookout Mountain. Northstar is associated with "Northstar Village," a complete promenade including high end shopping, dining, accommodations, and the all important Starbucks. For more info try www.northstarattahoe.com.

 

Northstar Village after dark

Where is Northstar at Tahoe?
Access from the Bay Area is from Interstate 80 East to Highway 267 through the town of Truckee. The nearest towns are King's Beach and Truckee. Northstar's website boasts a three hour ride from the Bay Area—but in my opinion this is if you are considering Fairfield to be part of the Bay Area.

Where can you stay??
Okay, well the first disclosure is that I personally have not stayed at Northstar for about 16 years, before Northstar Village was even built. My references come from our friends who just stayed the weekend of January 31-February 3, and from a lot of additional research.

Our friends stayed in VRBO rental #344903 (www.vrbo.com/344903) , which is a 1BR + Loft/1 BA condominium right in the heart of Northstar Village. The beauty of this rental is its location which is right at the base of the mountain. This unit is referred to as a "ski-in, ski-out" condo, which means you only have to do is slap on your ticket (which hopefully you bought in advance-more on that later), walk out the door with your equipment, jump on the gondola, and go. Of course, the unit is brand-spanking new—having just been completed in 2005. The rental also comes with covered secure parking and free access to the fitness center, lap pool, and hot tub.

View from loft out to balcony

View from living room of kitchen and staircase to loft

The unit sleeps 6-8 in this arrangement. Two queen beds are in a loft above the kitchen. In the loft itself, there is a ladder that accesses two twin beds—so basically 6 people could be sleeping in the loft, that's tight. There is also a pull out bed downstairs. This is why I always advise to assume the unit sleeps the minimum of the range listed.

But the price is the real kicker. Get ready. On a Friday or Saturday night during the winter, this unit rents for $429! $429!! Sunday through Thursday you get a break-350$ per night. Christmas and ski week the price per night is even more than $429. For $429 I better have my own bedroom (and maybe someone there to rub my feet and cook my meals.) The cost of a three night stay over the weekend is going to run $1208—which may not include taxes.

Okay, these friends are off the hook because I have discovered the new epitome of travel insanity. I just found out that other friends of mine will be spending the latter half of President's week staying at the Ritz-Carlton Tahoe (www.ritzcarlton.com) , a mid-mountain ski-in, ski-out resort and spa, which opened in December of 2009.  A standard room with two queen beds, and oh yeah, a fireplace will run you 850$ a night during President's week. The taxes on the room bring the nightly fee up to $979.38!! The room doesn't even have a mini-fridge. A 25$ resort fee is charged daily, and I hope you didn't bring your car, because parking is going to cost you another 35$ per day. Literally, over one thousand dollars per night for a standard room.  


The Ritz-Carlton Tahoe

In a million years I just can't say that I get it. I mean, no standard room is worth one thousand dollars a night! I'm not even going to even compare prices with this place because it's so off the charts for the average GoFamily family!
(Now I must gently speak to the fact that if my friends—who I adore—read my blog they might be slightly mad at me! I hope not! The blog is about value vacationing, and the above mentioned accommodations are clearly a splurge!! Have a great time, my friends! We won't be vacationing together, but we can sip margaritas in my backyard whenever you like!)

Let's look at some other Northstar rentals that are a little more GoFamilyGo valuable! VRBO rental #67310 ( www.vrbo.com/67310) is a 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom house right on Donner Lake. The house sleeps 6. The price for this rental is $175 per night with a $75 cleaning fee, so really over three nights we're looking at $200 per night. The unit has linens provided, a dishwasher, parking, and a full kitchen—basically what the Northstar Village loft condo has. All the reviews are 5 stars. The only inconvenience is the 15 minute drive from the property to the Northstar ski resort. Hmm—save $230 nightly and all I have to do is drive in the morning? Sounds pretty good to me…


This rental has plenty of room for less money

I would rather overlook Donner Lake than Northstar Village!

 GoFamilyGo Savings Alert!!
By staying in the non-resort based accommodation instead of the Northstar Village loft condo, a family of four to six would have saved $690 dollars on accommodations alone over three nights.

"But, but, but," you may say, "I want to be right there! I don't want to drive! Once my car is parked I don't want to look at it!" Well, it's going to cost you but there are still more reasonable and valuable options.  VRBO property #387753(www.vrbo.com/387753) is a 3 bedroom 2 bath Northstar condo that sleeps six. There is no cleaning fee, no resort fee, no parking fee. This property will run you $325 nightly during the winter. It has all the amenities that the Northstar Village loft has, just a lot more space, including sleeping privacy for mom and dad—something I personally think is critical when you are spending this type of money. For a mere two dollars per person, you also have access to the pool, the hot tub, and the fitness center in Northstar Village. Access to Northstar Village is by a free 5 minute shuttle ride which runs continuously during the day. It's not ski in and ski out, but neither is in drive in and drive out, if that's important to you.

A lot more space for less money, and still at Northstar!

By staying just outside of Northstar Village, a family of four to six would have still saved over 300$ over three nights on accommodations alone.


Lift Tickets: Lift Tickets at Northstar cost:
$105 Adult
$90 Teen (13-18)
$62 Child (5-12)

You can get a discount on your ticket (10$ off adult, 4$ off teen, 7$ off child-why less off for teens??) if you buy it online three days before your arrival. Of course a multiday ticket is a better deal. A multiday pass purchased at Northstar can be used at both Heavenly and Kirkwood resorts as well. A multiday ticket purchased at Kirkwood can only be used at Kirkwood and a multiday ticket purchased at Heavenly can be used at Heavenly, Kirkwood, and half the days of the pass can be used at Northstar. That's confusing. Incidentally, on high season days, such as MLK weekend, Northstar raises the prices of their lift tickets. That's lame.
If you think you will ski enough, a season pass may be the way to go at Northstar. We heard from other friends of ours (also visiting Northstar during the upcoming President's week) that it only takes about 5 days of skiing to cover the cost of a season pass if the season pass is purchased on special the season before.

GoFamilyGo Savings Alert!
By buying my tickets online and in advance, my family of five will save a total of $76 over two days of skiing.

Ski Equipment Rentals:
Northstar has a variety of ski equipment rental packages available. The everyday run of the house skis are rented for 52$ if you are over thirteen years of age, 32$ if you are between the ages of 3-12. (Interestingly, 3 and 4 year olds ski for free, but their equipment is not free!) Renting over multiple days will lower your average daily charge.
Adults can rent "performance" skis for 60$ daily and "demo" skis for 72$.
My suggestion—find a place in nearby Truckee as you drive in or rent your skis at home. These exorbitant prices plus the lines and crowds you will have to deal with renting at Northstar are not worth it! In Truckee try Tahoe Dave's Ski and Boards (www.tahoedaves.com). A basic adult or child ski package is 29$ and you even get a 10% discount if you make your equipment rental reservation online. Black Tie Ski Rentals (www.northlaketahoe.blacktieskis.com) is more, but will deliver your equipment to you!
GoFamilyGo Savings Alert!!
By getting my ski equipment at Tahoe Dave's instead of at Northstar, my family of five is going to save $179 over a weekend of skiing.


Lift Lines/Crowds:
When I skied at Northstar in the days of the fixed double chair, lift lines at Northstar could be ghastly! Many lift lines even mid week could reach up to 40 minutes. I also really hated that at Northstar the lift operators would always fill the "empty spot" on the chair, forcing you to ride with a stranger. I found this a little creepy as a kid.
Well, though the operators are still going to make sure that every chair destined for the top of the slope is full, the word on the street is that because of the speed and capacity of the lifts, (there is even a "six-pack" chair now!) lift lines are less of a nuisance. I would love some comment on this!!



Adding it up!!
There is absolutely no doubt that taking your GoFamily to Northstar to ski is going to be considerably more expensive than taking them to our beloved Dodge Ridge. However, if you make some good choices in terms of lodging, lift tickets, and rentals, it is possible for a family like mine to save more than $550 dollars. That, mind you, is still staying in Northstar. Almost like having your cake and eating it too! If you can skip the cake and stay in a nearby city, the savings can be considerably more.

BRASS TACKS:
With rentals from Tahoe Daves, lift tickets purchased in advance, and staying at the Northstar Drive 3Br condo my GoFamily of five is going to spend $1968 for a two day, three night stay.

The same trip at Dodge Ridge costs my family of five $1348, a $600 savings.


Thank you for reading this post! GoFamily is on the road again next weekend back to Dodge Ridge for more skiing. A near future post will share the details of our return to the Pinecrest Lake Resort!









 

Using VRBO

VRBO.com is a website that boasts the listing of 190,000 vacation rental properties worldwide. VRBO stands for Vacation Rentals by Owner. Property owners around the world have listed their rentals on this website and all you have to do now is figure out where you want to go and search!!
VRBO represents all the usual vacation spots (Florida, Hawaii, New York, Lake Tahoe, Colorado, etc.) and all the unusual ones as well. VRBO property #33885 is an apartment in Reykjavik, Iceland. VRBO property #422665ha is a 6 Bedroom villa in Nanyuki, Kenya. VRBO property #844 is "Sheila's Cozy 2BR Cabin" in Pigeon Forge, TN advertizing for 79$ per night. You catch my drift—really any type of rental property in any location of the world, is available through VRBO.com. (Within reason—while I did find three listings in my hometown of Menlo Park, CA, there were no listings in my husband's hometown of McKeesport, PA or its environs…)

Our experience to date with VRBO has been stellar. We have rented a beach house in Aptos, CA, a three bedroom condo in South Lake Tahoe, a ski cabin in the Pinecrest Lake area and a gorgeous plantation type home in Hana, Maui. They have all been lovely properties and the process of renting these properties was lovely as well. Once you have rented a property through VRBO it is often possible to rent directly through the owner the second time. Many will keep your contact information in their personal files and inform you of changes to the property or upcoming deals. Many owners will even often discounts to repeat renters.

There are filters you can use to narrow your search to exactly the type of property you are seeking, but I find them to be a little silly, as you can't filter for things that I consider important, like properties having a dishwasher or linens provided or parking-so my recommendation is to only filter your search by location, minimum "sleeps", and dates of availability.



VRBO is easy to navigate and with little effort it is easy to find a vacation rental property that suits your needs, tastes, and budget. There are a few pitfalls a newbie can encounter, however, and here are some simple tips to avoiding them…

1. Know where your center of activity will be and know what that place/area is called. Look for properties near that center of activity. For example, the towns of Lahaina, Kahana, Napili, and Kapalua are all listed under the heading of "West Maui." If "West Maui" is where you want to be, you better know where! If the busy night life of Lahaina is important to you, you may not want to be driving in from Kapalua each night, as Kapalua is about a 20 minute drive. Better to stay in the town of Lahaina itself, and WALK to your nightlife destinations. For this you must orient yourself to the area. Try Google maps or any guide book about your destination.
2. Get the exact address of the potential rental and look it up on a map! Just because a property's mail routes through a certain post office does not mean the property is actually in that town. Our rental in the Pinecrest Lake area had a Long Barn, CA address; however, the property was in Cold Springs, CA—about 10 minutes closer to Dodge Ridge! Our Hana rental was listed under the "Hana" heading, but the property was actually in Nahiku, about 7 miles up the road! No big deal, but it did mean we would not be walking to AM snorkeling in Hana Bay or walking home from dinner after several Mai Tais. Incidentally, nearly all Kaanapali Beach rentals have a Lahaina address, though Lahaina is 8 miles south of Kaanapali.
3. When a property is described as sleeping a range of people, assume it sleeps the minimum number. Find out from the owner the exact arrangement of the beds and bedrooms. Our friends are in a condo this weekend which sleeps 6-8, but that's with two twin beds and the 2 queen beds all in one open loft, which means the whole family is sleeping in one room. Our latest rental said that it slept 6-12, but boy were we surprised to see that the queen bed that was advertised was actually a futon in the master bedroom with the king size bed. Our poor friends, with whom we shared the house, were forced to share a full size bed in a bedroom with another full sized futon with their two sons! We were quite tight with nine. You can also pretty much assume that the last two spots of the maximum number are on some kind of pull out in the living room with offers no privacy and lacks much comfort. If you are sharing your rental with another family, you will need to consider the sexes and ages of your children and if it is appropriate for them to be sharing a room. Another huge consideration for occupancy is the size of the hot water heater! If your rental supports 10 sleepers but does not support 10 showers after a long cold day of skiing, what really is the point? Again, in our last rental, only six of us were able to take 5 minute showers and shower takers 5 and 6 had the water turn cold on them!!
4. If something is unclear in the listing—ASK! ASK! ASK! VRBO owners are obligated to get back to potential rentals within 24 hours. Ask as much as you want! It is your money, who cares if you are pestering the owner? Don't assume anything from the listing. If you do not see the words, "linens provided," do not assume they will be there! Does "linens" include towels? Is bath soap provided? Is there garbage service to the unit? Is there light if you arrive in the dark? Is the TV compatible with an external hookup like a DVD player or an Ipad? Is there cell phone service at the property? Is there a pancake griddle? Is there a garbage disposal? Is there a binder in the facility which tells you what to do in case of an emergency? ASK, ASK, ASK, and ask whatever you want!
5. Read the reviews
6. Check out the pictures—be wary of a place without plenty of pictures!
7. Read the fine print in the RATES section. Now this can be a pitfall! You are all ready to rent your cabin at 200$ per night, but oh, you neglected to read carefully and now because you are there on a weekend during the winter, your cabin really costs 325$! Owners will frequently list the least expensive rate first because they know it will be the first thing you see. Beware of hidden taxes! Many counties charge some kind of occupancy luxury blue moon on Monday taxes that can raise your rates upward of 10% or more!! And beware that cleaning fee! We have friends that list their rental through Lake Tahoe Accommodations and the cleaning fee is 385$! Wow! If you are there for four nights, you have just raised your rates by 100$ per night. No family of five makes $400 worth of mess in four days!
8. Make sure you understand the cancellation policy. Some renters will let you cancel with a full refund even a few days before; some will start issuing a penalty if your cancellation is within 90 days of your arrival!

These points being made—I am a firm believer in VRBO and find it is FAR better to stay in a rental property than to get a hotel room. We have stayed in studio hotel rooms which cost only slightly less than a rental.

Can you trust VRBO? Like anything, I suppose in would be possible for scams to be set up through VRBO, but so far our experiences and the experiences of our friends have led us to the belief that VRBO can be trusted. GoFamilyGo says GO for VRBO!!
J

This is GoFamilyMom signing off for now! Be watching for a soon upcoming post featuring Northstar Village and Ski Area!

 

Dodge Ridge—January 11-13, 2013

What is Dodge Ridge?

Dodge Ridge is the ski area associated with the Pinecrest Lake area off of Highway 108 east of Sonora. The ski area boasts 8 lifts and a T-bar. Try www.dodgeridge.com for more info

Where is Dodge Ridge?

Dodge Ridge is 3 hours from the greater Bay Area. After travelling east on Interstate 580 and 205, take 120 East to 108 East. There is no city of Dodge Ridge. Cities with twenty minutes of the ski area include Twain Harte, Mi Wuk Village, Long Barn, Cold Springs, and Pinecrest.

Why Dodge Ridge??

We started coming to Dodge Ridge about three years ago and right now, this is the only place my family comes to ski. My children all learned to ski, as I did a mighty long time ago and my parents before me, at very young ages at Badger Pass in Yosemite. We enjoyed ourselves there for many years, and I will still hold fast to my opinion that Badger Pass is hands down the best place to bring young children to learn to ski, maybe more on that some other day, but as the kids' skiing skills progressed, we needed more of a challenge and more variety. We gave Dodge Ridge a try and were sold for the following reasons:

1. Close to home—Dodge Ridge is only 3 hours from our home in San Jose
2. Minimal crowds and virtually non-existent lift lines, even during holiday periods!
3. Reasonable prices for lift tickets with discounts available
4. A completely kid friendly and family friendly environment (try getting them to slow the lift for your 5 year old at Squaw!)
5. A great variety of terrain for all ages and abilities!

I must tell you one more story that pretty much sums it all up. When I arrived at the ski area on Saturday morning, clomping about in my ski boots, lugging my and my son's skis, an official looking gentleman standing at the door to the lodge greeted me with, "Good morning! Is there anything I can help you with today??" Good luck getting that in Tahoe included with your 85$ lift ticket!

Where to stay?

Well, after several times staying at the Pinecrest Lake Resort with less than stellar results, (and well, okay, I was a little slow on the draw getting a place), we decided to check out VRBO.com (VRBO stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner—more on using VRBO some other day!). We researched the areas of the cities listed above (Twain Harte, Mi Wuk Village, Long Barn, Cold Springs, and Pinecrest) and settled on VRBO Rental Property 389619.
Here is my review of said property:
I did submit a review to VRBO directly. I was somewhat kinder and less detailed in that review, because I was certain that the owner would read it and did not want him to be mad and not rent to us again.
VRBO rental property 389619 has a Long Barn address, but it is really located much closer to Cold Springs, which is significantly closer to Dodge Ridge. This property is about 15 minutes from the Dodge Ridge ski area (give a few if you have to put on chains to get up Dodge Ridge Road—that can really vary depending on how lame you are at that!).
BRASS TACKS: We paid 225$/night with a 90$ cleaning fee. $300 refundable security deposit which we got back in full less than 48 hours after returning on 1/13/12. No hidden taxes, occupancy fees, blue moon fees, sleeping with the window shut fees, no surprises! You can't say this in your VRBO review.
The property is a three bedroom, two bathroom house. The bedrooms are configured as such: 1) Upstairs master bedroom with attached bathroom has Cal King bed and what appears to be a Queen Futon. 2) Downstairs bedroom with full size futon and full size bed 3) Kids bedroom with full/twin bunk bed PLUS a living room sofa with a pull out full sofa bed.
The listing says that the place sleeps 12 and technically it does, but that's only if you had four people each in bedrooms one and two! The bedding arrangement is only perfect if you are a couple with 5 kids. If you are trying to share this house with another family—the other couple is going to have to squish into a full size bed and may have to share a bedroom with their kids. We were nine and sleeping was tight.
The drawers and closets were full of the owner's belongings, so there is no place to store your luggage or clothes. It has to lay in the middle of the bedroom or be stashed under the bed. There are a few clean closets but no hangers. Yet another reason 12 in this cabin is too many.
The hot water heater supports about six 5 minute showers, and bathers 5 and 6 will have their water turn cold. Another reason 12 in this cabin is too many.
There are also no sheets provided, no shower soap, no Kleenex, no bath towels, no dish towels, no Wi-fi, and NO GARBAGE SERVICE! This is the first VRBO house I have rented that did not have these items. Things that ARE there include dish soap, paper towels, coffee filters, toilet paper, hand soap (pump), and dishwashing detergent. The kitchen is well stocked with a microwave, a toaster, garbage disposal, dishwasher, a blender, a pancake griddle, and an automatic ice maker. Don't laugh about that last one—at Pinecrest Lake resort I have to bring ice trays!
Garbage service and sheets can be arranged for additional fees.
There was a foosball table that converts to a small pool table and a ping pong table that was folded up while we were there and a mini basketball hoop. There is also a washer and dryer. The garage is wide enough to park a car, and the driveway is wide enough to park two cars side by side. The roads to access the house were (at the time we rented) clear and the driveway was shoveled.
I cannot review any of the media equipment as we did not watch any TV or movies while we were there.
If you do rent and are planning to arrive in the dark, bring a flashlight to access the lock box and open the front door.
I must say that the owner was a delight to work with. He answered all questions thoroughly within hours. He communicated well when checks were due, when checks were received, and again returned our deposit promptly.
Soo, the big question is..do I recommend the rental of this property to anyone planning to ski at Dodge Ridge? YOU BET! Remember that GoFamilyGo is all about VALUE—the most bang for your vacation dollar. Because we were able to split the rental cost with another family, our total cost for rental of this property for two nights was $315. This is far less than we would have paid at Pinecrest Lake Resort on a weekend, where we would have spent near 550$. Even if we had not been able to bring another family, the $540 we would have spent would be worth it for the extra space, the better TV, the better equipped kitchen, the extra bedroom, the extra bathroom, and the better bedding.
To view this rental property, simply go to VRBO.com and type in the property number stated above.
The long and short of this is that it seems to be a better value to rent a property through a vacation rental broker than to stay at Pinecrest Lake Resort. I have only rented through VRBO but other brokers in the area include pinecrestarearentals.com and  Darlene's vacation rentals. There are some motor inns and B and B's further west of Long Barn and east of Pinecrest—but from a space and distance standpoint I don't think these would be a better value for a family.

VRBO Rental 389619

Lift Tickets:

The prices of full day (9am – 4pm) lift tickets at Dodge Ridge are as follows:
Adults (20-64) are $64
Teens (13-19) are $52
Youth (6-12) are 20$
Seniors (65-81) are $28
If you don't fall into any of these categories you ski for free.


Bargain Alert!!

Both Safeway and Save Mart stores sell vouchers for lift tickets at discounted rates:

Adults: $54 (10$ off)
Teens: $46 (8$ off)
Child: $15 (5$ off)
(Sorry not sure about the seniors since it didn't apply to us)
Once you purchase the vouchers they can be used anytime during the regular ski season except December 27 thru 31, Sat/Sun of MLK weekend, and Sat/Sun of President's Day weekend.
The closest Save Mart and Safeway to Dodge Ridge are located in the town of Sonora, about 30 miles from the Dodge Ridge turn off.

GoFamily Savings Alert!!
Using these vouchers, the savings for my family of five for two days of skiing was $76!!!


Ski Equipment Rentals:

Everyone in our family needs to rent all their ski equipment, and this can get pricey, so we really need a good deal. This is the reason we head down to the side of the highway in the small town of Cold Springs (pop.150!) to Heidi's Ski Shop (www.heidisskishop.com). Heidi herself arrives in the morning (sometimes a few minutes later than her officially published time!) and helps to get your family all personally fitted with excellent quality ski gear. Heidi rents both ski and snowboard equipment and snowshoes. The cost of a ski package rental (skis, boots, and poles) for an adult (size 130cm and up) is 25$ per day, for children is 15$ per day. A snowboard package is 28$ per day. Compare this respectively with 38$ for an adult and 25$ for a child and we've got another….

GoFamily Savings Alert!!

By using Heidi's Ski Shop instead of the rental center at the ski area my family saved $138!

Heidi's is open every day at 7:30am and closes at 5pm. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday Heidi's opens at 7am. I strongly recommend being the first family there in the am. Roll out of bed and get there before the crowds do. Roll out of bed before breakfast and get your rentals taken care of. Heidi's bargain is no secret and you will soon be joined by others. Sometimes Heidi has only one helper and this can cause some back up. Another route if you get there early enough is to rent the night before and avoid both the crowds AND the early morning.

The early morning crew at Heidi's Ski Shop

Heidi's Ski Shop opens to a waiting crowd

 

Where to eat:

At the ski area:
After a long morning on the slopes it may be tempting to head to the large day lodge and eat the offerings of the Creekside Café. The cafeteria type café offers the usual day lodge fare, at typical day lodge prices—in other words, bank breaking. For example, a hamburger is $8.35 (that's with no fries), a chicken Caesar salad is $9.99, cheese pizza is $6.95, and a fountain drink is $2.30. My recommendation---bring your own lunch. The parking at Dodge Ridge is so close and convenient (especially if you arrive early, like we do) that it is easy to keep a cooler or carry bag in your car and walk out to get it. The day lodge has signs posted that discourage you from eating at the indoor tables, but it wasn't until our second day of eating inside that we noticed the signs. We saw no "table police" kicking people out and we saw plenty of other people enjoying their picnics indoors. If the weather permits, there are plenty of sunny picnic tables outside on the deck. Here it is permitted to eat your picnic guilt free!

GoFamily Savings Alert!!

Okay, okay, I know our groceries cost something so this might not be perfectly accurate—but even if each member of my family of five ordered middle of the road entree and we ordered only two fountain drinks to share, by bringing our own food I figure we saved at least $45 per day! That is assuming our groceries cost $10 daily which I think is a stretch. Did I mention that our picnic lunch of deli sandwiches on hoagie rolls and waters came with baked chips, fruit, and cookies?? I didn't see any of that with my $8.35 burger!!

For dinner:

For a dinner out, we are fans of The Steam Donkey Restaurant (www.pinecrestlakeresort.com/dining ), which is located at the end of Pinecrest Lake Road, Pinecrest, 95364. It is a convenient walk from Pinecrest Lake Resort and an easy 10 minute drive from the Cold Springs area. The restaurant is open nightly for dinner from 5-8pm Sunday thru Thursday and until 9pm on Friday and Saturday. The full bar opens at 3pm. Summer and lunch hours begin in early June.
The menu leans toward mostly meat with some fish, pasta, and vegetarian options. The prices range from about $12 dollars for a burger to $28 dollars for something like prime rib. All entrees come with soup or salad-a nice touch! Children's menu available. Corkage fee is $15 with a two bottle maximum.
This is a tight little place—only nine table available for small parties, fewer if a large party arrives and tables are placed together. Reservations are an absolute must at 209-965-3117.
Ambiance is relaxed and family friendly and does appear to be a local favorite. I have seen Heidi from Heidi's ski shop eating here more than once!


The Steam Donkey welcomes you!!

Thank you for reading this entry! Watch for upcoming posts with more exciting tips for family travel, including using VRBO and travelling with another family!