To explore Arnold's beautiful lakes and trails nearby, Inna reserved a charming Mountain Cottage in Blue Lake Springs (using Airbnb). The cottage is located at 1709 Manzanita Drive, Arnold.
Initially, we planned to rent a kayak, but the nearby shop charged about $80/day and required a roof rack to transport the kayak. We decided to order the Explorer k2 Kayak Inflatable Kayak from Amazon.com for $140. It would pay for itself in 2 or more sessions.
We planned to drive on our Tesla Model Y to minimize unnecessary fuel costs, given the high price of gasoline ($7.00/gallon).
Friday, June 10, 2022
In the morning, I woke up and remembered forgetting to charge the Tesla’s battery. I plugged it in immediately, setting it to charge to 90% capacity (it would take 5 hours on our 24A charger).
I showered and went for a stroll around the neighborhood. As the weather promised to be very hot, I decided to skip the tennis ball machine workout (as I played the day before) and use Adobe Lightroom to correct my numerous photos from our recent trip to Boston.
At around 3:00pm, Inna freed up from her work, and we drove to Arnold. This was our first long trip on the Tesla Model Y. I needed some time to get used to driving it. Unlike most cars, the regenerative braking works very well, and I must mostly use the accelerator pedal to accelerate and brake.
The drive to Arnold should typically take about 2.5 hours, but it took us close to 4 hours due to heavy traffic. My Tesla was charged 95% before we left. While on the way to Arnold, we decided to stop by the Tesla Supercharger in Copperopolis (a tiny little village).
When we arrived at 6:05pm, our Tesla Model Y had 49% battery left. I connected it to the Model Y (it was pretty easy), and it started charging immediately. While setting the Tesla, Inna and I played some games (Driving, Tic-Tac-Toe, and Chess). The cost to charge went from 49% to 80% and was $11.75. After 15 minutes, we drove to Arnold, stopping at Dogwood Italian Restaurant for dinner.
We were seated outside after parking our Tesla Model Y nearby and checking in. We looked at the menu and ordered the following:
- Inna: Pear Salad, Ribeye (half-portion), Hot Tea
- Boris: Pear Salad, Ribeye (half-portion), Hot Tea, Lemonade
- Dessert: Cassis Cobbler
Inna and I enjoyed the Ribeyee, and the Pear Salad was decent. I really liked the Cobbler with Cassis. Overall, it was an average-quality dinner. Since it was getting dark, I hurried to check into our Airbnb rental.
Although nearby, the road to 1709 Manzanita Drive was twisty, narrow, and complicated. It was challenging to find the correct address in the dark. Tesla’s GPS was inaccurate, and I relied more on Google Maps on my iPhone.
When we finally identified the correct house, I drove up the steep driveway and parked the Tesla. I unloaded our suitcases from Tesla’s trunk, and we walked toward the house.
Immediately, we ran into a few problems. According to the owner’s instructions, we needed to enter a 4-digit code on the door. A lockbox was near the door, and we thought this was what was meant to be opened. We entered the combo, but it would not open.
We contacted the owner but could not call her, as Google Fi had no reception there. Eventually, I could join the Mountain Hideaway WiFi network so that Inna could send messages to the owner (using both Airbnb and SMS).
While we waited for the owner to respond, Inna explored the house further. She discovered another door, which also had a keypad. We decided to try it and heard whirring sounds, but the lock did not open. After trying the lock a few more times, we managed to open the lock.
Once inside the house, we unloaded our suitcases and opened the door onto the patio. The patio had a two-speaker Bluetooth speaker (on which we could play music). In addition, there was covered-up patio furniture, whose covers we removed. We cleaned the main table and sat down for a game of Scrabble. Inna and I played while listening to Jack Johnson’s playlist.
I lit a Citronella candle to keep the bugs away, and we played Scrabble until midnight. Inna won!
Saturday, June 11, 2022
In such peace and quiet, we slept pretty soundly. I woke up at around 8:15am, as my iPhone alarm started playing. I dressed, showered, and shaved. Inna woke up, too, and we decided to skip breakfast and head to Calaveras Big Trees State Park.
I tried to connect my work’s Dell Laptop to the Mountain Hideaway WiFi network in our Airbnb, but it would not accept. I was unsure why, as my iPhone and iPad connected quickly, and Inna’s MacBook Air connected perfectly well.
The Google Fi phone connectivity issue turned out to be unfixable. Although I contacted customer service, the steps suggested were useless because Google Fi has no coverage in Arnold. In addition, since Google Fi does not currently support WiFi calling on the iPhone (although it does keep it on Android devices), calling someone in Arnold is difficult. Perhaps using Skype would work.
After a 10-minute drive, we paid our $10 entrance fee and parked in the parking lot. We decided to hike the accessible 1.7-mile Calaveras North Grove Trail.
While heading toward the trail, we saw a lot of hikers gathering and sitting down before a small stage. One of the guides explained that there would be a show of wild animals. Inna and I decided to stay and see what fascinating wild animals would be shown.
The State Park’s animal was amusing and educational, while introduced the following animals:
- Young Kangaroo “Joey” named Clover
- Screeching Owl named Boo
- Kinkajou (Related to raccoons)
- Red-tailed Hawk named Tony
- California rattlesnake
- Grey Fox
- Costa Rican Capuchin Monkey named Darwin
We enjoyed the animal show and thought it was funny and educational. All of the animals were either illegally purchased or hurt in the wild. The owl was hit by a truck and can no longer fly very well. The rattlesnake was hit by a weed-wacker.
Once the shows finished at 11:00am, we resumed our hike along the Calaveras North Grove Trail. While on the trail, for a short time, we decided to try hiking the Grover Overlook trail. As we walked upwards, hoping for a better view, we thought we were missing the park's main highlights. We decided to turn around and follow the original Calaveras North Grove Trail (which was the correct decision).
We saw many beautiful, tall, and wide Sequoias on the North Grove Trail. There were so many beautiful, gigantic trees all around.
For some reason, I was exhausted (perhaps because of the higher elevation), so I took advantage of sitting on the multiple benches spread out on the trail.
When we finished the trail, we were a bit tired and hungry. We decided to eat lunch at the nearby
Bistro Espresso. After a short drive, I parked nearby and ordered the following items:
- Boris: Caprese Chicken Sandwich with Cole Slaw, Mocha with Pistachio
- Inna: Caprese Chicken with Garlic Fries, Latte, Ginger Lemonade, Muffin
Although the people were amiable, I did not enjoy the food or the drinks at Bistro Espresso. I thought that my mocha was too sweet (and not well-made). My Caprese Chicken Sandwich was quite bland. Inna’s Ginger Lemonade was too sweet too. The muffin tasted like it came out of Safeway.
After lunch, we decided to check out White Pines Lake. After parking our car, we saw many people kayaking and paddle boarding on the lake. There were a lot of people barbecuing and enjoying themselves. We also heard karaoke music and some people attempting to sing along.
Tired, we decided to grab the chairs from our car and sit by the lake, resting and enjoying nature. We had some laughs watching you girls paddle boarding and falling off.
At around 5:35pm, we decided to check out the nearby beach, which was much busier. Afterward, we drove to
Sarafina’s Italian Kitchen. We hoped to get in (without making reservations), as our phones were not working in Arnold.
We were lucky and were seated right away. After looking at the menu, we ordered the following:
- Appetizer: Heirloom Caprese Salad
- Boris: Seafood Pasta Special, Dust Bowl Pale Ale, Hot Tea
- Inna: Veal with mashed potatoes, Glass of Local Wine, Hot Tea
- Dessert: Italian Lemon Cake
I liked my
Seafood Pasta Special. It was full of shrimp, octopus, salmon, and fettuccini. I also wanted my
Pale Ale beer. Inna’s Veal was delicious. For dessert, the
Italian Lemon Cake was genuinely excellent. We enjoyed our dinner at
Sarafina.
After dinner, we returned to our Airbnb cabin. Inna swung on the swing, and we sat on the patio, enjoying music and being outside.
Sunday, June 12, 2022
During the night, Inna did not sleep well, so I let her sleep longer before getting up. At about 8:30am, I decided to shower and dress. While Inna woke up, I ate the leftover seafood fettuccine on the patio with background music.
Inna decided to wake up at around 9:30am. After getting dressed, we discussed our options. We had the following options:
At about 12:30, we were told that a cleaner was headed to our cabin, so we quickly checked out and decided to stop by nearby Murphy for lunch. We chose Rob's Place and ordered the following appetizers (as main entrees would require more than 30 minutes):
- Artichoke Bake
- Apple Turnover
- Tempura Avocado
- Coffee
- Hot Tea
We liked our appetizers and enjoyed Murphy's warmer weather. I really liked the Tempura Avocado.
After lunch, we resumed our drive home, with a quick stop in Dublin to supercharge the Tesla (as we arrived with only 14% battery remaining). After 15 minutes of charging, we drove home, coming during a summer shower! The cost to supercharge my Tesla from 14% to 30% was about $8.
Arnold Trip Report
Highlights
Lowlights
- Opening the Mountain Hideaway door in the dark
- Google Fi has no reception in Arnold
- Eating lunch at Bistro Espresso
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