Where my heart is

My wife recently organized a family trip to Lake Tahoe. She rented a two-story condominium at Tahoe Tavern (on the California side of the lake, in Tahoe City) and invited our kids, who traveled from the Pacific Northwest to join us for a few days. The reason we chose Tahoe Tavern for the trip is because my parents owned a unit in that complex for 30 years or so and, thanks to the relatively close proximity of Tahoe to Redwood City, I, my wife and my kids made many happy trips and created many fond memories. We all learned to water ski there, my kids learned to snow ski, and my kids took tennis lessons on the courts at the complex. Plus, they were free to roam the complex on their own (mostly, on bikes) and, when they got older, were even allowed to explore the town without adult supervision.

We’d been meaning to take a trip back to Tahoe for some time, but it wasn’t until one of our kids expressed the desire for his own children to experience some of what he did that we finally made it happen. I’m pleased to say that the trip worked out well; our grandkids spent plenty of time riding freely around the complex, and we spent plenty of time by and in the lake, and by, and in, the pool.

My parents sold their Tahoe place years ago, when my mom’s health made it infeasible for her to travel. Thus, we rented one of the many units included in the rental pool. We inquired about renting the unit my parents formerly owned, and although it isn’t normally available to rent, the owner indicated that he would consider doing so in our case. But we opted not to for two reasons. One, it would have cost considerably more than the unit we ended up taking. And two, the new owner had drastically remodeled the place to better suit his needs and I suspected I would spend my whole time there comparing it with how it used to be.

Although we didn’t rent my folks’ former unit, we certainly were very curious as to what the new owner had done, and so we obtained permission to tour it. It was almost immediately apparent that the place had been transformed from a place one could imagine living in to somewhere that seems practical only for limited vacations.

For instance, all of the closets were removed to create additional space, which was used to increase the number of beds. But this leaves storage at a real premium. The carpet and tile floors my folks had installed were all replaced by hardwood throughout (apparently, with under-floor radiant heating — a definite improvement over the small electric wall heaters we had to deal with). Finally, a couple of downstairs walls were removed, creating an “open concept” kitchen/dining/living space.

While I can see the logic and the practical reasons for most of the choices the new owner made, it is no longer the place that both I and my kids grew up with, and I no longer have any special attachment to that particular unit.

Something similar happened when, after my siblings and I had long moved away from home, my folks decided to downsize and sell the Los Angeles house that I’d lived in during my most formative years: from age 10 to just shy of age 22.

I loved that house, and would have bought it myself if I could have, but it was well beyond my means. Instead, the fairly large house was sold to someone who again drastically remodeled what I considered to be an almost ideal design into something almost unrecognizable. At least on the interior. I never got to tour that place after it was altered, although I saw extensive photographs. It clearly is no longer what I had thought of as home.

The only constant is change, and I can’t begrudge a new owner making a place their own. Nevertheless, it strikes me as sad how a place that meant so much to me can, for all practical purposes, cease to exist. Fortunately, I have my memories, which I will cherish forever. And, of course, I have my charming little Redwood City house, that for more than 35 years now I’ve happily called home.

Greg Wilson is the creator of Walking Redwood City, a blog inspired by his walks throughout Redwood City and adjacent communities. He can be reached at greg@walkingRedwoodCity.com. Follow Greg on Twitter @walkingRWC.