My 3 brothers and I had not been in the same place at the same time together in nearly 10 years. I am the youngest of the 4 of us by 8 years and we really did not have much in common beyond family relationships until I was in my 20′s. I was still young when they moved out of our parent’s home and I moved out west from New Jersey when I was only 24 so we really never spent much quality time together as a group. One thing that we have in common is a love of golf. Our Dad was a big golfer and introduced us to the game directly and indirectly as it was part of his lifestyle while we were growing up and we were always around the game.
I have been out west now for nearly 20 years and had not gone back home since Christmas of 2001. Although I enjoyed 1 or 2 individual visits from my brothers out here over the past 10 years I had always dreamed of just the 4 of us spending a golf vacation together here in Tahoe to reconnect and get to know each other again. I always thought that Old Greenwood would be the perfect venue for our reunion long before the notion of my working for Tahoe Mountain Club ever entered my mind. I even clipped a picture of one of the Cabins at Old Greenwood and posted it on my vision board among the other things that I want to bring into my reality. I do not know what was different about this year. Maybe it was my persistence in asking them to come, my doing the legwork researching flights into Reno from Newark and Philadelphia, or the daily photos of Old Greenwood and Gray’s Crossing golf courses I emailed to them from my smart-phone to get them excited. In the end, I think it was just the fact that I decided that it was going to happen, set my intention to make it happen and then helped them realize that all it took was a decision on their part to do the same. Brother Chris was the first to exclaim “I’m in” followed shortly by brother Tim. A mentor of mine always said, ”when the intention is clear, the mechanism will appear”. This was proven by my brother Fred who was the last to commit to the trip when he said, ”I don’t know how I’m going to swing it but I’m in…..I haven’t spent time with my 3 brothers together for 10 years and I’m in.” He swung it.
They arrived on a Saturday afternoon. I picked them up at the airport and after hugs and hellos we made our way to a brew pub in Reno where we picked up where we had left off so long ago over beers and appetizers, barely noticing the playoff baseball game that Tim and Fred were so anxious to see. After a long awaited visit with their sister-in-law and nephews, we made our way up to Old Greenwood. I was hoping to get there during daylight hours but could not tear my kids away from their uncles some of whom had never met. We checked into the Cabin and to say the least, it far exceeded their expectations. I’m sure that they were expecting a “cabin” in the traditional sense, small and rustic with a iron pot hanging over anopen fire. So when we entered the 3,000′ 4 bedroom 3bath home with vaulted ceilings, gourmet kitchen, pool table, flat screen TVs and a spa on the deck the knew they were in for a comfortable stay.
We spent 4 nights and 3 days sharing meals together, playing golf and and getting to know each other again over beers and late night talks in the spa. We had a pool table in our parent’s home when I was a kid so having the pool table at the Cabin provided great entertainment and reminded them of when I used to carry a foot stool around the table in our parent’s basement so I could play when I was a little kid.
The kitchen in the Cabin was well equipped with high end appliances, all the necessary accessories and a nice gas grill on the deck. I enjoy cooking so I took it upon myself to prepare most of the meals in house. We did eat out on Sunday enjoying appetizers and draft beers after golf at PJ’s at Gray’s Crossing. The view over the 18th hole to the Mt. Rose combined with great food and quality beer makes for one of the best post round experiences available anywhere. We did not fill up too much as we would make our way over to Lake Tahoe for dinner at Wild Goose. I wanted them to get in a little Lake time and also show off all the great amenities of the Club. We enjoyed Chef’s choice appetizers of mussels with jalapenos and beef carpaccio both of which were excellent. Chris and Fred both chose the seafood pasta, Tim, the bacon wrapped turkey meatloaf and for me, the Sezchuan peppercorn scallops. I asked Pat the wine guy to suggest a glass of wine to accompany my meal and encouraged my brothers to put their trust in him as well. A good choice as all the pairings were just right!
Brother Tim is a huge Frank Sinatra fan and asked if we could go check out the nearby Cal-Neva casino once owned by the legendary crooner.
Tim in front of Cal-Neva
I called my friend Hans who set up up with a VIP tour of the place including backstage, underground tunnels, showrooms and Marilyn’s cabin. Tim was amazed at the history and how nearly everything was just like it was back in the day. We did not see any ghosts that night and Hans swears that they are present telling us several stories about sightings and strange occurrences.
My family came up and joined us for our last night. The boys and their uncles were anxious to spend more time together not knowing when they would have another opportunity to do so. We feasted on a wonderful steak dinner with all 8 of us comfortably seated around the large dining room table. We played pool, soaked in the spa and enjoyed each other’s company late into the evening until my young boys eventually crashed for the night. In the morning everyone said their goodbye’s and I got the brothers to the airport just in time to check their bags. Our long awaited reunion felt abbreviated after only four days. We had a great time catching up, re-discovering and sharing our passion for golf. Old Greenwood was indeed the perfect venue and when I suggested that when we do it again we could choose a location closer to their homes on the east coast they all enthusiastically agreed that there was no reason to do so.
A Brothers Reunion at Old Greenwood