Keep the germs in your kitchen at bay. Turn on your kitchen faucet equipped with MotionSense with the wave of your hand.

Today, we review the Moen Arbor with MotionSense Kitchen Faucet. If you’re a parent like me, you spend a lot of time at home, cooking up gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, hamburgers, mac ‘n cheese, and beyond for your children. You often find yourself working with meats, vegetables and just about every other type of food in your kitchen. Often, my family and I like to go to Costco and buy meat in bulk. When we do this, we need to separate the meat before freezing it and sometimes get the juices on our hands. Rather than risk contaminating everything that we touch, this faucet works great in keeping germs at bay.

I must say that I’m very impressed with the Moen Arbor MotionSense kitchen faucet. The installation was relatively easy (you simply push each water connection into the terminal as far as you can and it locks into place and each of them are numbered so installation is almost foolproof), it functions perfectly, and best of all, it looks great.

Our kitchen originally came with the Moen Banbury faucet but I couldn’t stand the fact that it would always fail to retract and it would hang there and not do its job properly for me when I was using it. That being said, I grew quickly frustrated when doing the dishes, preparing food, or just when washing my hands at the kitchen sink.

I used to sell Cutco cutlery during my time in#while enrolled in college (I practically have the entire set at home and yes, I consider myself a knife snob). It didn’t make sense to me until now, when one of our common phrases that we would use in suggesting the sale of the knives (and it worked) is, “Nice people like nice things.” This faucet is one of those “nice things” to own.

The only complaints that I read about online are that the connection points to the terminal where the sensor relay is located for the water hoses, where you connect the faucet, can come undone if not properly and securely pushed in the time of installation. For me, I have had no such problem.

The relay box is battery operated and the batteries come with the assembly. You can order an A/C adapter for the faucet for around $30, but the A/C adapter doesn’t come in the box and you cannot choose to purchase it as an extra add-on while you are at the store. We picked up our faucet at The Home Depot and we’re sure you can also pick it up at Lowe’s or just about any other home supply store.

There are two sensor points on this faucet. One on the top. One on the base. The one on the top turns the faucet on and it will stay on until you wave your hand again over-the-top. The one at the base turns on only while you have something in front of it. There is also a setting on the sensor relay for the temperature that controls the temperature when either of the two sensors on the top or on the base are turned on. This is a great safety feature when little kids around because it will not be too hot nor too cold for little hands that do not understand the impact temperature just yet. You can override the sensors by turning on the handle to any temperature you like.

We picked up our faucet with the Spot Resist stainless finish that resists fingerprints and water spots for a cleaner looking kitchen because we all know life with kids can be dirty in less than 10 seconds.  The finish looks great and we are really glad that we chose this finish.

Overall, this is one of the best purchases that we’ve made since moving into our new home in November. Now, I am not frustrated when turning on and using my kitchen faucet any more and I love turning on my faucet with a simple wave of my hand. In fact, sometimes I find myself at a friend’s house waving my hand over their faucet, expecting the water to turn on. We’ve only had this faucet less than a month and I’m already conditioned to use it without thinking by waving my hand over the faucet. It may be a costly investment at first, but it’s well worth the money and I highly recommend it.

Have you purchased this faucet yourself? What do you think? Does it stand up to the hype? If you do not have this faucet, you plan on purchasing in the future? We would love to hear your thoughts.

As always, thanks for the visit and reading this post on our site.

Nothing beats a day at the beach. Of course, the nearest ocean is roughly 230 miles west of us in Reno, making a day trip rather more of an epic journey. But don’t despair beach buns; Northern Nevada offers many beach day-aways, starting with the world-renown Lake Tahoe. Here is a break down list of things to do in Lake Tahoe from an insider’s perspective.

Please select an area of Lake Tahoe:

Things to do in Lake Tahoe: North Shore

So you’re hanging on the North Shore

Incline Village

Tahoe’s North Shore offers some incredible beaches when it comes to things to do in Lake Tahoe. In Incline Village, there is Ski Beach, which features large grass areas, a playground, a boating ramp, and volleyball. Farther west is Incline Beach, and right before you enter Incline Village is Burnt Cedar Beach, which offers the most as far as family-friendly fun. The only problem is that the beaches are for residents of "Incline" and their guests, so make sure to get in with the locals before you plan your next beach outing.

Crystal Bay/Kings Beach

Things to do in Lake Tahoe: West Shore Hangouts

Tahoe City/Tahoe Vista

Keep driving down Hgwy 28 to reveal the beaches of Tahoe City and Tahoe Vista, including North Tahoe Beach. This stretch offers a large covered gazebo that plays host to everything from birthday parties to weddings and everything in between.

Commons Beach

Located in Tahoe City, Commons Beach features a playground and plenty of shore access. There are also plenty of benches, BBQs for picnics, and local shopping.

Meeks Bay

Meeks is a favorite along the West Shore since it has a large shoreline, plenty of amenities, and close access to the 2.6-mile Lam Watah Trail.

Things to do in Lake Tahoe: South Shore Style

Emerald Bay

Zephyr Cove

Zephyr Cove is one of the largest beaches on Tahoe. This huge resort offers plenty for the entire family, including water sports and crafts, picnic and dining, and plenty of local shopping in our list of things to do in Lake Tahoe. It is also the launching pad of the paddlewheel boats the M.S. Dixie II and the Tahoe Queen! Nothing like cruising the lake on these beautiful boats. If you’re lucky, you may even catch a speech by Mark Twain.

Things to do in Lake Tahoe: East Shore Serenity

Sand Harbor

One of my personal favorite public beaches of Lake Tahoe is Sand Harbor in this list of things to do in Lake Tahoe This large stretch of beach has boat access, sandy shoreline and rocky terrain for the daredevils in the family, and a certain calm that only the East Shore and its unyielding topography offers. While food is available at the beach kiosk, it may behoove you to pack a picnic as this side of the lake has no easily-accessible stores and restaurants. Finally, every Summer, the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival talks place at dusk at Sand Harbor.

Beach like a local on the Eastern Shore….

There are a lot of large and beautiful public beaches around Lake Tahoe, but they suffer from the same affliction most public beaches in the Summer do…crowds. If you are interested in a true Tahoe experience, among things to do in Lake Tahoe, that doesn’t involve paying to park, we have some great suggestions you may not find in your guide book. Be forewarned, these secluded stretches of sand come at a cost of a 10-20 minute hike down to the water. There are no large parking lots either, so drivers should be ready to park along the side of the road and hike down.

Not sure where a particular beach is? Don’t fret; the lakeside route is guaranteed to be littered with paths that will take you towards the waters edge.

In order of beaches driving east on Hwy 50 outside of Incline Village towards the South Shore, these beaches are:

Hidden Beach

Immediately outside of Incline Village. This gem is a beautiful stretch of private sand that is also one of the few beaches that is dog friendly. Feel free to float a kayak or paddleboard off its inviting shores.

The Rocks

Immediately before you reach Sand Harbor. The name says it all. This beach is really a lot of picturesque water-worn rocks strewn along the shoreline. While they may seem inviting to jump and dive off of, please do not attempt. There are many hidden rocks beneath the water that can cause serious injury.

Chimney Beach and Whale Beach

Past Sand Harbor on the about 5 minute from the intersection of Hwy 28 and Hwy 50. About a 15 minute hike from the top of the road to the water, Chimney Beach and Whale Beach are another secluded area with plenty of rock formations and a small sandy stretch.

Things to do in Lake Tahoe:
And here’s your randomism for the day:

You want some fun facts about Lake Tahoe?

• Lake Tahoe contains an average of 37 trillion gallons of water with an estimated depth of 1,645 feet. It’s hard to imagine, but that is enough water to cover a flat surface, the size of California with 14 inches of of sweet alpine H₂O. If you did ever manage to drain Tahoe, it would take around 700 years to fill back up again. Learn more.
• Also, “Tahoe” is a mispronunciation of the Washo Indian word dá’aw for lake, so Lake Tahoe is technically Lake Lake. Talk about originality.

So you want some more information?

Sometimes an article just can’t give you all the detailed information you need to make a day of it. If you’re hungry for more, check out these great links we found with detailed information on some of the beaches mentioned above

So, what do you think? Did we cover everything or would you add something to complete this list of things to do in Lake Tahoe from an insider’s perspective? Let us know. Leave us a comment below.

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