Week 4 = The End of Summer Vacation

I blinked and my summer break disappeared!  That's ok because we've made wonderful memories and feel TRULY blessed to have had such a long break.  And, let's be honest... summer still isn't over!  There's still plenty of daylight in the evenings that we can go and do fun summer activities after work each day.  It's definitely my favorite time of the year.

We decided to stay home and have some local adventures this week.  As much as I love traveling near and far to new places, I was glad we kept it "low-key" this week.  I feel more rested and ready to begin my work week.

We began the week by spending Monday at the beach!  We just spent a relaxing afternoon sitting lakeside and doing a little swimming.  We opted to drive to Meek's Bay which is a BEAUTIFUL area of the lake.  The water is insanely blue.  We napped in the sand and took a few refreshing dips in the beautiful water.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture.  I was too busy enjoying my day of relaxation.  Monday night, I joined a friend for the ladies night paddle in South Lake.  Luckily, it wasn't too terribly windy and the view of the sunset from the water is amazing!

Tuesday morning I went for a run and spent the rest of the day lounging around the house.  Some of our neighbors were back in town and kindly invited us over for dinner.  They've moved to SoCal and we miss them terribly.  We always enjoy hanging out with them.  They live just down the street from us which is fantastic because we can walk home (the only problem is that I usually eat and drink way too much and then have to walk uphill to get home).  It was great to spend a little time with them and we are excited to see them again in September when they are back in Tahoe for a little while.

Wednesday we met up with some friends at the beach.  We just spent a couple hours lounging by the lake again, but this time there were lots of babies around!  It was so cute to see them playing in the sand and water.

Thursday morning we woke up early for a morning paddle.  We decided to paddle from Baldwin beach to Emerald Bay.  It was an absolutely beautiful morning!  It was 48 degrees that morning but once we were paddling on the water it felt a little warmer.  We weren't the only ones with this idea.  There were lots of people out paddling, either on stand-up paddle boards or kayaks.

INSIDE THE BAY LOOKING OUT TOWARD
THE REST OF LAKE TAHOE

 

VIKINGSHOLM CASTLE TUCKED IN THE TREES ON THE BEACH

 We've paddled to Emerald Bay once before but we've never hiked to the top of Fannette Island, the little island in the middle of the bay with a tea house on top that is part of Vikingsholm.  This time, we decided to do it.  We found a great spot to secure the boards while we hiked up to the tea house.

DOWNED TREE = PADDLE BOARD STORAGE

THE TEA HOUSE

WHAT A VIEW! 

WELCOME TO MY NEW HOME...
I wish. 

 After the short hike to the tea house, we paddled over to a little beach to eat a quick snack before paddling back.  I ate some peanuts and had a few TINY little peanut crumbs in my hands.  I hadn't even dropped any of the crumbs but the ducks were swarming us... just in case... you never know when a crumb might fall!  So, I finally gave in (I usually don't condone feeding wildlife).

NOTICE THE OTHER DUCK IS SPLASHING DOWN
IN THE WATER AFTER BEING UP ON THE BOARD

 It was a great paddle to the bay and it didn't take very long (less than an hour to get to the island in the middle of the bay... and that includes a short stop at one of the beaches).  But, after a good total body workout, we headed home to relax, cook dinner, and enjoy a beautiful sunset.

THIS IS THE VIEW FROM MY SPOT ON THE COUCH.
IT'S NOT TOO SHABBY. 

YOU CAN SEE A TINY BIT OF THE LAKE FROM
OUR COUCH

 Friday was cold and cloudy.  Mike worked most of the day and I spent all day cleaning the house.  It was actually pretty refreshing to have a cool/cloudy day and I was able to get a lot done without feeling like I was missing out on awesome outdoor activities.

Saturday we opted for a long bike ride.  So, we rode up Cold Creek Trail to Star Lake Trail... over Freel Pass at 9,700 feet above sea level... then down the other side which included some of our favorite mountain biking trails.  We planned this out ahead of time so we drove two cars since we would be beginning and ending at different places.

The climb up cold creek trail is hard for me.  There are a lot of "hike-a-bike" sections which require you to carry your bike up big rocks.  But, once we were beyond that trail, the next trail was a much easier climb.  We finally arrived to Star Lake again... yep, we were just there last week too.

WE MEET AGAIN STAR LAKE.
I COULDN'T MANAGE A SMILE YET... I WAS STILL
TOO TIRED AT THIS POINT. 

 We ate lunch at Star Lake, then continued up and over Freel Pass... again... 9,700 feet above sea level.  

AT THIS POINT, I HAD EATEN LUNCH SO I WAS SMILING AGAIN!

At first, the trail over Freel pass doesn't seem to bad.  It's flowy and fun.  It was a little scary in sections because it's a very narrow singletrack with sticks and rocks in the way... and it's perched pretty high up on a very steep hillside.  But, overall, it was fun.

The higher you climb... the less fun it is.  There are still some "hike-a-bike" sections, but now you're significantly above 9,000 ft and therefore it becomes significantly harder to perform such power activities.  My sweet patient husband was so kind to wait for me along the way.

We spent a few minutes resting at the top of the pass (but sadly I was too tired to even snap a picture), then headed down the other side... ~ 12 miles of downhill reward for all of our uphill work.  It was a LONG downhill.  So fun.

We finally reached the bottom of the trails and we are JUST about to head back to the car when I spot Mike talking to a guy.  Apparently, he fell somewhere on the trail... pretty hard.  He smashed his helmet and wasn't really sure where he was.  It was pretty scary.  We stayed with him for a long time, asking him questions to see if he was alert and oriented.  He wouldn't let us call an ambulance or take him to the hospital, and he convinced us he lived nearby, so we rode away and watched him from a distance to make sure he was going to be able to walk or ride away.  Well, he didn't.  He just stayed there in the same spot for what seemed like eternity.  Finally, Mike rode back up to him and he had just started riding down the trail a bit.  We talked some more and he seemed to be clearing a little bit.  His answers were making more sense and he told us he had a phone (which he previously denied having a phone) and would call for help if needed.  Meanwhile, another rider had passed along that there was an injured rider on the trail and an EMT (?) who had been out riding showed up.  Long story short, the guy was definitely more coherent and convinced everyone that he could safely ride his bike home.  I sure hope he made it home ok.  It was pretty scary talking to him initially.  Moral of the story: ALWAYS WEAR YOUR HELMET KIDS.  And after a hard fall like that... throw your helmet away and get a new one.

Saturday night was take out Greek food... a long hot tub soak... and bedtime before 10:00 pm.  It was fantastic!!!

I am so incredibly blessed to have a job that I enjoy doing, and that gives me a month off during the summer.  I also feel so blessed to have a husband with a flexible job who can join me on awesome adventures.  I'm not sure how we got so fortunate, but we are definitely trying to make the most of it.