4th Festivities

Last year for the 4th of July, Mike took the weekend off from work and we headed down to the beach.  We went paddleboarding with sea turtles in the intercoastal waterway... spent time with friends... and laid on the beach.  I really thought it couldn't get ANY better!  

This year, we stayed in Tahoe and battled the traffic and tourists all weekend.  We had no specific plans and that was wonderful!  The clinic was closed Thursday and Friday for the holiday, so I ended up with my 3rd three-day-weekend in a row!  

Wednesday night after I got home from work, Mike and I jumped in the car and headed up to North Lake to watch their fireworks.  We took a lucky turn down a side street and ended up with a perfect parking spot!  There's really nothing quite like fireworks.  It's nearly impossible not to stare up at them in amazement.  

Thursday morning we started the 4th off right by sleeping in!  SO THANKFUL FOR THE FREEDOM TO SLEEP IN.  We wanted to get away from the Lake Tahoe beaches because we knew they would be packed with tourists so we headed down to Caples Lake to paddleboard.  

The mountains surrounding Caples Lake actually still have some snow.  

Obviously Zater tagged along... he's getting REALLY good at sitting on the board... 

 ...but if you paddle too close to shore he jumps off for a swim.  

 After paddling against the current and wind, we headed back to sit on the dock and waited as the clouds started rolling in.  

 After Caples, we headed home to shower and pack our gear for a cookout on the beach!  We loaded the car with our charcoal grill, food and drinks in the cooler, and some extra layers of clothes so we could hang out on the beach to watch the South Lake Tahoe fireworks.  We knew all the beaches would be crowded so we loaded the paddleboards with all our stuff and paddled out to the sandbar.

 It was so awesome to lay on the beach and watch the sun set over the mountains!  There was a beautiful pink glow everywhere and we had plenty of space to ourselves on the sandbar.

 No 4th of July celebration is complete without grilling... 

 We had a few "neighbors" around us on the sandbar, but it was much less crowded than the other beaches and we were very grateful for that! 

 After dinner we made s'mores over the charcoal grill and waited patiently for the sun to set completely so the fireworks could begin.  As it got completely dark out, we could see the fireworks shows from Tahoe City and Incline Village (both on the North shore of the lake).

 The fireworks show in South Lake Tahoe is supposedly one of the top 5 in the country so we were very excited to see it this year!  It was amazing!  It started off as one of the best shows I've ever seen.  I couldn't get over how perfect every. single. firework was!  They had hearts and smiley faces... HUGE fireworks... and small fireworks that hardly went up in the sky and the entire show was synchronized to music.  It was really beautiful.

After the show... we had to load up the boards and paddle back up the river to the car.  Lots of other people in canoes, kayaks, rafts, and paddleboards had the same idea as us.  Mike and I used our headlamps so that other people could see us if necessary, but during one short stretch of the river, when no one else was around, we turned off the headlamps and paddled by the glow of the stars.  It was the COOLEST paddle we have ever been on.

Friday, we headed out to Meek's Bay to paddle the crystal clear, caribbean alpine waters of Lake Tahoe.  As soon as we got out to the beach we noticed the cloud of smoke from a forest fire across the valley from our house.  After talking to the fire department to ensure we weren't in danger, we enjoyed our paddle.

Big ol' cloud of smoke. 

Please notice the PACKED beach.  We spent a lot of time just floating on the boards. 

CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF THE COLOR OF THIS WATER!!!!  

 We found a small little area of sand on the beach away from the biggest crowd and enjoyed the Tahoe blue waters of Meek's Bay while soaking up some sun.  

Our July 5th was just as awesome as July 4th!  And July 6th was pretty awesome too: today we paddled around North Shore.  We paddled along the shore to Tahoe City where we had a picnic lunch and got some ice cream.  On the paddle back, the wind picked up a bit creating some white caps on the already choppy lake.  I was very grateful that we were paddling WITH the wind on the way back to the car and it was actually a lot of fun!  Even when you weren't paddling, the current and wind would push you along pretty quickly.  I still had "sea legs" a few hours after we got home!  

After we unpacked and cleaned up, we walked next door to our neighbors house to get a look at the Gardnerville fire.  Over 2,000 acres have burned so far.  Luckily it is in an area that is not populated.  We are about 30 miles away from it so there's no real danger to us at all.  

We had an amazing 4th of July weekend and I hope everyone back home did too! The weekend isn't truly over yet, but I do have to go to work for a little while in the morning which means my "work week" is starting.  I'm so grateful to have spent another awesome 4th with my amazing and adventurous husband!  Can't wait to see what's in store for the rest of our "first Tahoe summer."  

Gracie Lou Visits Tahoe!!!

Thursday night Friday morning my dear friend Grace arrived to Sacramento!  Mike and I picked her up from the airport at midnight and we all made the trip back to Tahoe... getting home at 3:00 am (that's 6:00 am Grace's time).  I would have been ill as a snake but not sweet Gracie!  She handled the time change flawlessly!  Needless to say, once we got home we all went straight to bed so we could start our adventures the next day.

The sightseeing began with a trip to Emerald Bay in an attempt to beat the "tourons" [ Admittedly, I stole that word from a co-worker...  tourist + moron = "touron"].  Well, our attempt didn't work.  There were people everywhere.  'Tis the tourist season in Tahoe!  But, we got to get out of the car and hike around the falls a bit, so it was all worth it.

Mike napped by the falls - he drove all night so he was tired. 

 We decided to get away from the crowds at Emerald Bay by driving up to Angora Lakes and Fallen Leaf Lake.  A few years ago a huge section near Angora Lakes caught on fire (out of control campfire) and because it's so windy here... it spread quickly.  Lots of acreage burned and 242 homes were lost in approximately 8 hours.

The burned area spreads for miles. 

Mike and I at Angora Lakes. 

 We stopped at Fallen Leaf Lake for a picnic lunch... then headed back to see another waterfall (one of MANY in this area).  

Mike decided to relax in the shade... bless his heart... he was so tired! 

Gracie Lou and I... standing in the middle of the falls! 

 After quick naps at home... we loaded up the paddleboards and packed a cooler and headed to the beach for a sunset paddle and lakeside cookout.  It was the perfect way to spend my 28th birthday!

The next day we headed down to South Lake for breakfast at a local bagel shop.  We were able to walk just a block over to the beach and watched a HUGE stand up paddleboard race.  Lots of "paddleboarding celebrities" were racing!  That was pretty exciting (for me anyway).  

After breakfast we were ready for MORE adventures so we headed up to North Lake to raft along the Truckee River!  It's a self-guided tour because most of the 3 hour trip is just floating along in the current.  The rafting company jokingly refers to the rapids as "Class .7" [the lowest class of whitewater is Class 1].  

My kind of rafting! 

Shortly after starting our journey, I got REALLY hot (it was 90 degrees outside afterall - a HEATWAVE for Tahoe).  So, I braved the water and jumped in:

 Water temp: a cold refreshing 60 degrees. 

Grace tried her very best to stay warm and dry... but strangers with supersoakers were scattered along the shores of the river, just waiting for us innocent rafters with no place to hide.

Shaking the water from her ears! :) 

 When it's 90 degrees in Tahoe, apparently everyone decides to float the Truckee.  There were lots of people... which really made for a fun trip! At times we played "bumper rafts" with strangers.

 Obviously Mike is a St. Lawrence River Rat... this cold water didn't stop him from taking a swim.

Mike swimming in place against the current... who needs a therapy pool??? 

 And of course I couldn't let him swim alone... and I like to think of myself as an "honorary river rat" so I braved the cold refreshing waters.  I hope my mother-in-law and sister-in-law are proud! :) 

There are no words.  

After BACKFLIPPING OFF the raft into the water! Crazy boy. 

After rafting we decided to head to Squaw Valley Ski Resort since it was closeby.  We rode the tram to the top where they have a swimming pool at 8,200 ft. above sea level. 

Going up! 

Grace swimming at 8,200 ft. above sea level with SNOW in the background on the mountaintop! 

LOTS of marmots... look under the open umbrella, sitting on the rock. 

Squaw Valley.  Home of the 1960 Olympics.  With Lake Tahoe in the background.  

The tram at Squaw.  

 Sunday, it was time for Grace to leave (which was entirely too short and next time I DEMAND she stays longer).  We decided to take it easy and just laid on the beach for a few hours in the morning... doing a little paddleboarding which Grace was a PRO at.  Then we showered and headed for the airport.  I was so happy to have her here on my birthday weekend and I was SO very sad to see her leave!  She was a little reminder of everyone that I am missing from home but I'm so glad she got to experience a little bit of Tahoe.  Thank you so much for coming to visit us Grace... and please come back ANY time!  

Just for fun... here's a video of the "Class .7" whitewater rafting: