Fin & Lainey Visit Tahoe

I should probably mention that my brother and his wife ALSO visited Tahoe, it wasn't ONLY Fin and Lainey.

Anyway, I was SOOO excited to see them!  It had been way too long.  I picked up Johnny and the kids from the airport LATE Wednesday night and they were all wide awake and full of energy (and surprisingly in excellent moods).  We went straight to the first In-N-Out we could find to get a late night burger since they hadn't eaten real food in almost 13 hours!!!  Then the kids crashed in the car on the drive up to Tahoe.

We had a couple of days before Anakah was able to join us (due to a work trip in San Francisco), and the weather was slightly unseasonable (cool, windy, and occasionally overcast).  But, we managed to find things to do.  Tahoe is pretty good for having SOMETHING you can do in ANY type of weather.
Anyway, here's a recap of their trip in pictures (sadly, as I went through these pictures I realized that I didn't take many pictures of Johnny or Anakah... sorry guys.  I do love you both.  Seriously.):

MY TWIN

 For their first full day in Tahoe we decided to go "four-wheeling" in Mike's truck up to "top of the world" which has beautiful views of the lake.  We've actually never been up there first thing in the morning like this... it was really nice.  On our scenic ride back down we did a lot of "chipmunk spotting." 

TOP OF THE WORLD WITH CASTLE ROCK IN THE BACKGROUND!

OUR CHAUFFEUR TO TOP OF THE WORLD 

 We spent some time at the park and the kids were less interested in the playground equipment and more interested in climbing ALL the rocks! 

Anakah got in late Friday night and then the fun adventures really began. 

 Saturday morning was my half marathon.  I felt super unprepared for this run but I survived and actually finished with a pretty good time (2 hours 20 min). The race is actually a LOT of fun.  It's a lot of downhill but the few uphills are pretty brutal.  It starts at over 7,000 feet in elevation and you end at roughly 6,200 feet in elevation (lake level).  It was definitely hard.  REALLY hard at times.   

MAGS (ONE OF MY FORMER COWORKERS) AND I AT THE START!
IT WAS HER FIRST HALF MARATHON AND SHE KILLED IT!

LAINEY WEARING MY MEDAL AT THE FINISH!

 After a shower and a turkey sandwich, I was ready to head out for some Tahoe adventures.  

We headed to Fallen Leaf Lake, Glen Alpine Falls, and Lily Lake.  I did a HORRIBLE job of taking pictures at these places because I was having WAY too much fun climbing on the rocks with the kids to worry about pictures.  The only picture I snapped was after quick snack while the kids were playing in the back of "Uncle Mikey's" truck. 

 From there, we headed to the beach for their first glimpse of a Tahoe beach... (which was windy and cold).

 And then we headed to dinner at Base Camp where Fin and Lainey got free balloons from our good friend Sean.  Thanks again Sean! 

POLLY WANT A CRACKER????

(I FORGOT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF FIN'S LIGHT SABER)

 Sunday was father's day and Anakah/the kids got Johnny a mountain bike rental as his present.  Despite my SUPER sore legs from the run the day before, I decided I wanted to go mountain biking with my brother.  So, we rode the Flume trail where he kicked my tail on the climb up.  I didn't take a single picture of him because I'm a bad sister... the only pictures I took while up there were of the view! 

THAT VIEW THOUGH!  IT JUST NEVER GETS OLD!!! 

 After the flume trail, I shuttled Johnny and Mike on a quick lap on Sidewinder (another popular trail in town), for which I had NO MORE LEGS LEFT!  My legs were DONE!  I was happy to be shuttle driver!

Sunday afternoon we went home and spent the rest of the day in the pool/hot tub with the kids!  

Monday was a gorgeous, blue bird, Tahoe day... AND THE FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!

We chose a hike to upper Eagle Falls and a relaxing afternoon on the beach, eating a picnic lunch, paddleboarding, and making sand castles.  

IMAGINE THAT!  HE FOUND ANOTHER ROCK
TO CLIMB!!!  

JOHNNY AND THE KIDS ROCK CLIMBING!

 Our sweet neighbors loaned us a life jacket for the kids so even they got to go paddleboarding with me!  They were such troopers, getting in the water even though it's cold!!!  

When we felt we'd had enough sun, we headed straight to Camp Richardson for ice cream and then home to relax.  

Their last night in town we had an amazing sunset!!!

We had so much fun with those kids and their parents!  They are SO well behaved and awesome to be around!  I honestly can't get enough of them!  Great job Johnny and Anakah!  You are raising them well.  Keep up the good work!

In other news:

Happy Father's Day to my wonderful dad!  I know we skyped but I just wanted to announce it one more time.  Hope you had a great father's day.  Wish you could've been in Tahoe with us. 

Happy Father's day again to my fantastic big brother!  You are a wonderful father to those kids.  They are lucky to have you. 

Happy Father's day to my awesome father-in-law!  I hope you celebrated with a drink in hand!  

There is a LOT going on around here... we're cleaning up the house we're buying... closing on the house in ONE WEEK... waiting on more family to arrive... then flying home to NC for a week! Whew.  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.  But also super excited and grateful for all these amazing opportunities!  So... stay tuned!  

Oregon Road Trip

So, it's been really hard to blog this year.  And my excuse is.... we've been really busy.  I know.  Who isn't busy?  Let me fill you in on what we've had going on lately:

First, we started on some projects around the house.  

Mike made some stairs down to our basement (to make it easier to carry bikes and paddleboards down to the basement).  

And together, we made a headboard out of pallet wood.  We also gave the bookcase and nightstand a makeover! 

You are probably thinking, why would you do such big projects on a house you are renting??? Well, that's another reason we've been so busy lately.... we are planning to BUY this house we live in!  Yikes!  

Basically, our landlord is selling (second time this has happened to us since moving out here).  She offered it to us and we are trying to make it work.  If it all works out, we will close at the end of the month.  

So, we've been doing a lot of adulting lately and haven't had much time for fun.  So, we took a road trip to Oregon for a little escape and adventure (and a little continuing education for me).  

First stop: McArthur-Burney Falls in northern California.  

 It was totally worth the stop and the $8 parking fee.  The falls were gorgeous!  They reminded me of something you would see in Hawaii.  The water was just pouring out of the walls!  

NOT SURE WHAT TYPE OF BIRD IS IN THE NEST. 

From here, we continued north into Oregon, taking the scenic route through Crater Lake.  

THIS MUCH SNOW LEFT IN JUNE!!! 

We continued on and found a free spot to camp on a forest service road near Oakridge, Oregon.  We made a quick dinner and climbed in the back of the truck for a very restful night sleep to the sound of the river.  

NOTICE THE TRUCK IN THE BACKGROUND.  THAT WAS OUR
CAMPSITE FOR THE NIGHT. 

SO GREEN AND LUSH!

The next morning we had planned to take a shuttle to ride a local mountain bike trail (Alpine Trail) which boasts 17 miles of downhill riding.  

Mountain biking in Oregon is totally different than around Tahoe.  The dirt was different (less sandy and dusty) and the riding seemed less technical (less rocky).  The trail was very mellow and flowy.  Lots of fun!

After a great ride... we headed to Portland.  FINALLY!  Visiting Portland has been on my bucket list for a while now.  I attended a continuing education course by day, and scoped out the town by night (which ended up working out GREAT because Portland was in a HEAT WAVE while we were there and it was unbearably hot during the day).  

YOU CAN NOT IMAGINE HOW HUGE THIS BOOKSTORE IS UNTIL YOU
VISIT!  IT IS UNBELIEVABLE! AND THE BOOKS GO ALL THE WAY TO
THE CEILING!

A PORTLAND LANDMARK!  

MIKE EATING A PORTLAND CREME

I CHOSE THE VOODOO DOUGHNUT!  DELISH!

WE STAYED NEAR THE RIVERFRONT.
WE WERE THERE DURING THE ROSE FESTIVAL SO THERE WAS
ALWAYS A LOT GOING ON DOWN BY THE RIVER. 

WE VISITED SEVERAL BREWERIES.  

 Arguably, Portland is known for doughnuts and breweries.  And it just so happened that we were in Portland on NATIONAL DOUGHNUT DAY!  What a coincidence?  Since we had already done VooDoo Doughnuts, we opted for Blue Star Doughnuts... and they did not disappoint.

MIKE'S WAS A RICH, DECADENT CHOCOLATE
COVERED, CREME FILLED. 

MINE WAS THE PB&J: PEANUT BUTTER POWDER ON THE OUTSIDE,
JELLY WITH HABANERO ON THE INSIDE.  WEIRD RIGHT?
BUT DELICIOUS!!!

 We also ate at a couple of food trucks, which didn't disappoint.  We booked our hotel because it was close to downtown and there was a metro directly in front.  We ended up walking everywhere.  Portland is very walkable... not as hilly as San Fran.  And there was a lovely breeze in the evenings that made walking very pleasant.  Plus, you always see so much more when you're walking.  

Thanks Portland!  We had a blast!  We hope to visit again one day!

From Portland, we made a quick stop by Multnomah Falls: 

 Then headed on to Mt. Hood where we stopped at a sno park near the base of the mountain and made a quick sandwich for dinner.  

BEAUTIFUL MT. HOOD

From Mt. Hood, we headed south to Bend.  I think I was MOST excited about visiting Bend.  In all the research we did before this trip, the pictures of Bend looked so inviting.  

We found a spot to camp on a Forest Service Road just outside of Bend.  The next morning, we made a quick visit to a waterfall near our campsite. 

RAGING RIVER!

 By 10 am it was HOT out.  So, we headed to Tumalo Falls.  A short hike to a beautiful waterfall that you can walk behind to cool off. 

IT'S QUITE A DRIVE TO GET BACK HERE,
BUT TOTALLY WORTH IT!

LOOK AT MIKE'S SHIRT!  LOTS OF POWER IN
THAT WATERFALL! 

YOU CAN'T TELL, BUT I WAS GETTING SOAKED
IN THIS PICTURE!
THE WATER WAS "REFRESHING." 

After the falls, we headed into downtown Bend to walk around... but it was SO hot that we decided we had to get on the river (with everyone else in Bend... the river was PACKED!).  So, we rented paddleboards and paddled/floated the river.  The water was COLD which was perfect.  Unfortunately, I didn't take a single picture of that little adventure. 

After paddling, we headed to our campsite... the only fee campsite of our entire road trip.  We stayed at Paradise campground about 1.5 hours west of Bend because we had a shuttle trip planned for the next morning.  We got set up at our site, made dinner, took showers, sat by a fire, and went to bed.  

OUR SITE WAS RIGHT ON THE BEAUTIFUL MCKENZIE RIVER!

The following day we rode the McKenzie River Trail; 26 miles of "downhill" mountain biking.  

This trail is a LONG 26 miles.  Mainly because it's not what I would consider to be true "downhill" biking.  It was a very pedal-y 26 miles.  Overall, the trail is relatively flat.  There are some technical sections, but no steep sections.  Out of 26 miles, I'm pretty sure we pedaled 25 miles!  And, it was HOT, HOT, HOTTTT!!!!!!!  The heat absolutely zapped our energy.  I haven't been that sweaty in a LONG time. 

The trail is rated #1 in the nation for mountain biking.  I really doubt that's because of the trail itself... but definitely because of the views along the trail... which are spectacular!

THE MCKENZIE RIVER IS A SPECTACULAR SHADE OF BLUE!

CLEAR LAKE... THE STARTING POINT OF THE TRAIL. 

BLUE SPRINGS

THERE ARE A RIDICULOUS NUMBER OF BRIDGES
LIKE THIS THAT YOU HAVE TO WALK YOUR BIKE
ACROSS... ALTHOUGH YOU DON'T HAVE TO WALK
IT ACROSS LIKE THIS GUY!  HE'S JUST BEING CRAZY. 

BLUE POOL.  THIS WATER COMES UP FROM UNDERGROUND!
THE PICTURE DOES NOT DO IT JUSTICE OF COURSE.
BEAUTIFUL SPOT FOR LUNCH. 

So, here's the deal.  There was SO much beautiful scenery on this trail.  The top is all lava fields... then the trail ducks into beautiful, lush forests, following the river.  There are a few spots where the trail doesn't parallel the river, and while still beautiful, it's ridiculously hot in those spots.  I would've loved to have taken more pictures but it was honestly so hot that I just lost the will to care about pictures.  We were SO exhausted at the end and the trail isn't really even that difficult.  The heat absolutely taxed us... and the fact that you are pedaling NON-STOP is pretty exhausting by the end.  

I definitely recommend the trail to other mountain bikers, but only for the scenery.... not for the trail itself.  Also, I will probably not be doing it again... ever. 

Here's a little video compilation of all the water falls and rivers we experienced on our trip:

 

Well, that was our trip. 

Up next... my brother and his family visit.

My 31st birthday and potentially closing on a house!  Eeeekkk!

Mike's family visits!!!

We visit NC for a week in July!

Whew.  

Stay tuned!  I will try to do a better job of posting!