Four Feet More

Our dock on lake Tahoe

After driving home from Tucson, I was understandably very tired and not really looking forward to the Tahoe vacation I had planned with the girls for the week after we got home.  They wanted to drive out at 9 pm Tuesday night, which would mean a 1 am arrival in Tahoe, and just the thought of it made my head ache.  I guess I'm getting old.  But, since I had agreed to this trip months ago, I decided to "take one for the team" and follow their plans.  I'm glad I did, because it wound up being a very relaxing and fun getaway.

In all my 25 years of living in California, I had never really been to Tahoe before.  Sure, I'd gone up for a day-trip to a ski resort, and visited briefly for my mom's wedding, but on those trips I had not actually seen Lake Tahoe, nor had I gotten a good feel for what Tahoe was like.  That all changed after this mini-break.  The plan was for us to stay at a lake house being rented by Jaime's step-dad, Bob.  We all pictured a rustic dwelling and planned accordingly.  I brought pillows and even a roll of eco-friendly toilet paper.  As we got closer to the property, it began to look as if the house wouldn't be as rustic as we had assumed.  We pulled into the driveway of a modest, wooden dwelling in front of which Bob was waiting for us.  It was dark, so I couldn't see much of the house, but it looked serviceable enough.  And I could rough it for a few days, no big deal. 

It turned out that the dwelling I was looking at was actually just the garage.  As we walked into the house, it quickly became apparent that the eco-friendly toilet paper I brought would not be needed.  Simply put, the house was HUGE.  The kitchen itself was as big as my entire living room and the back wall was made up entirely of windows overlooking the lake.  The main living room was dominated by a stone fireplace two-stories high and it was off of this room that my bedroom was located.  I got my own private room, complete with a sitting area and bathroom.  James got her own room with bathroom and deck overlooking the lake, and Mel and Am shared a room downstairs which had their own private living room, bathroom and pool table.  We all looked around the place in slack-jawed amazement.  Once Bob left us alone, Jaime and I squealed like little girls, jumping up and down in excitement over our rooms.  Mel and Am kept saying how this was insane, and the four of us decided that we could easily just spend our entire break holed up in the house.  

The view of our house from the dock

 But of course, that was not what we came to Tahoe for, so we compromised.  Our mornings were spent lazing around the house, having breakfast at one of the tables located on the property and looking out at the lake.  During the afternoon, we would do an activity exploring Tahoe.  The first day, it was a hike to Vikingsholm, a Scandanavian-inspired property on Emerald Bay.  The trail seemed easy enough, but the views of the beach soon lured us off the trail and down to the shore.  We had lunch near a group of rocks and were befriended by a very bold chipmunk who actually caught in his hands a squishy grape that James threw away.  This chipmunk was skilled.  After lunch, we attempted to find our way back to the trail, without success - we were lost.  Fortunately, we could follow the shoreline all the way to Vikingsholm.  Unfortunately, the shoreline was littered with fallen trees that we had to clamber over, and a plant rehabilitation area which we unknowingly stomped through.   Felling like very bad humans, we eventually make it to our destination, enjoyed the beauty of the area, and then correctly followed the trail back to our car.  That night we were a bit exhausted from the exertions of the day, so we had dinner in and watched "Footloose' on the big-screen TV before heading to bed.

James, Mel, Am and I with our bikes

On our second day in Tahoe we rented bikes and rode around the lake.  It was beautiful and on bike we were able to explore areas we could not get to by car.  That night we headed to a casino where we watched "Artie" (Party with Artie) perform dance hits to a group of drunken girls at a bachelorette party.  There was also this Swedish girl who kept walking around the dance floor with one arm raised high (as if she were saluting the casino) and the other hand holding a glass of wine.  It was very strange and Artie seemed to be enjoying the show on the dance floor as much as we were. 

The next day, Friday, was our last day in Tahoe.  After a morning breakfast, enjoying the view of our dock and the blue waters beyond, we packed up and headed into town to see "Eat, Pray, Love" (which I didn't really like, BTW.   Despite her year-long search for enlightenment, it seemed to me that Liz learned NOTHING and was was as self-absorbed in the end as she was at the beginning of the story.  I didn't read the book though, so maybe I missed something).  The movie was followed by an excellent dinner - we had nothing but great food in Tahoe - and the long drive home.  Even though I wasn't looking forward to this trip so close on the heels of our Tucson vacation, I'm glad I went.  It was a great time out with the girls and gave us all the chance to relax and explore without the normal distractions of a vacation with the kids.  I definitely plan to go back, next time with Jeff and the kids, to share some of the adventures I had with the girls.  I suppose our lodging will be a bit more rustic the next time around though.  :)

Me, James and Mel on our deck