Lake Tahoe was a big hit again with the family. We stayed in the same town (Tahoe Vista) and cabins as last time (The Franciscan Lodge), but decided to splurge a bit and stay in a lakefront unit. We’re all glad that we did. There is nothing like waking up to a calm, glassy lake under blue skies every morning or sitting out on your porch at dusk and contemplating your existence with your beverage of choice. We couldn’t have asked for better weather as the temps were pretty much in the 80s every day.
What we Did
We indulged in a lot of the same activities as last year — rafted the Truckee River, hung out on the beach and played in the water, played miniature golf — but also introduced some new ones like Kayaking on the lake and riding our bikes over a pretty nice trail with lots of nice places to stop in between. This year, Luke also was much more comfortable in the water as he had learned to swim so we were able to spend a few hours in the water going over and under waves. I did get the kids wetsuits this year though because the water can still be a little on the chilly side (mid 60s) and being that Luke is so thin, he doesn’t really last too long in the water if he doesn’t have any added protection.
This year, we also hiked down to Emerald Bay. This is where Luke’s new catchphrase, “stop talking and start walking,” backfired on him. He had been using this phrase throughout our stay in Tahoe, but when we had to make the hike back to our car — 1 mile uphill — he began stopping and talking a little too much because he didn’t want to hike uphill. That’s when I turned to him and jokingly told him to stop talking and start walking. He didn’t find that too amusing though ;-).
Why Go to Tahoe
I’ve been asked about why we don’t go other places with the kids for our big vacation — you know, places like Yosemite, Sequoia, etc.? I think the simple answer is that Lake Tahoe simply offers kids this age so much to do without having to hike miles and miles to get everywhere. The kids really appreciate and love the natural beauty — Luke asked me if we could move there the other day — but they also like to do things. This point was drilled home to me time and time again when after finishing off an activity Lilah would ask “what are we going to do tomorrow?”
That’s when you realize there is no shortage of things to do. I mean besides the things we did, you can also go horseback riding, fly above the lake in a parasail, or take a tram to the top of heavenly valley and do some day hikes. Not to mention, there are casinos there for the adults (if that’s your kind of thing). Our location on the North Side of lake Tahoe is pretty removed from the South side strip, but we still have a few casinos within two miles we can go to. In our case, we simply visit the casinos for the inexpensive eating. There are also more advanced activities the kids could take part in as they get older — like more challenging hikes, or other water activities like snorkeling, fishing, and, of course, the motorized ones like jet skiing and water skiing.
Anyway, it was another great time in Tahoe and I think we had more than our fair share of fun. I’m pretty sure we’ll be back again next year…perhaps for an even more extended stay…Enjoy the pictures.