After our extended family dinner last night, we hadn’t packed a thing for Tahoe. Time was spent cleaning the house (always a big one when you are not living there). When Emersyn finally arrived in California, one of the top priority was a follow up on her bone cyst. Jim took her to see Dr. Semkiw while I ran Eleri to the dentist. When I got back from the dentist, I could begin to throw things in a bag for our trip to Tahoe! Emersyn came home with bad news, her bone cyst hadn’t changed. We did three surgery procedures last summer tying to get the bone to heal. Dr. Semkiw wanted to squeeze in two more this summer. The first would be the day before we leave for Chicago. Emersyn wasn’t in the best of moods driving to Tahoe. She also realized we were driving home on the 4th of July and there would be no fireworks to add to her bad day.
“In and Out” burgers are our tradition when driving to Tahoe. Since we were getting such a late start, we grabbed a burger at Milpitas on our way out of town. Terri was riding to Tahoe with us while Andy is coming on Friday driving Mimi and Papa. Terri and Andy are leaving on July 4th from Reno to South Dakota for a family reunion.
When we got to the cabin, we unpacked and cooked up some good steaks for dinner. After dinner, we had game night. I had purchased the game, Clue. A game we all played as kids. It was fun as Eleri is now old enough to play more advanced games. Terri won this round of Clue.
Day One: Lake Fun
We were meeting our neighbors, Daniel, Karla, Sophie and Izzy, at the beach today. We have this routine for going to the beach. Jim is on lunch duty taking orders for sandwiches while I am on sunscreen duty. We load the car with more stuff than we could ever need. I remember the days when Jim and I WALKED to the beach with a towel, a water and a book…those days are long gone. Now, everyone is carrying something…chairs, umbrellas, beach toys, lunch bags, lunch cooler, towels…good thing the walk to the beach is short after the drop off point. I should get a photo, but my hands are full! Here is a photo of our little camp spot. Jim was busy making calls for work, but a beautiful view to enjoy while working.
It is early in the season, so the water at Tahoe is extra cold. The temperature is cooler, too. I packed our fleeces to take to the beach. I know if we swim, we will need them to warm up. The girls had fun digging in the sand with Izzy and Sophie.
While I was getting food at the grocery store, I saw a new Sharkie. Eleri had put a hole in our Sharkie last year when she swam out to the rafts. Sharkie is a team mascot when we raft.
Izzy and Eleri wanted to go out on the paddle boats. Daniel offered to go with the girls which made us all happy as we are out in the paddle boats every summer. They are a little hard to steer while staying in the roped area.
After the paddle boats, Izzy and Eleri wanted to swim to the rafts. I have one rule on swimming in the Lake, I don’t swim until after lunch as I need time to warm up. Jim offered to go with the girls. Izzy has been floating and playing in the water as if it is warm, which it is not! Izzy swam out with one tube while Eleri put Sharkie on a tube so the only thing in the water was her legs.
After lunch, Terri went to play in the pool with the girls.
Since she was already wet, she decided to swim to the rafts…but it was colder than she had expected. It took her all afternoon to warm up.
Sophie was trying Eleri’s trick of staying above the water! Emersyn jumped right in, but she did comment this was NOT the temperature of the ocean in Thailand!
Jim and I packed up the car while the gang was swimming to the rafts. After the lake swim, we went home for warm showers. Our girls were spending the night with Sophie and Izzy. They are staying at another neighbors’ cabin. We dove the girls to their cabin and enjoyed a glass of wine with Karla, Daniel and Karla’s Mom, Mirtha. Then, Terri, Jim and I went out for pizza – a night out with NO kids!
Day Two: Squaw Valley and Zipping
Today we were meeting the gang at Squaw Valley Ski Resort for pizza. Karla and Daniel would bring our girls with them. Karla had a favorite pizza place, Fireside Pizza, in the Village. I haven’t been to Squaw in years. Squaw grew! The parking lot has been filled in with shops, restaurants and hotels. Squaw Village was not three times the size it was ten years ago. We did enjoy walking around the shops. The pizza was excellent as it was a beautiful day to sit out and enjoy the fun.
While shopping at Squaw, Eleri decided she wanted a Sock Monkey likes Emersyn’s monkey. Emersyn made her monkey from the kit with Aunt Nancy about two years ago. One shop had a monkey for $19.95 – stuffed and ready to go home. Another shop had the kit to make a monkey for $19.95. Emersyn said Eleri should make the monkey because the fun part was making it with Aunt Nancy. Eleri purchased the kit so now we need to squeeze in some monkey making time with Aunt Nancy!
After lunch, the plan was to take the cable car to the top. However, there was a new zip line course. Izzy really wanted to zip and Sophie really wanted to take the cable car. Since they were leaving tomorrow, it was their choice as we had other days to enjoy the fun. In the end, we decided to zip.
The Tahoe Treetop Adventure park opened yesterday at Granlibakken. The cost was $45 for an adult and $28 for kids under 13.
The key to the fun is height. Eleri was not tall enough to go on the Intermediate & Advanced Zone course. We all started off on the beginners course, Flying Squirrel Zone.
The Flying Squirrel has two courses. After finishing the course, Terri, Jim, Izzy, Sophie and Emersyn went to the Intermediate course. Eleri and I worked our way around the two beginner courses about 3 times. After that, Eleri was done. The course was fun, but to short and simple to keep her attention. From my point of view, it was too expensive. Eleri can not do the course by herself as she can’t reach a few of the clip-ins. Therefore, for the two of us to do this small course, it cost $73. They need a discount for adults doing the beginners course. I would not come back until Eleri is tall enough to do the other course.
Since Daniel and Karla were with us, but not doing the course, I left Eleri with them while I did a round on the adult course. Terri waited for me as the group had began to get split up. Izzy and Jim were out in front while Emersyn and Sophie were working together to get through the course. Some of the course was hard and out of their comfort zone…except Izzy who has no fear. I pulled this off their website, we didn’t know which course was what color at the time.
The Adult / Intermediate & Advanced Zone offers 5 different courses for all abilities.
Pink course – Eight different bridges including a zip line finish will ease you into this zone and prepare you for the intermediate courses.
Orange Course – is an intermediate course that has many of the most fun and exciting events you’ll ever find in an Aerial Adventure park.
Yellow Course – is the Canopy Tour course in this Zone. It contains eight different events with four zip lines totaling 500’. You will also walk across a 120’ suspension bridge between “The Twinsâ€, two gorgeous twin Cedars estimated to be 500+ years old.
Red Course – starts with a zip line and finishes with a zip line. Designed to be interactive and within view of other participants, the red course is great with friends and family.
Blue Course – is the advanced course for those looking for the most challenging bridges and events. Comprised of 9 different events including two 100’ zip lines and a 300’ zip line, this course should challenge even the most adventurous.
The group did 4 of the 5 courses. I did 2 courses. I started on the Orange course which had a bike to ride across the cables. The bike was a bit hard to get on and off which required help. This created a problem when Jim was doing the course with the girls. No more than two people are to be on the platforms, but the girls could not hold the bike cable so all 5 of them were on the platform.
After the Orange Course, Terri and I moved to the Yellow Course. Halfway through the course on the third zip line, I missed and zipped into the platform. It hurt and I was done, but I had to finish the course. Crashing into a platform left me with a nice bruise and cut. As I type in August, my leg is still healing.
I had more photos of Eleri since we were on the beginners course together. By the time I finished my course, it was getting dark in the trees to get any good photos of Jim and Emersyn. Jim and the girls did the Blue course. Even Jim said it was challenging.
It was after 7pm when we finished. Everyone went home for showers. Then, Karla brought the girls to spend the night at our cabin. We fixed a big pasta dinner for the hungry and tired crew. Andy, Mimi and Papa arrived about 10pm just before everyone went to bed.
Day Three: More beach Fun
Jim packed the lunches for the expanded crew. We went to enjoy another day at the beach. Izzy and Sophie only had until about 2pm to play as they were driving home today. The girls had fun digging, swimming and playing together. They spent most of the day at the pool with Uncle Andy, a big kid himself.
The girls took the camera to the pool to get some fun photos.
After the pool, Izzy and Eleri decided to swim to the rafts. I should have taken a video of Eleri, but we were to busy laughing. She was trying to get off the raft back in the water on her tube/Sharkie combination without getting wet. A couple of teenagers offer to help her, but she didn’t want help as she didn’t want to go IN the lake.
With the girls leaving, we arrived back to the house early for a change. We enjoyed a nice dinner with more game night fun. We played the game Enchanted Forest. It is for ages 6 and older, but, it is a hard memory game. It is one of those Germany wood board games. Mimi and Papa were playing with us – a little bit of a challenge for Papa so we put them on the same team.
Day Four: Biking the Path
After Jim took his parents to church, we left on our biking adventure. The bike shops only has two “tag-alongs” to rent. We did get the last one. We also rent a bike for Emersyn. Since she only rides it once a year, we haven’t invested in a bike for her, yet. With Eleri on the back of Jim’s bike, we are able to bike from Homewood to Tahoe City. It is a beautiful ride along the Lake – about a 20 mile round trip adventure.
We ALWAYS bike to the River Ranch for hamburgers on the deck. It is a great place to enjoy the afternoon sun at Tahoe.
After lunch, we ride into town to shop. The girls like the toy shop at Boat Works along with the ice cream shop. We always shop longer than we should. Then, we have to ride home a bit faster as the bikes need to be back by 5pm. We did make time for a quick photo by the Lake.
Tonight’s game is Creationary by Legos. Again, ages 8 and up. Ok, this game is hard. You have to make lego items based on the card you draw. Jim and Emmy against Papa and Eleri against Mimi and I. Terri and Andy went out for dinner. When they arrived home, they took Mimi’s spot as I needed an engineering mind to help build these pieces.
Day Five: An Outing on Lake Tahoe with Justin
Justin had arrived early this morning at Tahoe and made a surprise visit to see us with pastries from the Tahoe House. Mimi loves surprise visits especially from her grandchildren. Justin had said he could take us out (all of us would fit) on a friend’s boat today. Justin was staying at his friend’s house since this house was full! Jim went to work packing lunches for the crew. Good thing he has a system for making everyone their special sandwich. We met Justin at Sunny Side at 11am for our exciting adventure on the Lake. We have spent many summers at Lake Tahoe, but we have not been on the lake.
Justin let the girls take turns driving the boat when the way was clear.
It was a beautiful day on the Lake.
Justin took us to Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay State Park is a state park of California, a National Natural Landmark. The Park features include Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm, a 38-room mansion that is considered one of the finest examples of Scandinavian architecture in the United States. The Park contains the only island in Lake Tahoe, Fannette Island.
In 1969, Emerald Bay was recognized as a National Natural Landmark by the federal Department of the Interior. In 1994, California State Parks included the surrounding water of the bay as a part of the park, making Emerald Bay one of the first underwater parks of its type in the state, protecting the various wrecks and other items on the bay’s bottom. The 1, 533-acre (620 ha) park was established in 1953.
We had lunch at the beach at Emerald Bay Park. The Park is accessible by car. The car park is at the top of the hill with a one mile walk down to the Lake. Justin pulled in for us to get off at the pier located at the Park. Jim and Justin then had to swim in after anchoring the boat. We enjoyed a tasty lunch and walked around the Vikingsholm. We had missed the next tour so decided we should come back another time. The girls have not been in the Vikingsholm.
Mrs. Lora Joseph Knight purchased the land in 1928. Mrs. Knight’s land included the only island (Fanette Island) in Lake Tahoe and the only water fall (Eagle Falls) flowing directly into the Lake. Mrs. Knight wanted to build a summer home that would compliment the magnificent natural surroundings. Emerald Bay reminded her of many of the fjords she had seen on numerous travels to Scandinavia. Mrs. Knight would arrive for the summer in mid June and stay until the middle of September.
Mrs. Knight enjoyed entertaining and had a number of guests visiting during the summer months. Tea was served every afternoon on the terrace or in the library, and occasionally in the tea house on the island.
After our lunch, Justin and Jim swam out to get the boat. Justin took us to Fannette Island to the tea house. There is no place to dock a boat so the hikers had to jump off the back of the boat. We did need to hurry as the current drags the boat to shore and Justin didn’t want the motor to hit the rocks. The cold water takes your breath away when you jump in. Both girls did jump in quickly and swam while holding their shoes. Ok, Jim did swim with Eleri’s shoes.
This was my first time to the Tea House. It is a short hike to the top with amazing views. It would be a nice place for afternoon tea. I am sure Mrs. Knights guest were rowed to shore so they didn’t have to swim in, but that takes away the adventure of it all!
We hiked back down to the edge of the little island. We swam back out to Justin and drove to another part of the lake to swim. This lake area under Rubicon is to be the clearest and the coldest based on the rock formation.
My favorite part of the photo of Emersyn jumping in the lake is Justin in the back ground!
Next we drove to Chamber’s beach for some photos before returning to Sunny Side after a fun filled day on the Lake. It was a very grand adventure on the Lake. It was nice of Justin to treat us to such a fabulous day all spent together.
Back at Sunny Side, we enjoyed a quick cocktail on the crowded deck of Sunny Side. Sunny Side does have one of the best views of the lake from their deck which explains the always crowded deck. Jim had a work call tonight. We decided this would be a good night to get everyone out of the house for pizza to give Jim some quiet time.
Day Six: Rafting Adventure
Lunches packed, rafts loaded and we are ready for our adventure. Jim has spent the last two evenings trying to find a leak in one of the rafts. He patched the big one, but there is still a slow leak. He solved the problem by bring the pump. The boys do the car drop which takes about 30 minutes to drive to the River Ranch to leave a car. The ladies wait with the rafts and take photos.
I picked up another kids floating toy at the PDQ for Emersyn. Now, both rafts have a mascot.
Team Gator – Emersyn, Brenda and Jim
Team Sharkie – Eleri, Terri and Andy
The water in the Truckee River is extra cold early in the season, also. We limited our water fighting this year. We floated and enjoy the beauty of the River to our lunch spot. Our usual lunch spot was taken! We found a new spot further down that we all liked better. After lunch, Eleri put on the life vest I purchased at Decathlon. After the raft flipping two years ago, we thought it was best to be more prepared. She didn’t mind as it was small, but enough to help her if she found herself in the rapids.
Jim and I had the boat with the small leak. Therefore, we filled it up at lunch – good thing Jim brought the pump!
The girls enjoyed one more dip in the River before we headed into the rapids.
The River was a nice level this year. The rapids into the River Ranch were just right and the rocks that usually hit the bottom of the boat were less – a perfect level. After rafting, Terri and Andy wanted to go on the Vikingsholm tour. Emersyn wanted to go shopping at the new Lather & Fizz shop we found. Eleri wanted to go with Terri and Andy. Perfect as Eleri is not a fun shopper. Jim and I took Emersyn to the new pub in town for a drink before our shop…she had a root beer.
After our shop, we met Justin, Mimi and Papa down at the beach for a Chamber’s Punch…a fun way to end the day!
Day Seven: Quail Lake
Our last day at Lake Tahoe. Papa had been cleaning his office and he found the box with Sager’s ashes. Jim and I used to take Sager to Quail Lake hiking all the time. It is a short hike with a lake Sager loved. He loved coming to Tahoe. He would start barking as soon as we turned into the subdivision to the house. The girls have not hiked to Quail Lake. We thoughts this would be a good reason to hike to Quail Lake – to bury Sager’s ashes. Mimi had new walking sticks for the girls to use on their hike.
We made it to the top on this beautiful day. It was a little warm hiking up, but it was cooler at the top.
Time for a little rock skipping…
Time for a little seed blowing…
Time for a little ash spreading…
The hike down was easier, of course.
When we reached the house, we finished the last of the cleaning, packed the car and drove back to the Bay Area. It was July 4th…the freeway home was clear. The least traffic I have ever seen on the road. Everyone was at their bbq or gathering or somewhere celebrating the 4th of July.
It was another fun Summer at Tahoe!