Weekends: Tahoe 4th of July

What a great weekend!  Rob and I were invited up to Lake Tahoe for the holiday weekend to celebrate a friend's birthday. Our host, Corey, arranged for a massive rental house for his 30th.

But first...I had to get there. Rob had gone up a few days before and I took a ride share through Zimride to join him. It was cheap ($28), but with a huge amount of traffic and a crowded car full of very chatty 20-something girls. A looong ride to arrive at 1:30 am.  The next day, I followed Rob and Cole out to Spooner Lake. While they mountain biked, I hiked around the lake and saw a bald eagle. Camped out in the shade for a few hours while reading - bliss!

Just enough time to eat a late lunch and change for our evening boat cruise on the lake. Our group of 30 practically took over the catamaran:

Lounged on the boat until the firework show began at 9:30. We were right next to the three barges and had an amazing view of the extensive show.

The next day, we woke up early again. This time to meet with Rob's college friends at Incline Village for breakfast. After eating, we took a quick hike up at Tahoe Meadows.  3 year old Conner led the hike:

Such a pretty trail, with an overlook of the lake and lots of wildflowers.

Of course, none of us wore the right shoes for a hike (I wore wedges!) and our feet were so dusty at the end:

Back in South Lake Tahoe, we had just enough time to throw on bathing suits before joining Corey and his crew at Nevada Beach. That pretty blue water is deceptively cold!

Big dinner and leisurely last night at the house with Corey, his family and friends. In the morning, we watched Tour de France while packing up the rental. Most people headed back to the city, but Rob and I drove up the west side of the lake. We stopped along the rode and took bikes down a path along the road. We stumbled across Sugar Pine on the way back, another pretty beach - this time paired with a historic mansion and grounds!

Too hot to sit in the shade and too cold in the water to swim, so we rented a kayak and paddled out on the bay.

On the bike ride back to the car, we spotted a black bear just about 20 feet off to the side of the path!

After our adventure, we drove up to Truckee to spend the night with our friends Bill, Conner and Leslie - due with a second baby in just a few weeks. They made a nice BBQ dinner with corn, veggie burgers and margaritas in the backyard:

On Sunday, we had a leisurely breakfast. Rob and Bill went for a mountain bike ride while Leslie and I went for a walk in the woods with Conner. We made lunch of vegan potato salad and then traded Conner off to go for a pedicure in Truckee. Rob and Bill took Conner to the local pump track and had a marvelous time doing tricks together in the dirt. He's a great rider for only 3 years old!

Rob and I packed up and drove back on Sunday afternoon through a lot of traffic. Made it home about 9:30 and did our best to return to "real life" after our long break at the lake. More photos from our Tahoe trip here if you're interested.