Lake Tahoe: Take 4!

Lake Tahoe has so much to offer. Winter sports, hiking, beaching, sight seeing, gambling, off-road driving; you name it and Tahoe probably has it. Add in the fact that it is pristine and breathtakingly beautiful and it’s no wonder that it’s such a huge attraction in Northern California. It’s also understandable why Jonathan’s parents wanted a trip to Lake Tahoe on the itinerary for their most recent trip out to see us. 

Since Jon and I had visited the northern lake area the past 3 trips we’d taken, we decided it would be fun to explore the south side this time around. The southern area is known for being a bit more action-packed and populated. We rented a gorgeous 3 bedroom condo right on the water with beach access out of our back door. 

It was also just a few miles down the road for Heavenly Ski resort and all the amenities at the base there so I think it was really a perfect location for exploring. 

Our first afternoon we just explored the grounds and made a quick excursion to Safeway to stock the kitchen a bit. 

The next morning we decided to ride The Heavenly Gondola up to the slopes even though we weren’t skiing on this trip. We were a bit perplexed that the Gondola for non-skiing adults was $50 a pop! It’s free at North Star. Just saying. At least Forest was free. And the views from the Heavenly Observation deck were worth it. 

Selfies while he drinks his babycino. Such a hipster.

I was expecting there to be a little more entertainment up at the summit but it was mostly geared to skiiers and Forest was too small for the tubing. Sigh. Maybe next year kid. Well, next year all 3 of us will be skiing anyway! 

He still managed to have a blast in the snow and loved riding the gondola. 

That afternoon Jonathan and his parents left to do some off-road ATVing in Nevada. Their vehicle ended up breaking down pretty quickly into their excursion and they had to wait over an hour to get picked back up again, so I was sorry that was a bust for them. 

 
Meanwhile in California, Forest and I had a beach date. Because it was pretty chilly outside, my one rule for the beach was NO GOING INTO THE FREEZING COLD LAKE but he could play with his sand toys anywhere on the beach. This resulted in Forest taking his sand bucket and shovel right to the water’s edge to dig for seashells. 

It was totally a ‘not touching, can’t get mad!’ sort of thing. But he was being pretty compliant with staying out of the water UNTIL two toddlers in their swim trunks came running into the water just down the beach from us. 

Y’all. I lived in Scotland and I have seen those crazy Scottish kids go for dip in the North Sea when it was fairly cold outside. But it was 55 degrees outside and the water was only 58. Forest was legitimately wearing his winter coat and I was bundled up in a fleece jacket. It was not a warm day. 

But still, seeing those kids in the water made Forest want to test the boundaries a little more. Obviously I didn’t want to be seen as totally uptight  and since the only other momma on the beach had her babies in nothing but swim trunks, I tried to be ok with him putting his toes in. 

 But with Forest, you give him an inch and he’ll take a mile, so as soon as I didn’t discipline him for putting his feet in, he took that as his cue to fully immerse himself in the water. Sigh…

I was not going in after him and fortunatey after about 20 'counting to 3's he listened to my stern and panicked pleading for him to come back ashore right this instant! At which point I stripped his sopping wet clothes off of him and tossed his sand covered booty into the bath tub. I was super glad our condo was beachfront so I didn’t have to put him in the car in that condition! 

On Saturday we spent the morning exploring Emerald Bay and hiking down to Vikingsholm for a picnic lunch with a spectacular view. 

After naptime (ps I love that having a toddler means a built in naptime on vacation days!) we headed back to the Heavenly base for some Apres Ski festivities and shopping. 

We finally bought some artwork to document our time in California, and Forest’s grandparents bought him a $7 car which is now his most prized possession on the planet. 

The next morning we packed up and then spent a beautiful morning just letting Forest explore the grounds while the adults tried to soak in one last morning with this view. 

Ah…California, you are really something to see.