Saturday, April 25, 2015

Family Time in Tahoe

During Nate's last week of paternity leave in late March, we drove to Tahoe City, looking for snow. This post won't be chronological in relation to the our other posts, but I wanted to save some memories and photos before they slip out of my sleep deprived mind forever...

A few weeks before our trip, I searched for a vacation rental house on VRBO. We needed a place that allowed dogs and had at least 2 bedrooms. Our preferred location was the north side of the lake, because we had heard that north Lake Tahoe was more laid-back and outdoorsy. Surprisingly, this search only brought up 3 options in our price range, but one looked fantastic, so I booked it right away.

Because we were traveling with a newborn, almost-2-year-old and almost-4-year-old, we kept our expectations for the week low. The cottage and the lake was enough to make the trip fantastic. I had heard that Lake Tahoe was beautiful, and it is! Gorgeous, blue and still.

A small beach, just a short walk from our cottage

Ries can no longer see the beauty around her, but she can pose in front of it

On the first day, we took a gondola ride up to Snow Camp at Squaw Valley. This was the only time we touched snow in California. I don't mind, but Nate probably would say that it made him miss Wisconsin. The girls had a blast throwing snow balls, making snow angels and a snowman, and we enjoyed a picnic lunch in the heavily carpeted, brass accented ski lodge on the top of the mountain.





On day two, we went to a great park downtown Tahoe City, where the California drought was oh-so-visable. Nate packed another picnic lunch for us that we enjoyed near the lake after playing on the playground and before heading off to CVS to buy coloring books for evening entertainment. The cottage had a hot tub which also provided entertainment (and relaxation)!



The last day, we went for a tame hike near Emerald Bay. This excursion really made us question why we haven't made it up to the mountains way more often while we've been living here. Such perfect weather (sunny and 65 degrees) for hiking and gorgeous views.

Taking the hike very seriously and keeping her hands warm

A family photo in front of Emerald Bay

Fancy Louisa...hiking in a dress and beads

Hipster Cora sportin' the slouch hat style accidentally

Teaching how to age a tree. I like my man in pink
A silly highlight of the trip was the HGTV shows we watched each night, dreaming about the day we can renovate (read: afford) a house...

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