Another wonderful vacation

Over the July 4th holiday, our family once again traveled to California, this time to beautiful Lake Tahoe. Robby and Marianna moved into their new house and invited us to come enjoy the Tahoe summer. We found our 2014 Tahoe photos to show Jackson that he had been to Tahoe.


Our fly day was on Saturday. We flew over a stretch of Grand Canyon on the way to Reno, and Jackson even took his head out of his iPad videos for a good ten minutes to admire the spectacular land down below. He pointed to the deep canyon: Mommy, one day I would like to go there!

I signed up for Avis preferred service so this time we got our car pretty fast. The first view of Tahoe from Carson City wowed us as usual. Kids in the back seats craned their necks to see the dreamy blue. They shock off their nap and knew we are in a pretty place!

Robby and Marianna's house sits in a forested area. Jackson and Norah immediately got drawn to Oliver and Evie's toys and their backyard activities. We had dinner at the deck with evening breeze. What a treat!

The next day, Robby planned two easy hikes in the morning. Evelyn wasn't feeling well and stayed at home with Marianna. We first went to the Valhalla estate for a quiet morning stroll. The walk took us to a thin stretch of beach and three kids stopped there for a while. The trail goes past theaters, museums and gardens.  It was a great place for the kids to run free.

Good morning! Lake Tahoe. Beach at Valhalla

We went on the nearby Rainbow walk the next.  It loops through a meadow and has a couple of creek crossings. Oliver showed us where to find the big fish and where to jump for bubbles in the marsh. Norah hiked the whole loop by herself.

Where is Norah?!

Peony vs. Norah

After the hikes, we went with Oliver to his hockey practice. There was a big playground across the arena. It got some good use before the practice started. The ice arena was very cold, especially with summer clothing. I couldn't stay in there for very long, but Jackson was enamored with hockey and stayed in to watch. He asked to come back later to Tahoe to watch Oliver playing a real game. This trip introduced him to a new sport.

Playground fun outside of Oliver's Hockey arena 

Watching Robby playing soccer

In the afternoon, we had quick dinner and headed out to watch Robby play soccer. It was still hot with Tahoe's strong sun. Robby's parents Barbara and Jim were there. We all had a fun time, watching, photographing, playing with balance beam and jumping in the sand pit.

Shot...Save!

Getting ready to walk the beam

Coach Evelyn

Action Jackson

Monday, Evie went on a field trip and Marianna went to work, the rest of us headed to Dardenelles Lake through the Big Meadow trail. Jackson and Oliver did lots of climbing boulders and tree trunks. Norah hiked well till we passed the big meadow, but then she got tired and refused to get in the child carrier backpack. So I hiked back with her while the others continued to the planned destination.

Big Meadow Trail

Norah liked hiking on her own pace. We stopped at the big meadow to have lunch and talked to passing hikers. She was quite a little star on the hiking trail. She liked to stop everywhere, making braids from long grasses, blowing dandelion seeds and playing with dirt on the trail. We both enjoyed the relaxing pace, although the 30 minute hike took us 2.5 hours to finish.

Norah loves a snack stop

Making grass braids

Jackson did well with the boy's group. They had to do creek crossing a few times and it was a strenuous hike of 6 miles.

Boys continued to Dardenelles Lake

Jackson loved hopping rocks

Back to the car, I suggested Norah nap and she refused: I don't want to nap! Suddenly she was quiet and I looked back. She was asleep!

After a good nap, we drove to the night's restaurant. Robby made a reservation at the Bistro @ Edgewood. When we walked pass the resort grounds to the restaurant, we saw immaculate grass extending to Tahoe's sandy shore and evening sun shining on the blue water. It made me feel like I was in Hawaii. Edgewood resort opened last year and everything about it was so beautiful. The meal was great and so was the service. The kids loved playing in the cold water after the meal.

Beach play at Edgewood

Tuesday was our beach day. We followed Robby's car into Tahoe Keys and parked in front of a house. Will and I were guessing whose house is this. It turned out that the Pat's sailboat was docked at this house. It was fun to navigate out of the Keys development and see all the waterfront houses. Our sailboat headed straight west to Ski Beach where Robby's sister's family had been camped at for the past five days.

Will and Robby dropped us off at Ski Beach and went out to sail. Kids felt immediately at home on the beach. And the setup was perfect for kids. There are all sorts of digging toys, paddling boards, kayaks and floats. Jackson just learned to swim and be submerged the week before. He jumped with Oliver from the floating platforms and from the boats without fear. Even Norah got in the water.  The water was a little cold (probably around 60-65F) to be in for a long time.

Mommy, this way? 

Paddle board fun

After Will and Robby came back, Will and Jackson kayaked at the lagoon on the other side of the beach. Jackson did very well but he preferred to come back to the beach to resume his sand play. It was an action packed day and both kids skipped nap. We were amazed that Norah could held up till bedtime just like her older brother did.

Jackson tried kayaking

Slip & Slide

Lake front dining

On Wednesday the actually July 4th day, we went to Angora Lake. I enjoyed knowing little information about where we were going on this trip and got extra enjoyment because of the surprise factor. After a short hike, we reached lower Angora. I was surprised that there was nobody since the parking lot was almost full. We hiked on towards upper Angora and a little shop welcomed us. There were cabins and shops there remote from civilization. Marianna told me that the wait for a night in the cabin could be three years long.

Angora Lake

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A narrow stretch of sand beach formed on one side of the lake. There are 20ft, 40ft, 60ft cliffs on the other side of the lake. Groups of people waited there summoning their courage to jump. We watched those brave people jump and tried a little of our own jumping from small rocks near the shore.

Jump!

On our way back, we each got a popsicle/ice cream. It was agreed by all four kids that was their highlight of the day. Norah hiked all the way back with a popsicle in her hand almost at our pace.

We finished the day with a delicious taco dinner out on the patio and s'mores in the backyard. The giant marshmallow brought huge smiles on everyone's face. And Oliver and Evie orchestrated a Disney show for us as an extra extra!

Outdoor dining every chance we got

Will and Jackson stayed in the backyard tent Wednesday night. Jackson did well and he is now pre-approved for his next serious camping trip.

S'more time!

A silly show presented by Oliver and Evelyn. Cast: Will, Jackson, Norah, Oliver, Evie

Thursday we met with Aunt Sue in Carson City for brunch, and then had a smooth journey home. It was such a wonderful trip that Jackson said: I want to come back to Tahoe 110 times in a year! 

Backyard tent

Did Mommy break Daddy's new camera?  I guess not :-)

Norah rocks a scooter