Lake Tahoe

Thursday we got packed up to move on to Lake Tahoe.  The boys and I went to the playroom in the clubhouse while Jim did a lot of the packing.  We said goodbye to my parents and brother and grandma as they were headed back to Oregon.  Then we played in the pool and ate lunch poolside.  

 

 

The drive to Lake Tahoe was scenic and a better road that we had thought it might be.  The pass was just over 8000 feet.  We could see the smoke from the Yosemite fire off in the distance.  We got to our condo there and were able to check right in.  After we settled in a bit we took a short walk and I went to the grocery store.  My cousin Sean and his girlfriend Hollie came over for dinner.  They have lived down there since April I think.  They told us a little more about the area and their recommendation for what we should do on Friday.  The smoke had been pretty bad there but apparently Thursday was the best it had been.  They both highly recommended the beach that was a short walk from our condo, and since it was the last day of our vacation we decided to have a lazy beach day, instead of trying to hike or something else.  

Friday morning we walked to the beach.  It was a nice walk and the skies were clear of smoke.  There was hardly anyone around and the beach was a coarse sand or very fine gravel.  The water didn't feel as cold as you would expect for a high mountain lake.  The water was so clear, it was amazing!  We lounged on blankets, splashed in the water, threw rocks, built a canal, ate snacks and applied lots of sunscreen.

Look how clear that water is!

Hollie had the day off work and met us at the beach.  She paddled down on her kayak and let us have turns taking it out.  Both Emmett and Ezra really liked going out in the kayak with us.The sky got gradually hazier with smoke throughout the day. 

Getting buried in the sand was pretty cool too.  It was a great way to spend the day.  We were on the beach for a little more than 5 hours.  I was afraid that we'd all have sunburns, but the boys were fine and Jim and I just had a bit.  We went to the pool and then ate dinner and put the boys to bed.  Jim and I packed up and watched a movie.