The Queen’s Chronicles – Lake Tahoe

One of my sweetest friends invited me to help her use up some time share points and we headed to Lake Tahoe for 5 days. I’ve always wanted to visit Lake Tahoe and this was the perfect chance for both of us to get away and explore a little. Here is a rundown on what we did on our visit.

The biggest advice I have would be not to go in the middle of a big heat wave! Obviously we could not have known this would happen on our trip but it did. Many of the vrbos in this area do not have A/C as they rarely need it but we sure would not have turned it down! This meant we spent as much time as possible out of the condo. So if A/C is important to you, especially for sleeping at night, make sure this is a question on your list!

The lake itself is just beautiful. The bluest water for miles and miles! We were staying on the south side of the lake near Stateline, Nevada. On day one we headed for breakfast at Heidi’s Pancake House and slipped in fairly quickly.

After breakfast we headed to ride the gondola at Heavenly Villlage. These pictures are the views just half way up at a lookout point. Once you reach the top there is another ski lift you can ride even higher as swell as a roller coaster, zip line and some other games and such for kids. There area also several hiking trails that can be explored at the top.

We were starving again when we came back down and opted for margaritas and latin food at Azul. It was so good and I’m still dreaming about the shrimp ceviche salad I devoured.

Day two we woke up before the sun, headed for coffee and drove to Emerald Bay State Park to watch the sunrise. I turned a little too quickly into a camping site but it turned out great as we found a spot to park next to Overlook Trail. There were only 2 others out on the trail with us and we had a spectacular view of the sun coming up over the water.

We drove a little further down and took the short mile trail up to Eagle Falls and then headed to hike down to Vikingsholm Castle. They were doing some work on the front of the castle so the scafolding kind of took away from a picture. Below shows the side and yoou can get a feel for the detailed woodwork and other features. We were too early to take the tour but we peaked inside the windows.

Fanette Island, the only island on Lake Tahoe, is also visible in these pictures. The story of Captain Dick who once lived on the island and his demise was interesting. You can rent kayaks or paddle boards and head out to the island from the Vikingsholm spot. There are the ruins of an old tea house there as well.

We were starving when we were done and realized it was only 9 am! Instead of heading back towards the condo, we decided to continue our drive around the lake and visit Truckee on the north side. Such a cute little town full of charm and darling little shops. The people there were all so nice! We had breakfast at the Wagon Train Cafe which has been run by family for many years and has a train that circles every so often around the ceiling. We initially wanted to eat at the highly recommended Snooze Inn but the wait was over an hour so we did not regret our choice to change our minds!

As we left Truckee we drove past Donner Lake on a windy road up to Rainbow Bridge. It always fascinates me to see a bridge built so long ago and think about all that went into it without all of our access to modern equipment.

Of course one of my favorite treats to have on vacation is ice cream! I prefer grabbing it from a local ice cream shop and we found Susie Scoops in Incline Village on our drive back to south Lake Tahoe. I had a scoop of coconut and a scoop of rocky road and splurged on a cone! It was so good.

After resting just a bit, we headed to Zephyr Cove, grabbed a beer at the beachside bar and settled in to watch a spectacular sunset. It’s really hard to capture in a picture and I guess I’m glad because nothing really beats chasing a sunset in real life!

On our visit to Truckee, a shop owner told us that Sand Harbor was THE beach to go to so on our last day, we grabbed some floats, made some sandwiches and headed out for a day of fun in the sun. Seriously, floating in a lake surrounded by mountains may truly be my new happy place. I’ve always loved the coast, but a part of me has gotten tired of the salt water. Lake Tahoe was just so refreshing.

My friend Kelli has the gift of listening to the stories others have to tell and every where we go she always finds someone to talk to. We were sharing some shade with Donna and George, and older couple who lived in California not far from Sand Harbor. They were just the cutest and as soon as we asked what they did, assuming they were retired, George just lit up and began telling us how amazing Donna is and that she travels around teaching dance to people of all ages. He also told us about their children, including a daughter who had recently passed away from brain cancer. The love in their voices as they talked about how incredible she was during her fight and how they feel her spirit actively present brought tears to my eyes. It was a precious little visit.

Our last dinner and as we headed to Edgewood the sky literally looked like it was on fire. We stepped out of our car and walked towards the beach and there were just no words for how amazing this sunset was in real life. It was a beautiful ending for our last day.

Kelli and I have been friends for almost 29 years. We have had babies together, buried parents together and supported each other through countless other drama. She is a gem and I know my life is brighter because she has been in it. It so restored my soul to just be with her singing 70s music, sharing our hearts and laughing like crazy over some of the ways we are changing in our older years!

As for Lake Tahoe, it is beautiful and I would love to return with more seasonal like weather. I think if I went back for summer activities, I would definitely want to stay closer to the lake in a sleepier little town with views of the lake from the porch maybe. I could see our family enjoying a getaway here.

Time to start planning our next bucket list trip! We are heading to Hawaii in March with Carly’s dance team. The trip there is booked but I still have some work to do to finish booking the second half of our trip and our return flight home. Any suggestions for must do activities on Oahu or Kawaii send them my way!