Lake Tahoe, CA

I just noticed that I never finished our trip to Yosemite.  

I also realized that I never said how long it took us to get down...after our 7 hour hike up.  I was so nervous about not making it down in 6 hours so I made Will pack up and leave early (only after he made me my blueberry pancake breakfast, of course) and then it only ended up taking us 2.5 hours to get down.

HUGE sigh of relief!!

Will mistakingly asked the question...I wonder how many switchbacks there are?  After he said that, my brain counted every one.  The number 18 switchback was short...the number 50 was horribly long and hot and was one of the steepest...that's just some of the non-usable garbage that gets stuck in my head sometimes.

I can't just crack some eggs into a bowl and then count how many are in the bowl.  Even if it's just 3 eggs...I have to count each egg as it enters the bowl...who needs to count 3 eggs??  My brain counts everything all the time.  It doesn't remember much, but it likes to count.

So...113 switchbacks.  I think we crossed the same stream about 15 times, and we only had to stop twice on the way down to drink water versus the once every 5 minutes on the way up.  I liked sharing my information with any hiker that passed.  You want to know how much further until you get to the top?  Well, you've got 75 more switchbacks to go!  Enjoy!

We got a lot of looks as we came down the canyon and past Mirror Lake.  We must have been quite a sight.  

This is still in Yosemite, but on our way out.   

The scenic drive to Lake Tahoe was wonderful.  

As we were getting close to Lake Tahoe, we seemed to be joining a group of motorcycle riders.  All Harley's.  Loud.  Tough. And a lot of them.  We laughed when Will said, "Watch. I bet they're staying at the same place we are."

We went one way following our GPS, and the big group of bikers went on to another...and then we all met up at the same hotel.  Of course.  100 Harley bikers...giving instructions to someone to go get the liquor...and inviting us to the party at the pool that night.  Super nice people...and we never heard a peep from them!

I think I already mentioned the TMI "bra" situation...that made walking along the streets of Lake Tahoe very interesting.  I felt very overdressed.  I must say that if I had a different opinion about modesty, I would have looked much better than 90% of the women who weren't wearing bras on purpose.  

Just sayin.

We enjoyed a non-freeze-dried dinner, half of which I left in the hotel fridge (dang!) and watched an old John Wayne movie...The Cowboys.  Will told me nobody dies.  He lied.

And slept with pillows!

The nice Harley dudes gave us some good advice and told us to ride up the west side of Lake Tahoe...said they ride it every year and it's beautiful and be sure to stop at Emerald Bay.  So we obeyed.

Emerald Bay is the only place we stopped.  I have an anti-tourist-attraction feeling about taking pictures. I want to take pictures of things that no one else is.  I like something original.  But this was too pretty to pass up.  

We made it to the lookout just after a young couple finished getting married.  I was worried about getting in their way and stuff, then I heard the groom yell, "Hey, Wife!  Get over here!  You're mine now!"  and then he laughed along with all the other serious white trash men and the 90% of the women I look better than bra-less.

I didn't care what they thought after that.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.  I could seriously live here!  Or at least vacation here!

Will walked around and read all the history about the area...even back 100 years, men would row a boat 10 miles for a lap dance and a drink! Ick.

So ended our trip to Yosemite.  We came home to a clean house, happy kids, happy dog, a letter from the post office warning they would stop mail delivery if our "at large" dog was in the yard again, and a nice comfy bed and wonderful pillows!

Home sweet home!