Drove to Lake Tahoe last night and got in late. In the morning everyone woke up early, except for Clarissa, who was dead to the world for a full hour after everyone was awake and active (Ok, I was in bed and not active).
We rallied (especially Lily who did the lionshare getting the kids ready), packed, and headed out the door and we were off shortly after 8:15.
We then explored Lake Tahoe. I’ve wanted to see Lake Tahoe for a long time just because I hear about it so much. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it definitely over-delivered. After driving around where the State Parks are on the Lake, we stopped and hiked Eagle Falls. It was a perfect 1-mile loop. It it was a little tricky with some of the snow still there, but all-in-all it was the perfect pace and length for everyone. It was so beautiful!! It was hard to know what pictures to cut, and I know I left way to many. Sorry reader!
Everyone did a really good job walking and when Clarissa got cranky, she was cheered up enough by her walking stick and stepping in puddles with her puddle jumpers that she was able to pull through to the end.
After the amazing hike (my personal favorite part of the day), we saw an incredible overlook (Inspiration viewpoint) nearby.
It was amazing driving around Lake Tahoe and seeing all the damage from the fires from last year as well. Enough was untouched by the fires that we got to see really gorgeous scenery. But we also saw a ton of dead burnt trees that told the story of last year’s fires. It was very dramatic to see.
We then left Lake Tahoe and drove to San Francisco (eating delicious Chipotle on the way.
Once in San Francisco, we went straight to see the sea lions at Fisherman’s Warf. Mary had a stomach ache (we think from the car ride) so she missed the first 15 minutes of watching as she relaxed with Lily, but then she got feeling better and still got to see a lot. It was so hilarious to see one super lazy doc with a bunch of lounging sea lions and then another doc where there was a lot of fighting action. Pictures and videos below!
This big fat black sea lion was quite a site to sea and also had an impressive bark
After seeing sea lions, we went to the carousel which, of course, Clarissa was dying to do.
After the carousel, I took Mary to “Lefty’s” the store for left handed people and she picked something out. Then we got some yummy mini-donuts and went to Boudin Bakery Restaurant (famous for sourdough bread). Mary got noodles, but everyone else got delicious soup in a breadbowl. The whole experience was so nice and a good rest from all the walking and activity.
After dinner we went to the Ghiradelli chocolate square to get desert. Clarissa was having a hard time walking there especially when we got to the grassy hill just before our destination (the grassy hill is in the picture below). I threatened that she would not get her chocolate desert if she did not walk, and then she pointed her arm straight ahead, salute style, and said, “chocolate” and commenced walking. It was so funny.
We learned how chocolate is made while we waited for our desert to be served.
After Ghiradelli’s the kids did an amazing job walking all the way back to our car. It was so fun looking into all the shops along the street in the wharf area on the way to our. One store was a candy store, and we all got a kick out boxes of candy they were (jokingly) advertising as breakfast cereal.
Then we drove to my brother Jere’s house. On the way, we listened to Mr. Penumbra’s 24 Hour Bookstore which Lily and I are absolutely loving, and especially like because it is about San Francisco. We are almost done. When we arrived at Jere’s we put the kids down and then chatted with Jere for a solid hour about Utah Lake, the Great Salt Lake, Cromwell (who he’s reading about), books Lily is reading and other topics. I was reading Jere’s Far Side (Gary Larson) book in the back ground, and I got a great laugh from everyone when I shared the comic showing two mosquitos with one of them being puffed up like a balloon and attached to a human and the other one saying, “pull out Betsy, pull out you’ve hit an artery!” I also chilled in Jere’s room while blogging and we chit chatted. It is so fun to spend time with my brother.
Today was completely magical and I loved every second. More adventures tomorrow!