Someone had a milestone birthday this year! Although it was a packed first half of August, I had planned for a trip to Lake Tahoe to celebrate SMS’ birthday. We rented a cabin and invited a few of our friends. It was an amazing weekend and I absolutely love Lake Tahoe. It is so beautiful.
So, to back up, we arrived in San Diego on the 7th and had a family dinner to celebrate SMS’ birthday. The next day, we flew up North and got ready for our Tahoe weekend. We did celebrate by going to Taverna for a delicious Greek meal. I ordered the grilled octopus which I don’t get too often since SMS doesn’t care for it but it was amazing. Yum!
The next day, we drove up to Lake Tahoe. We stopped at our normal lunch spot in Sacramento, the Magpie Cafe. We got to the house mid-afternoon. John was already there and we hung out while waiting for our other friends to arrive. The house was absolutely gorgeous and from the start, we knew we had picked out a great place for an awesome weekend.
The next day, we had big plans for an awesome mountain biking ride. Four of us went- SMS and his friend Michelle are good bikers, Akshay and I not so much. But we were in shape and we could hang. Akshay hadn’t even been on a bike in years!
We went on the Flume trail which started with 4 miles uphill, 4 miles traversing the flat ridgeline overlooking Lake Tahoe (amazing!), and 4 miles downhill back to the bike shop. It was a lot of fun and really beautiful. We rented our bikes from Flume Trail bikes, which has the highest recommendation from me! We took the shuttle van up to the trailhead and then began our bike ride.
The uphill eventually smoked Akshay and I. There was an older guy who was with his son and son’s friend who kept riding back and forth, encouraging us and his not-so-in-shape companions along. It was simultaneously nice, impressive, and annoying.
I stopped at one particularly beautiful vista along the way. Even though the ridgeline was flat, it was pretty narrow and required a lot of my concentration. So, for a bit, I stopped to look at the view which was extraordinary.
That night, we had a taco feast with veg and non-veg options. SMS chose a Japanese-style roll sponge cake from Satura. It was a really great time with a wonderful group of people.
The next day, we decided to go to Mt. Rose for a hike. It was a hike near Incline Village and had good reviews on AllTrails but other than that, I didn’t know a lot about it. The first two miles led to a waterfall that was very pretty.
The highlight of the hike for me was beyond that, when we were walking up the mountain. We happened to be hiking during butterfly migration season (I think) and for the last mile of the hike, there were butterflies everywhere. The little clip below shows what I called “Butterfly Alley.” All those moving dot? Butterflies!!
SMS and I were the only ones who decided to go to the summit. The views of Lake Tahoe were magnificent!
On the way back, the trail cut its way through beautiful chaparral.
I had SMS and John walk back and forth twice to get this picture…two Eagle Scouts in one picture! We went back to the house where the hot tub was being put to good use by the A family.
The next morning, it was just SMS and I in the house. I had a cup of coffee, enjoyed the view, and pretended the house was mine.
Portmanteau Suitcase 