lake tahoe, ca

view from commons beach. this is why we love lake tahoe in the summer!

 the dog days of summer!

we normally only venture around the california side, not because we have anything against nevada, but because the just-over-two-hour drive from home is enough for us to get too excited to keep driving past the stateline.

we started off with lunch at the lakeside beach grill and marina. it was funny because we were actually looking for the beacon bar and grill at camp richardson, where we had lunch during our last summer visit to tahoe! as luck would have it, lakeside turned out to be a good chance encounter for lunch... semi-gourmet sandwiches, good (albeit somewhat slow) service, a carafe of champagne mimosa, more kona longboards, and of course a spectacular view of the south shore. the beauty of lakeside is that it's private property, so it's ideal if you want to miss the crowds at the public beaches and parks. the downside is you have to pay to use the beach (at least it's only approx. $5 per adult, and less for kids).

we were ready to shell out the cash, as i had promised raffy some beach time, since he so enjoyed splashing around at the beacon. instead, we decided to drive around the west side of the lake so that reg (who was visiting tahoe for the first time) could check out emerald bay, tahoe city and squaw valley. we could always hit up one of the public beaches along the way.

view of fannette island, from the emerald bay vista point

sure enough, on the way to emerald bay, we drove by camp richardson and only then remembered it was where the beacon was, where we originally planned to have lunch at. but judging by the crazy large crowd at the entrance to the camp just off highway 89, it was good luck after all that landed us at the lakeside beach grill instead!

at the vista point overlooking emerald bay, we stopped for a photo op and a couple of ice cream sandwiches. raffy enjoyed trying to look through the tourist telescopes almost as much as eating the ice cream!

we were jammed in traffic for almost 20 minutes at the major intersection of tahoe city, which would have really ticked me off on a bad day because without traffic we would have flown passed that section in under 5 minutes. luckily we were all in a good mood, thanks to the great weather (and probably the mimosas and beers!). finally, we landed at commons beach for a couple of hours of pure relaxation. which, for raffy, meant tossing stones into the water! (i wonder when he will graduate to skipping stones?)

finally, it was time for dinner at the auld dubliner at the village at squaw valley, which is undoubtedly my favorite place in tahoe.

Squaw Valley opened in 1949 with one chair lift, a rope tow, and a lodge. Today, Squaw Valley USA is one of the world's premier destination resorts with year-round recreation and first-class accommodations... One of Squaw Valley's most notable achievements, and a turning point in the development of California skiing, was Squaw Valley's hosting of the 1960 Winter Olympics.

dusk at the village at squaw valley

the grub was awesome, although my whiskey chicken boxty was a little too heavy on the whiskey. reg had the irish stew boxty and mom had the shepherd's pie, both of which were exceptional. bo had the corned beef sandwich, which was good too if you're a lover of the corned beef... the thing was just huge!

as we got ready to drive home after another long yet relaxing day in the mountains, tahoe said goodbye with a beautiful sunset backed by inverted looking cumulus clouds that gradually dissipated into the night.