Our second week of vacation, Lake Tahoe! I have fond memories of Lake Tahoe because growing up, my family would stop and camp a night or two here on our annual summer trip to northern California. Nick and I have been here together once, the summer after we got married. We were excited to take the kids this time. There is so much more to do here than we had time for in a week, between naps! The weather was perfect, not too hot or too cool. Luckily no camping was involved this trip. I just don't rough it as well as I used to!

I had heard about a hike to a "mansion/castle" called Vikingsholm which was built in 1929 down on the beach in Emerald Bay, and decided we had to check it out. It was just a two mile hike round trip, downhill then back up. Luckily we borrowed a baby backpack from my brother before we left Utah. (thanks Jon!) Teslyn did great in it, and Nick got a nice workout. I was most impressed with Owen. I thought I would be giving him a piggyback ride back up the mountain. Nope! He is quite the little hiker! I was so proud. This is a before picture:

Owen loved checking out the little streams and waterfalls on the way.

Owen with Fannette Island in the backround.

And here is Vikingsholm. We went on a little tour through it, which was pretty fun and interesting. Nick totally wanted to buy the place and move in. But mostly for the courtyard, which I didn't get pictures of.

We had a little snack and hung out on the beach before heading back. Oh, and fed the fat ducks and squirrels that followed us up the trail a while.

Here is the after picture just before reaching the car. Owen being a little trooper, and Teslyn fast asleep.

Of course we had pool time at the resort.

Owen loved how the hot tub would push him around and around in circles like a whirlpool.

Owen's favorite thing? Miniature golf. We passed by this place a few times so we had to stop and let Owen play through. He loved it so much, Nick took him back a second day. The last hole where you leave your ball is in a slot machine. He won a free game, so they played a third time. A total of 66 holes!

It was a really fun course with cool holes like the monkey with a swinging tail.

And the swinging snake.

Mama and babe were there to cheer them on.

Daddy doing some coaching. Owen got a hole in one the second day!

Another cool thing we did was a pretty little nature walk to Taylor Creek to see the profile chamber where there is a salmon run in the fall.

Me and Owen at a view of the mountain and meadow.

This is the best family picture we got at the chamber. This little boy insisted on being in the picture because his mom was taking the picture. Owen wasn't so sure about that. I think it's cute and funny!

Checking out the fish.


No salmon today, just trout and minnow.

We also rented some bikes and a little buggy for the kids and rode on a fun trail through the forest to the Tallac Historic Site and Valhalla (old homes, buildings and gardens restored to time period), which was beautiful and fun to explore.

Owen loved the ride, Teslyn didn't so much.


We didn't have much time to explore the area that day, so we drove back another day. This time with the baby backpack instead of the bike buggy.

Owen needed a picture by the cool old firetruck.

And this one.

And this one too.

One night after dinner we found a park to let the kids play at. A man there told us that we missed seeing a bear by 10 minutes. Apparently the bear went through the park and knocked over a few garbage cans, before a boy and his skateboard scared it away. However, we did get to see a roller derby practice in session. The picture doesn't do it justice. It was really pretty entertaining to me.

It took us a while to decide which route to take back home from Tahoe. There are several different highways going in and out of California to get back to Las Vegas. We picked the one that took us past Mono Lake, where we stopped for lunch. It was a very pretty drive that half.

Then there was Highway 120. The best stretch of highway we have ever driven on. We highly recommend it. At least in summer. It is closed during the winter. My pictures don't quite portray the awesomeness of it, so here is one I found on the internet.

Imagine driving that 70+ mph. Here is Owen's reaction through some of it.

According to Nick, "Highway 120, that's a highway worth knowing." We had lots of good laughs, all while Teslyn slept through it.

Why don't I hear more about the "ball tree" on I-80 between Salt Lake City and Wendover? I think it is also very cool. We used to stop here as kids and run around. I don't remember there being a fence around it back then.

So that's our summer vacation this year. 1765 miles and lots of memories. To top it off, Nick has another week to kick back and hang out before he starts his third year of dental school.