Hi everyone! I know that I have been MIA on the blog lately, but that is because I have been working like a MAD WOMAN and, as of Sunday at 2am, I have been on vacation!!! Every year since I can remember, my family has gone up to our cabin in the beautiful Lake Tahoe. We kind of stopped going for a couple years because my brother and I got sick of it… which, looking back on that, is stupid because how can someone get sick of such an incredible place?!?!? We were obviously crazy, that is the only explanation I have for us being so against coming.

The last couple years of coming here have been truly awe-inspiring. Not only has it been an incredible experience for me with finding my passion for photography, but it has brought back memories from childhood that “adult Kate” kind of forgot about. The cabin may be a little different from when it belonged to my grandparents, but it still has that same vibe that I got when I was a kid. Now, there aren’t any dead bats hanging from ceilings or mice being roasted in the oven, but we still get that cozy cabin/outdoorsy feel.

The first day of being up here, we just lounged at the lake… which was MUCH needed. We watched people jump off the dock into the (very full) water; we watched boats zoom by; it was quite a relaxing day, if I do say so myself. Of course, I had to play “lifeguard” mainly because the chair was super high and made me feel superior. After a chill day, we grabbed dinner at my family’s favorite restaurant, “Fire and Ice.” You put together a bunch of raw food and then they cook it right in front of you!!! And it’s buffet style soooo you can keep going back as many times as your little heart (and stomach) desires. I definitely ate WAY too much but I don’t eat a ton ever so this was a real treat for me 🙂 The sunset on the way home made my life… I lowkey made my mom turn around and pull over because I wanted to take pictures haha! As you can see, it was well worth it.

Day 2: My brother and I made my parents take us to our FAVORITE little drive-in malt restaurant called Sno-Flake. I kid you not, if you are ever in the Tahoe area, STOP HERE!!! Best ice-cream, shakes, burgers, tacos… YOU NAME IT! And, if you want, they’ve got cool hats and tees and stuff. We then went into the California side of town to shop because it was thundering and lightning so we couldn’t really do outdoorsy things. That didn’t dull our excitement though. Being from Southern California, my family and I get SOO excited when we are in this kind of weather. We were counting down from the lightning how far away it was via how long it took for the thunder to sound. I know, a little crazy, but that’s my life. Our uncle met up with us for dinner and we enjoyed some nice, hot pizza to a little live music. Yes, I did make a request and yes, it was Fast Car by Tracy Chapman…. not that that would be an obvious song choice, I just think everyone should listen to it at least thrice a day.

Yesterday, the rain finally subsided and we did something we haven’t done, at least while I’ve been alive. We gathered the troops and adventured to Squaw Valley, home of the Olympics in 1960! It was like something out of The Sound of Music. I honestly wish I had worn a dress and braided my hair so I could have frolicked through the flowers like Julie Andrews, but you can’t win them all, I guess. We enjoyed some INCREDIBLE food with a gorgeous view and then took a little hike around the mountain. Squaw’s “High Camp” is only open until 4pm so we really only had like an hour and a half to explore once we finished our food. We took the Gondola back down to the Village and then continued our trek around the entire lake (which isn’t small, let me tell you). We ended our day at the beautiful Sand Harbor, which brought back memories of live theater and chattering teeth. We walked and took in the beauty of our surroundings and captured some wonderful shots.

We are only halfway through our trip and we will be going from one lake to another. I will hopefully have another blog post coming your way at the end of my trip!! But until then, stay beautiful and go on adventure these last couple weeks of summer!

Sincerely,

Kate