Lake Tahoe

[MrMan]

I know the trend on the forum is to be down on the US and California in particular. I just got back from California and Nevada. My family went there, not primarily for vacation, but we added some time and and went to Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe was amazing. One day we were there, it was choppy, which meant waves coming in like the ocean-- small ocean waves. But it was an ocean of potable water. I read some towns around there just pump it in as water without filtering it, it is so pure. Instead of hermit crabs, there were lady bugs on the shore, and birds would come to eat them. The water was rather cold in June, though. Sand Harbor has a boardwalk that takes you to some spectacular views. You can climb onto boulders out in the lake. It's pretty cool stuff. I got some photos to drop into backgrounds for Teams meetings online. Cave Rock was nice, too, if you want to go boating. The water was choppy and toppled a jet ski, and it is pretty cold to fall into.

Anyway, it was great. I'd heard of Lake Tahoe, usually as a prize on gameshows in California or references in shows set in California. It sits on the border between California and Nevada. It wasn't that big of a deal paying $15 a couple of times to go to the beach on the Nevada side, but if I lived there, the $10 charge for state residents would really annoy me after a while.

We drove there from Sacramento. The drive from there to Nevada was beautiful, and varied. There were arid mountains, pine forests with a stream at the bottom of the mountain, the Lake Tahoe Basin, then arid mountains further into Nevada. There were a few places to stop and get photos. Aside from a bit of honking in Sacramento, I didn't encounter any unfriendliness in Northern California or Nevada. The Mexican guy I got into a conversation with in the hotel hot tub by the pool was friendly. People we asked to take photos were friendly. Several other people were friendly. I didn't feel the coldness I read about here. But I wasn't hitting up pretty 22-year-olds for their numbers using pickup lines either.

The Sacramento state capitol grounds are impressive and probably worth a short visit if you get the chance. There is paid parking. We did find a 2-hour free spot, but those are rare. They have trees from all over California, including what might be the largest Valencia orange tree. I was surprised they could grow so far north, but I guess the secret is that it rarely freezes there. The fruit of the orange trees was good. I found out later, but you are only allowed to eat what has fallen from the tree. The ones that fell split when they fell. Take wet wipes because they are juicy.

I found Sacramento and northern Nevada to be chilly considering the time of year. I was okay with a short-sleeved shirt most of the time, but my wife and kids needed light coats.