This week Tommy and Paula were lucky enough to be able to take a long kayak ride. The water level is so high this year that the normally just soggy ground in the Truckee Marsh (which is the inlet to Lake Tahoe, fed by mountain snowmelt streams) is now a full, wide, lazy stream full of geese, ducks, scrub jays, swallows and other birds. We were able to paddle a mile in and enjoyed the quiet and the groups of ducks who swam, unfazed, beside our kayaks. The kayaking to and from the inlet was pretty choppy with some whitecaps, so it was nice to have a peaceful stretch in the middle.
We had our core weekend group of Glenny, Kyle, Dacia, Miller, Makai and Tayva and it was a relaxed family weekend. There were walks through the neighborhood, cooking, baking, and trips to the park, as well as scootering around the town.
Also, there was the famous cold plunge, which Miller did regularly. Glenny joined him on one occasion, and they thought it would be funny to pretend Glenny had fainted and have Miller carry her back to the house. It was very funny. Paula might have been alarmed, seeing them through the kitchen window with Miller striding up the drive with Glennis in a fireman’s carry, had she not also seen Miller trying to hold in his laughter.
The children had a great time. Makai beat Tommy in a game of washers, and was allowed up into Kyle and Glenny’s roofnest, where he had quiet time with Glenny and Kyle, and listened to some Baba Yaga stories told by Paula. He also helped make “sugar cake” for breakfast. Tayva enjoyed trying to do everything Makai and the adults did and amazed us with her growing vocabulary both signed and spoken. An ice cream parlor visit was a special treat.
Of course, no Tahoe summer is complete without a bear sighting. This big brown bear above was across the street and one house over when we saw it. It then took a casual, lumbering tour thru the neighborhood, ending up by tearing apart some trash bags that someone had foolishly left outside of the bear box.
As always, the food our family cooked for us was amazing. Friday was a simple dinner of grilled marinated chicken with roast veggies, rolls and butter by Paula and Tom. Saturday Miller outdid himself with his AMAZING homemade gumbo. Dacia and Glenny were indispensable as sous chefs and both girls teamed up to make an amazing tri-tip (marinated and smoked by Kyle) cheesesteak lunch with all the trimmings: grilled mushrooms, peppers, and onions. Paula provided the by-now staple offerings of banana-blueberry cornbread, and “sugar cake” from a boxed mix.
There was a little sadness as this weekend will be our last this season (for a little while at least) as the cabin is unavailable to us next summer. Makai mournfully noted that “Tahoe is closing”, but his melancholy was short lived, as we will all be seeing each other again, hopefully soon. Maybe in California proper, maybe in Florida!
Our next posts will be from the road on our trip back which begins this coming Saturday. First stop is Las Vegas.