Tahoe, Take Two

This month, we finally cashed in our free, two night stay in Tahoe that we received a year and a half ago. We got suckered into a timeshare presentation while in Tahoe with Grammy in 2013, and we either had to use it or lose it!  So, Mike and I took a few days off work, packed up the kiddos and headed for the lake.  About an hour outside of Tahoe, we noticed some magnificent clouds, which we quickly realized weren't clouds at all.... but smoke from a nearby forest fire.  Pollock Pines had just caught fire (suspected arson) a couple days before we left, and by the time we left Tahoe, the road we entered in on was closed, and as of today (2 weeks post the start of the fire), containment is at 75% and nearly 100,000 acres of forest has been destroyed.  It is extremely sad to see this, but it is awe-some to see as well...  the smoke plumes and the heroism of the fire fighters and rescue pilots we saw was breath taking.  We pulled over on our way into town to watch a little pilot plane lead in what looked like commercial jet liners to dump retardant over the blaze.

 

 

Above - before we decided to pull over... and after.  Andrew with "Dusty" from Planes, Fire and Rescue... the movie.  How appropriate we just saw this (Andrew's first ever movie at a movie theatre)!  He loved watching the planes, but did ask to go home when we got back in the car.

Below - you can see the little plane leading the big plane below.

 

 

Our accommodations at the Forest Suites Resort were nothing like our first stay in Tahoe... but it was a) free and b) nice to have the extra space with a full kitchen, living room, and separate bedroom. 

Lunch at Base Camp... a pizza joint that's one of the few restaurants in Tahoe to be frequented by both tourists and locals.  It was pretty decent, and Addison loved the orange that came with my beer. :)

 

A walk down to the lake - smoke settled across the lake, but was still far enough out that it made a pretty scene rather than hiding the view altogether.

 

Addison did not like sitting in the sand for some reason... she has always liked it before!

We were so bummed that we couldn't ride the gondola... apparently in September, it only runs on the weekends! 

A hike around Fallen Leaf Lake.

On Wednesday night, the M.S.Dixie runs the "Pints and Paddles Cruise" with Ike and Martin.  Who are Ike and Martin, you ask?  Only the best local musical duo that I've ever seen play.  They were amazing and even pulled out an electronic violin for a Beatles cover of Dear Prudence.  We were the only ones who brought kids on board... but you'll see below, they were so darn cute, no one minded.

Waiting to board the boat!

Checking out the paddle!

Notice her cute anchor pants?!

That's smoke behind us as come off the M.S. Dixie II.

Hiking somewhere on our way home from Tahoe.  It was a cool 60 something, and it finally felt like fall.  There is nothing quite like the feeling after a walk through the woods in crisp fall air. 

Yes, Andrew brought Blue Bear for a hike, and yes, I wore flip flops.

We switched off for the hike back up the hill to the car!

Mike ended up carrying all 3 of them - Addison, Andrew and Blue Bear - after Andrew scraped his knee and refused to walk.  (For the record, I offered to carry Addison... but  I think Mike wanted to show off.)

Oh, and did I mention that Mike and I are suckers?  We attended another timeshare presentation, and now have 2 free tickets to Hawaii and accommodations for 6 nights!  Looks like we have a vacation to plan for next year!