Day Two of our Tahoe vacation started out with a well-deserved sleep-in to recharge from the early morning yesterday. After showers, coffee, and packed lunch for the 3 of us, we set out for Emerald Bay for a hike to the Vikingsholm Mansion. Our trail guide book said "Dogs on leashes OK" but every sign we passed read "NO DOGS" in bold print. We chose to ignore the signs and weren't questioned even once by the several forest rangers we passed on the trail. If you look like you belong, no one bothers you. Plus, everyone loves Kyla. We've lost count at the number of people that tell us how cute she looks. We're proud parents!
We decided to continue along the Rubicon Trail that led along the Emerald Bay and wound through the trees, waterfalls, and bushes. The sights were amazing! We laughed as enormous trees that fell across the trail were carved out to still allow access along the trail. Kyla was great and led the way as we walked about 5 or 6 miles through God's beautiful land. We even made the short trek up to Eagle Falls and saw the beautiful sights from all the snow run-off cascading down the mountain and into the lake.
We were all tired after our hike so after a great lunch, we continued along the highway to see what the towns on the west side of the lake had to offer. After we drove far enough, we just decided to drive all the way around the lake. It was during this drive that Nick said to me that Lake Tahoe is like an "opposite island." With each town we passed through, we kept comparing them to the small towns in Kauai. And just like Kauai, you drive along the highway with water on one side, mountains on the other, and not too many ways to get lost. It's all just opposite than Kauai but still the same concept.
Since we're in one area that you can be in the mountains one minute and the beach the next, we decided to end up at Kiva Beach in southwest Lake Tahoe since it allows dogs. Kyla had a great time venturing into the water and it wasn't too cold on the toes. Just sitting on the beach and watching the thunderstorm roll in over the mountains and across the lake was breathtaking.
Nick and I thought the only way to properly end the day would be with a few good beers. We stopped at The Brewery of South Lake Tahoe and had a few beers and shrimp on the patio with Kyla resting at our feet. It was perfect!
After our easy dinner, we thought we would crate Kyla in the hotel room, walk into the South Lake Tahoe Village around Heavenly Resort, and enjoy some window shopping. We were only gone about an hour and a half and returned to Kyla obsessively barking from our room, two shady looking guys trying to get into our door, and a man yelling at us because our dog has been "barking for four and a half hours." We were mortified as we had a message from the office about complaints about our lovely barking dog. Looks like Kyla is sticking with us the rest of the trip.
Tomorrow is river rafting down Truckee River and visiting Virginia City. I can't wait to see how Kyla does with her life jacket on in the raft.
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