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Julia and Chris drove up for the weekend to join Karen and me for some good times at Lake Tahoe. Karen and I were particularly looking forward to their visit because we rarely get to show them the Sierras, which is a place we treat as a second home. As an added treat Chris and Julia brought their dog Einstein.

This adventure started with a brief but vertical hike in the Tahoe National Forest on a trail called Loch Leven Lakes. At around 6 miles round trip, the trail rose nearly 1,250 feet to a series of small lakes. On the way we passed through fern choked redwoods, dry granite faces, and scrub brush and lodge pole pine. Additionally, we stepped over the transcontinental railroad tracks. Although there are now many routes to ship freight and passengers across the country, this set of tracks was the first route to connect the two halves of the country. Once at the lakes, we couldn’t resist a swim before returning to the cars.

That evening the four of us attended the Tahoe Shakespeare Festival at Sand Harbor, on the Nevada side of the lake. The play was A Midsummers Night Dream, and I have to say it was well performed. We brought fruit, wine, juice, and cheese, then ordered some dinner on-site. The evening was very warm and we spent the time prior to the show enjoying ourselves at a table under an umbrella and walking along the lake shore.

The following day we woke up at a relaxed time, ate breakfast at the cottage Julia had found for us, and began a mellow drive along the North Shore of the lake, stopping to play with Einstein in the lake. He is working on his swimming and water fetch skills. Our adventure complete, we drove back to the house and bid Julia and Chris safe travels as they continued south.