Emerald Bay State Park

From the very beginning of our research of Lake Tahoe and the things to do and see around the lake, we knew that we needed to spend a day at Emerald Bay State Park. So many websites said that it was one of the most beautiful parts of the Lake and it definitely did not disappoint. 

We decided to get there early because our research told us that the parking lot fills up. Originally, we were going to shoot for 7 am, but Danny talked us into going around 8:30 instead. When we noticed that the kayak rentals were not available until 10 am, we were convinced that we did not need to go at 7. I would have loved to do a hike before going down to the lake, but I knew that there were a few in our group that would not be up for it. I am glad that we didn't, since it was a mile walk down to the lake and then another mile walk back up. Plus, I was worried about not being able to get a spot in the lot if we tried to park at a trailhead first and then come to the lot that had the path down to the lake.

We got down to the lake with plenty of time to claim our spot and to let the kids play in the cold water. We weren't the first ones in line for the kayak rentals, but we were close enough to get what we wanted, 3 two-person kayaks for a 2-hour rental. We split our group into 2, so that six of us could use them for the first hour and then the other 6 could use them for the 2nd hour. It worked out well.

The kids had fun with this log until another group of kids came in and started playing on it too.

The goal for the kayaks was to go out to the little island in the middle of the bay and then to kayak around the bay. 

The first group to go was Danny, Tyler, Alyssa, Robbie, Brian, and Tommy. The other 4 kids played or sat in the water. Maryn and I watched the kids and the wildlife.

 When it was our turn to use the kayaks, we paddled straight out to the island. It was a little tricky pulling our kayaks up onto the rocky shore, especially in our flip flops, but we managed. I did tweak my back a little sometime in the process which made the rest of the day a little more uncomfortable.

The climb up to the top of the island was fun.

At the top, there was this little structure. I think the website said it used to be a tea house, but now it is just 4 stone walls and a couple of windows. There was a little fireplace in one corner.

The view was pretty incredible from inside.

After exploring the island, we paddled all the way around it and then explored more of the bay. We got back before our hour was up, so Alyssa, Robbie, Danny, and I went back out again. Ashley and Lydia also stayed out exploring.

The younger kids played some more in the sand and water.

There was a mansion house on the beach that you could pay to tour, but it was like $18 a ticket and we decided to just enjoy the view of it from the outside. We didn't think the kids would love the tour anyways. Plus, we were all hungry by this point and ready for lunch.

The hike back up to the top was more difficult than the hike down. Danny and I got stuck with all of the kids' extra shoes and towels. We felt like pack animals. Once we were at the top, we decided to drive a little further to South Lake Tahoe for lunch. We ate a little burrito/taco shop and then headed back to the cabin. It was a fun day enjoying nature and the beauty of the lake.

We left for home early the next morning. The drive home was uneventful until the last hour. We were in Magna, UT looking forward to being home when our car started doing funny things. At a stop light as I started to go, the car just switched into park and wouldn't drive. We could not get it to switch out of park again and we were in the middle of the road. Danny quickly looked up how to get it into neutral while a guy on a motorcycle pulled over to help us. They got it into neutral and then pushed us over to the side of the road and down the side street. After going into neutral, we were able to switch it into drive again, but not into park. After a phone call to Danny's mechanic friend, we tried to find an open mechanic shop close by. No such luck. There were shops close by, but they were all close to closing and none of them would look at our car. So, we called Danny's dad to come pick us up. Then Danny figured out how to switch the car into park and we decided to try driving it home. We hobbled our way home and only had it threaten to stop working once on the drive. We were happy to pull into our driveway about an hour later than we should have. Grandpa Wheeler met us halfway and followed us the rest of the way home. We're very thankful for him!

After getting home, we had to solve our air conditioning problem. The air/heat had stopped working for us back in May, but with the weather changing from cold to hot, we were able to live without the AC up until a few days before we left for Tahoe. When we got back, Danny climbed up into the attic to fix the air and had it cooling within a half an hour. We took the car into the mechanic after the weekend at home and he was able to fix it within 24 hours. Now we are thinking about selling it since it has had multiple problems over the past 2 years, but the kids are all whining about losing their car.