South Lake Tahoe Road Trip

So I just got back from a road trip to Oregon (as mentioned in my last post) which reminded me of this trip I took three years ago for my 22nd birthday to South Lake Tahoe. Another road trip that went not at all to plan, including more flat tires, detours, and an unexpected stay in a Redding motel 6 because our alternator decided to die. But despite all the complications along the way it was by far the most relaxing and one of the most memorable trips of my life.

On the road

My two girlfriends and I drove 16 hours from Seattle, Washington to the South Lake Tahoe on the California/Nevada border. Somewhere in the middle of nowhere, California we pulled off on a dirt road to change because we had been driving all night and half of that day and were getting hot in our Washington attire. Anyway, we got our clothes out of the trunk and changed on the side of the road but somehow locked our keys in the trunk. It was probably the lack of sleep and like 5 red bulls we all drank but after an hour of freaking out a nice stranger helped us crowbar the back seat open to get them out.

This is the culprit.

After lots of driving, we finally made it to our rental house on the lake!

Finally made it.

The house was amazing!

This is a view from the master balcony and living room below.

And the view from the deck.

Me on the deck 

Getting ready to ride the nasty aka my friend's boat.(pic near the bottom)

Private Beach!!

I spent a lot of time down on our private beach enjoying the crystal clear water and amazing views of the rocks, trees, clouds, everything. 

We spent a week here relaxing, boating, swimming, BBQing, and went out to the casinos to celebrate my 22nd birthday! I love having a summer birthday, an excuse to go on an adventure and discover peaceful places like this.

Breathtaking Views (right in our backyard)

Random Tahoe Fact (or Fiction...you tell me!)

One random and kind of creepy thing I learned about Lake Tahoe is that it is one of the deepest lakes in the U.S. and because of this the bottom of the lake is super cold like a freezer. The creepy part is possibly a rumor but sounded legitimate to me at the time...my friend told me they've found bodies of fisher men and missing people at the bottom of the lake completely preserved even after years.

Goodbye Tahoe!

After a lovely week of bliss in this gorgeous house on the lake we said goodbye to the crisp clear water and the perfect weather and headed back for Washington. 

Even the best laid plans often go awry...

As I've learned from roadtrips...the longer the trip the more opportunities there are for things to go wrong. We ended up taking a detour through Eastern California due to my shit navigation skills. We made it just passed Susanville, CA when the alternator of my friends car went out and had to wait an hour to get it towed to Redding which was another hour and a half away. 

Luckily, we made the best of it!

The rest of the group we'd been with all week at the house in Tahoe had gone in another car an SUV to tow the boat and were able to buy a new alternator and changed it in the parking lot of a redding grocery store. We stayed the night in a crappy motel 8 (or was it motel 6? probably doesn't matter.) But we made the best of our misfortune and went out on Lake Shasta, one of the warmest lakes in the U.S. I believe the water was around 82 degrees F that day.

The saga continues...

 We eventually made it home eventually but not before having an a rouge air compressor come flying at us after just barely clipping the boat trailer tire.

Roadtrip Wisdom

I've come to realize road trips and plans in general often don't work out how you thought they would. Shit happens but sometimes that shit makes room for some exciting new opportunities. All you can do is prepare yourself the best you can and always keep an open mind when things don't go according to plan. 

Thanks for reading or even just skimming through the pictures.

Please up vote if you enjoyed this post and share some of your road trip experiences or times when things didn't go as planned with me in the comments!