What an awesome last few days!
On my way out of Lake Tahoe on Wednesday I could not resist a visit Emerald Bay. This time though I planned to hike down to the beach.
Emerald Bay is so idyllic! All I could think was, what a perfect place for a beach wedding.
I sat on the beach with my feet in the sand observing my surroundings. There were a group of guys jumping off the pier into the water; some other people in kayaks crossing the bay; and a few families with young children playing on the waters edge. It was so beautiful to watch.
Of course, the water was calling me and I had to listen. Fortunately the water on the edge of the bay is warmer than Lake Tahoe’s base temperature of 38 degree Fahrenheit, so it was very pleasant standing ankle deep in the water and watching all this amazing ‘life’ around me. It was perfect!
I staying on the beach for about 45 min and then hiked back up the hill. I had intended to ride up Highway 89 to a town called Westwood but I missed my turnoff and ended up going to Reno. I could have turned back but it didn’t really matter how I got to Westwood, I just wanted to get there before dark.
I had a vision of having a nice salad for lunch in Reno but I drove around the streets for about 10-15 min and decided this was not at all what I had pictured in my mind, so I filled up with fuel, ate a protein bar which I remembered I had with me, and hit the road again.
I was saying in an AirBnB in Westwood, a small town about 50 min south-west of Lassen Volcanic National Park. It is pretty evident that the recession hit this area in a bad way but it certainly didn’t impact the spirit of my host, David, who was full of life.
David and I sat chatting for a while and were later joined by his other two guests, Becky and David, who were in the area celebrating their 32 wedding anniversary. Congratulations again you guys! We spoke about all sorts of things until I had to excuse myself to do what I do every night – figure out where I’m going to sleep the next night.
It’s amazing how simple my life has become. I find a place to sleep; sleep until I wake up; explore the route I planned to take (sometimes this changes on the day); stop when I want to see something/eat/go to the loo/need petrol; and go to sleep when I’m tired. In between all this I get to meet people most days and have the time to enjoy their company. How simple. How amazing!
I had a giggle in the morning when I woke up to discover that I had worn a hole through my jeans. It appears my boney ass can cut through anything!
I was chatting to David about this over breakfast and it turns out he had a iron on patch, so I used it to mend the hole and future proof my jeans for the month to come. There’s a photo of my handy work on my Facebook page. It may not be sexy but it works!
Thanks for taking such good care of me David!!
Lassen Volcanic National Park is fantastic! But then again I do have a thing for volcanoes. It is one of the only places on earth to have all four types of volcanoes. They even have a Table Mountain (a shield volcano)!
The photos I have included below have some descriptive text about the various places so I won’t repeat it in my blog, but I hope you enjoy the photos. As always, if you want to see more photos please visit my Mel & Trinity Facebook page.
One of the other highlights of my day was meeting Rob. He was parked up next to me at the Visitors Centre so we got talking and the next thing we ended up sending the day exploring the park together. What a lovely (and welcome) surprise that was.
Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better, it did. More about that in my next post though!
Mel & Trinity 