Almost forgot...

I realized that in my last post about Tahoe I forgot to include the video that I made of the day Andrew and I went skiing on July 4th last year, what fun to ski in 70 degree weather!

Lake Tahoe

There's nothing like a world pandemic to convince me to start blogging again... the deeper we get into this situation, the more I find myself day dreaming of outdoor activities, travel, and exploration, so why not indulge myself and write a series of new blog posts to pass the time...

In all seriousness though, I sincerely hope that you, your families, and friends are coping as best you can in the current environment, and staying happy and healthy. These times are unprecedented, scary, stressful, and so many more emotions. We are coping as best we can over here, and just remaining thankful for our health.

Now onto the travel distraction -- I realized that I never wrote a blog post about Lake Tahoe. After living here for almost 5 years now, Tahoe has become a fun weekend getaway destination for us. We started by going up with friends for ski trips the first few years, and then discovered that Tahoe is even more magical in the summer! We travel to Tahoe probably between 3-4 times each year. It takes around 4 hours to drive from our house to Tahoe without traffic, which is rare, so we typically try to leave at odd days/times to avoid the rush.

First a few fun facts:

1. Lake Tahoe is huge! It is the second deepest lake in the US and the tenth in the world, with a maximum depth measured at 1,645 ft, and average depth of 1,000 ft (305 m). To put that into perspective, you could completely submerge the famous Empire State Building in New York into Lake Tahoe.
2. There’s approximately 36.15 cubic miles of water in Lake Tahoe — or approximately 39 trillion gallons. That’s enough water to cover a flat area the size of California with 14 inches of water. It’s also enough to supply everyone in the United States with 50 gallons of water per day for five years.
3. The water is also 99.994% pure, making it one of the purest large lakes in the world and giving it a Carribbean like color to it.
4. Lake Tahoe sees an average of 408 inches of snow a year, or approximately 34 feet. Generally, a story is about 10 feet, which means there’s enough snow annually to cover a three-story building. But, that’s just the average — 500+ inches of snow has happened in a few of the years we have lived here. In general, snow storms pack a much more serious punch in Lake Tahoe compared to other areas we have frequently skiied, which means the snow also lasts a lot longer into the spring and summer.

Since Tahoe is such a large area, it took us awhile to figure out what spots we liked best. Generally the south park of the lake (South Lake Tahoe) is in Nevada and is more commercial, and has lots of casinos, so we don't prefer it as much, but its cheaper and there are more available accommodations for a last minute trip. North Lake Tahoe is quieter and family oriented, with smaller downtowns and nice restaurants. We like the town of Truckee in particular in the winter, and Tahoe City in the summer. The areas in between South Lake Tahoe and North Lake Tahoe are fairly deserted, as most of it is protected land and/or roads are often closed in the winter. These areas make for a gorgeous drive in the summer.

Below are a few memories that we have from Lake Tahoe over the past few years.

Skiing on July 4 at Squaw after a particularly heavy snow season

Skiing with friends at Heavenly

Skiing at Heavenly 

July 4 skiing -- the pool at the summit was open at the same time that people were skiing by!

Hiking at the top of Squaw in September -- still some snow in the background!

Beautiful waters of Lake Tahoe, unique boulders

Andrew on the boulders going for a swim

Paddleboarding on the lake

Picnic dinner with the Kwist family on the shores of the lake

Views from the top of Northstar resort in the summer

Dinner at Sunnyside lodge, gorgeous sunsets

Hanging out on the patio of the cutest AirBnb

The cutest Airbnb

Photo time with the Snows at the gorgeous Emerald Bay

Beautiful clear water

STAY: We always stay at different AirBnB's when in Tahoe. This one was particularly charming (see pictures above).

PLAY: We like to ski at Squaw and Heavenly, mostly because that's where our friends typically have ski passes and they are at higher elevations = better snow. I have also heard NorthStar is very nice, albeit lower elevation. We also did a boat cruise in the summer into Emerald Bay and this was a lovely day trip. 

EAT: Sunnyside Lodge has amazing ambiance and food, Chamber's Landing is a fun boat-up lakeside bar, Coffeebar has amazing coffee/teas/breakfast in Truckee. Christy Hill for a nice dinner overlooking the lake.

Spectacular Ibiza & Formentera

In late May / early June we returned from the most amazing trip to Ibiza and Formentera, two of the Spanish Balearic islands. One of our good friends was getting married on Ibiza on June 2, so we decided to make a vacation out of it by renting a sailboat the week before and sailing around both islands. I have long heard of how amazing the islands are, and in particular Formentera has a reputation of being a very remote and gorgeous island, with a unique soul (very hippy and Italian). We had done one sailing trip before to Thailand, and we absolutely loved the trip, so we decided it would be fun to repeat the experience but this time in the Spanish islands. Sailing is such a relaxing way to travel, you wake up every morning to the beauty of the ocean and you have ultimate freedom to choose whatever you want to do, and your accommodation (ie, the boat) travels with you! It feels very remote and such a deviation from every day life, but yet you have all of the "creature comforts" with you -- we had bedrooms, bathrooms, showers, full kitchen, living room, etc. We worked with a boat charter company in Ibiza to find and select a boat and paid to have a captain sail around with us. Its actually a very economical way to travel as well, as within one price you have your accommodation, transportation, and entertainment included, and you can go to the grocery store beforehand and bring whatever food and drinks you would like.

Below is a map of our journey on the boat. We started in the port of San Antonio and spent two nights in Ibiza and two nights in Formentera.

Rather than use a littany of words to describe the trip, I will show off my newfound GoPro and YouTube skills in the below video, which covers all aspects of our fantastic week in the island! Check it out. I would love to return to these islands one day and rent a house with a group of friends or family. Formentera left an especially poignant mark on my heart -- bring me back!!

After our sailing trip, we rented an Airbnb with friends and celebrated the marriage of our friends Jon and Elisa at a nearby hotel overlooking the ocean. Here are a few pics of the gorgeous wedding and nearby settings:

Jon and Elisa's wedding -- what a beautiful couple!

Thanks Jon and Elisa for giving us a wonderful excuse to celebrate your love in such a gorgeous, fun location and frolic in the islands for a week!

After the trip to the islands we spent 24 hours in Barcelona before our flight home. The 24 hours were basically just spent eating our weight in tapas... here is the photographic evidence:

Give me ALL the tapas. From left to right: ham and cheese croquete, potato tortilla, bread with tomato, mussels in garlic sauce, patatas bravas, fried zucchini flower, lamb tacos, and friend artichokes

Below are my recommendations for the Balaeric islands:

EAT: Juan y Andrea on Formenta (beautiful setting and amazing food) and Casanita Cantina y Pescado (get the tasting menu) on Formentera and Sa Caleta Restaurant (get the Paella) on Ibiza. Bar del Pla in Barcelona for tapas.
STAY: on a boat obviously! We used a charter agency to arrange our boat, they were called Ibiza Central Charters and it worked out perfectly.
PLAY: ALL of the beaches we visited were spectacular, but our favorites were Es Calo and Playa de Illetas, these beaches were some of the most spectacular we have EVER seen. Also check out Cala Bassa Beach Club for a fun day at the beach on Ibiza.

Point Lobos

When my mom came to visit a few years ago, we wanted to find a spot for a day hike by the ocean. We did some research and settled on Point Lobos, a state park situated at the top of Big Sur, which is a few hours drive south of where we live in California. The park's website provides a great description:

Long considered the “crown jewel” of California’s 280 state parks, Point Lobos State Natural Reserve is a magnet for nature lovers around the world. With its breathtaking beauty, fascinating wildlife and friendly and knowledgeable volunteers, Point Lobos is a place where one can experience nature at its best and explore this area's fascinating human history.

The park is a mix of varied sights. There are white sand beaches and dark sand beaches. Seals and birds. Old whaling/fishing huts to explore. Calm coves and crashing waves. We did a hike that circled the peninsula of the park and I would highly recommend this area for a side trip near Big Sur.

The second weekend, we took my mom on one of our favorite hikes, on Pillar Point Bluff. For this hike you start by parking your car at the Moss Beach Distillery and have a 3-4ish mile walk out and back to the distillery. The views are gorgeous and you can finish the hike with a yummy lunch and drink on the patio of Moss Beach Distillery.

Wine Country: Healdsburg, CA

I'm bringing it back 3+ years here and recapping a trip that I took to Healdburg in California in August 2015. Healdsburg is approximately 2 hours north of where we live in California, and it is one of the lesser known wine towns in the Napa/Sonoma area. In my opinion, Napa and to a certain extent, Sonoma, has become overly commercialized (think gift shops, valet service, guided tours... yuck); but, the good news is that there are still smaller towns such as Healdburg that maintain the charm of wine country without succumbing to the ritzy tourist crowd.

My friend Mary visted me shortly after I moved to the US and we decided to drive up to Healdsburg for the weekend to check it out. We rented bikes and biked down Dry Creek Road, which is the street  that is lined with wineries on either side. I highly recommend checking out this area of wine country on a bike, it forces you to get some exercise, slow down, and enjoy the sites and journey (and you don't have to worry about driving and driving!).

On to the pictures! We first picked up our bikes in town and did a tasting at Lambert Bridge Winery.

Old fire truck in front of the vineyard

We then biked over to the Dry Creek General Store, which is an adorable country store where you can pick up picnic essentials.

We took our picnic goods and biked down to Preston Winery, an organic and biodynamic winery with a great picnic area and a relaxed environment. You can purchase a bottle of wine and picnic on their lawn. This vineyard is my #1 recommendation in wine country. Its just plain relaxing and not pretentious.

Picnic delights!

After our lunch, we biked down to Quivira Winery and checked out their gorgeous gardens.

On Sunday, we stopped by for a tasting at Duckhorn, a fancier yet nice contrasting experience to the smaller vineyards of Healdsburg.

Here are my recommendations for the Healdsburg area:

EAT: eat at Shed for breakfast, Dry Creek General Store for picnic lunch essentials, Flying Goat for coffee, Spoon Bar for dinner

STAY: We stayed at the Hampton Inn in Windsor, it was a 15 min drive to Healdsburg, but a nice hotel and cheaper than staying in town and one of the only options available due to our last minute booking

PLAY: Rent bikes from Wine Country Bikes... the bikes come with attached bags to store wine bottle purchases :) Note that for most large vineyards you can walk in and pay for a tasting fairly easily, but most small vineyards require appointments made in advance. Also, its rare to find a US winery that won't charge you for a tasting, prepare to pay approx $15 per tasting, sometimes more or less.

Oechinensee, Switzerland

Oechinensee lake has been on my bucket list since before I moved to Switzerland, but for some reason we never made the trip when we lived there. I spent a weekend last fall in Switzerland with my good friend Dorothy and we decided to finally check out this lake, as well as the neighboring Blausee (translation: blue lake). Both sites are in the Bernese Oberland part of Switzerland, near the town of Kandersteg.

First stop was Blausee, this alpine lake has subterranean springs that lend it a color that is so crystal clear blue, it doesn't look real (almost like some poured blue gatorade into a cavern in the earth!). It was fall time so the colors of the technicolor trees reflecting on the water made it especially magical.

We stayed in the area overnight and the next day took a cable car and a short 1-2 mile hike to Oechinensee lake. This is another alpine lake, but surrounded by impressive, towering mountains. The area surrounding the lake is part of a UNESCO world heritage site. Similar to many sites in Switzerland, words just don't do the views justice -- so here are some pictures instead:

After visiting the lake, we headed home, but took a detour to enjoy a "la chasse" meal in the mountains, which is a typical game menu served during the fall. It normally consists of some sort of game meat (deer, boar, etc) served with potatoes and other hearty sides (click here for prior la chasse experiences when we lived in Switzerland).

There is truly nothing better in my mind than a weekend spent in the mountains, with good friends, views, and food. Perfection.