This summer was the third installment of my husband’s brother’s kids coming out with Grandpa and Grandma to visit us in Tahoe. When each of the nephews and nieces turns 12, they get to come out to Tahoe. Ingrid was the next in line, but her trip got delayed a year, so she was 13 going on 14 when she visited us.

Ingrid arrived with Grandpa and Grandma on Monday – the day after I returned to Tahoe from a 10-day visit in WI for my mom’s birthday. Four days after my husband returned from a work trip in Denver. And one day after my husband’s sister and a nephew stayed with us in Tahoe for an extended weekend of mountain biking, hiking, and sightseeing.

Whew.

So, Monday kicked off another week of adventures, and we had a whole bunch of activities planned for Ingrid. So, needless to say, it was definitely a whirlwind couple of weeks.

Ingrid’s first adventure was a drive to Sardine Lakes, followed by an off-road jaunt up most of the way to the Sierra Buttes fire lookout, a hike my husband and I have done numerous times. But we figured Ingrid would enjoy the experience of climbing up all those stairs and getting to take in the expansive views at the top.

She made it to the top!

And what goes up, must come down.

Then it was a stop at (a modest) Webber Falls.

The next day, the crew rented ebikes and took to the East Shore Trail, riding into Sand Harbor.

Ingrid probably thought this tree at Sand Harbor was big. (She didn’t know what lay ahead for her at Big Trees State Park. 😂)

Then there was a stop at the scenic overlook on the outskirts of Incline Village.

The next day, we ventured down the west shore of Lake Tahoe and hiked up to Eagle Rock.

From Eagle Rock, we drove down to the southwest corner of the lake for Emerald Bay.

We finished our drive around the rest of the lake, stopping in South Lake Tahoe for a bite to eat before heading home on the north shore.

Then, the plans for the rest of the week got a little sporty. We were having an atypically chilly week in August for Tahoe, but as the week went on, the winds were intensifying and a lake wind advisory was going into effect. One of the activities we had reserved for Ingrid’s trip was parasailing over the lake, an activity that is highly contingent upon weather conditions.

The outfitter called us and asked if we could reschedule to avoid the lake wind advisory. In the end, we changed up our itinerary to accommodate parasailing, while also still fitting in Big Trees State Park (which involves a 3.5-hour drive to Arnold, CA) and the outdoor musical we’d bought tickets for in Reno, all before they need to get to the airport on Saturday.

The drawback of the parasailing activity this time around (I’d taken her older brother parasailing a couple of years ago) was that the weather was not going to be great – it would be super windy, extremely wavy, and a little on the chilly side. But we “bundled up” as best we could considering we’d be in the water, on a boat, wearing lifejackets, and likely getting at least a little bit wet.

Despite the less-than-ideal weather, we surprisingly still had 10 tourists that would be on the boat with us.

In order to get out to the parasailing boat, we had to first trudge through the wavy calf-deep (or more) water from the shore, all climb into an inflatable dinghy, get transported out to the boat (most of us got at least a little bit wet during this – passengers riding near the front of the dinghy got drenched with every wave we hit), and then, one by one, each of us had climb up from the dinghy into the boat, both of which were rocking violently from the intense wave action.

This chain of events was easier for some than others due to the huge waves, so it did take a bit of time to get situated, along with some manual assists by fellow passengers. Once we were all safely on board the boat, the captain gave everyone the rundown before they started loading flyers into the harnesses. Ingrid and I were near the end of the line of flyers, so we all three sat and enjoyed the wild ride and tried to avoid getting wet.

Then it was our turn to get loaded up off the back of the boat.

Before we were released to the air, the captain asked us if we wanted to get dipped at the end. Even though it was chilly out, I looked at Ingrid and said, “Yes. We have to. We can’t go parasailing and skip the dip.”

So, up we flew.

Getting ready for the touchdown…

Ingrid was surprised at how “warm” the water felt.

The waves in the photos don’t look that intense, but the impact while riding in a boat did not fare well for a couple of the passengers. Two of the 10 ended up getting seasick and puking over the side of the boat. In fact, one of them ended up staying on the boat while the rest of us were returned to shore on the dinghy. 😳

Even though the weather wasn’t great, we still had a blast. And I was thankful none of us got seasick.

After we returned to our house, Ingrid and I decided we’d take a hike up to Incline Peak.

In spite of the high-elevation impact on Ingrid’s lungs, we still made it to the top in 55 minutes.

The next morning we got up early and headed down to Calaveras Big Trees State Park.

My husband and I have taken this trail before, so we knew it would not disappoint. Less than 2 miles in, the first of the massive giant sequoia trees come into view.

Giant sequoia trees can live for thousands of years, and some have lived for over 3,000 years. Their roots grow 100 feet in every direction. These remarkable trees only naturally occur in groves on the western slope of the Sierra Nevada. Photos do not do these magnificent beauties justice.

The biggest tree in the South Grove of the park is the Agassiz Tree.

Before getting back on the road, we climbed up onto Discovery Stump for a photo op. This ginormous tree was 1,244 years old when it was cut in 1853.

We stopped and got a bite to eat at the Bistro and then we were back on our way.

Our final event for the day with Ingrid would require us to drive directly back up to Reno from Arnold for an evening performance of Bye Bye Birdie at the outdoor amphitheater at Bartley Ranch Regional Park.

In keeping with the weather trend for the week, it was downright chilly for an outdoor performance. Thankfully, we thought to bring some blankets with us when we left that morning, because we certainly needed them that night! I think we all thoroughly enjoyed the performance. The cast had a lot of really funny characters, but our favorite was the woman who played Birdie’s agent’s mother. She had us in stitches.

The following day, we’d bring them all back down to the airport and say our goodbyes. But before that, my husband brought Ingrid out in the Jeep for a little off-road adventure on Genoa Peak Rd. before she left Tahoe.

I’d say it was another successful visit!

6