Lake Tahoe 2017

Last week we headed to South Lake Tahoe for a few days as a family of 6. I posted this picture on Facebook....we look excited but we were honestly pretty nervous about traveling with 4 little kids!

We arrived early in the afternoon and immediately found a spot for lunch. It was this outdoor Irish pub/grill that had a great view.

 My sandwich had corned beef and sauerkraut!

After our bellies were full we walked around the local shopping centers. We weren't too familiar with South Lake Tahoe but we liked that there were many stores and restaurants within walking distance of each other.

 Gondolas!

 Jenna made a little friend in one of the stores.

After shopping we headed to our hotel. I got a great deal on it through Groupon. When we pulled up the front looked really nice. However, the building we were staying in was in the back. And it looked like a dump. We got out of the car and realized it also smelled like a dump. Once inside our room it was unbearably hot. There was no AC and the room was probably 90 degrees. And stinky. And kind of dirty. We called the front desk and requested a new room. After a while we got switched to a room with AC but the smell was still awful. We left the hotel to drive around and research other hotels. After a while we stopped for Jamba Juice as an early dinner.

 By 6pm we still hadn't found a new hotel room, but we did find the beach. Woohoo!

While the kids played at the beach I was on the phone with various hotels as well as Groupon, trying to figure out how to get a refund. It was really annoying and we felt like we wasted so much time trying to figure everything out.

 We booked a room at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was SO much better!

 I told the boys to give me their best rocker poses.

We cleaned up in our room and got the kids ready for bed. Around 10pm everyone was hungry so we ate granola bars and promised them a big breakfast in the morning. Unfortunately the AC in our room wasn't working that well. It was cranked down all the way but we sweated all night. Ugh not a great night.

First thing in the morning we complained and got switched to another room. 4th hotel room of our trip! This one was nice and cold.

 And it came with a balcony view of the pool.

 We ate breakfast at the hotel and finally got ready for the beach at noon.

The kids were more than ready!

 It took forever to find a  beach that wasn't too crowded. Then we had to park miles away and walk down with the 4 kids and all our gear. Adam and I have decided to NOT go to the beach next summer. We'll see if we remember how hard it is with little kids!

The weather was in the 80's. See that big boat in the distance? They were doing tours of the lake on it and I really wanted to go!

 The kids definitely had fun in the water!

 I love seeing the beach with all the trees in the distance.

 My parents drove up for the afternoon and joined us at the beach for a couple hours. After that we got cleaned up and ate dinner at the Hard Rock Café.

Our night in our hotel room was much cooler! The next morning we checked out of our room and grabbed a late breakfast at Starbucks.

 And then we went mini-golfing!

After golfing we ate at a place called Verde Mexican Rotisserie. I got a burrito salad that came with the best homemade avocado dressing!

 The kids were asking for more beach time, so we drove around trying to find a less-crowded spot. Someone recommended Fallen Leaf Lake, so we turned down a road to look for the lake. We drove and drove and drove.

The rode got bumpier and more narrow the further in we got. Finally we found the lake, but there as no way to actually get down to the water. By this point we were pretty annoyed and Andrew was screaming.

After that big waste of time we stopped at Camp Richardson for ice cream! (Jenna was mad because she couldn't climb up on the log)

 There we go!

It was around 4 at this point and we really needed to get on the road but I didn't want our vacation to end. It felt like we had just gotten to Tahoe, and wasted so much time finding a hotel and not knowing where we were going.

So we took our ice cream and walked down past the Camp Richardson campsite until we found a beach!

 It was SO windy!

 This is what Andrew thought of the wind.

This was definitely my favorite part of the trip. Adam and I took turns walking along the water with the kids. They chased ducks, pulled debris out of the water, and skipped rocks. And then it started raining. I loved it!

 We packed up to walk back to the car and heard thunder in the distance.

 We got all cozy in the car.

 And prepared for the drive home.

 Andrew was NOT happy in the car so we stopped halfway to settle him down. And to grab a pizza!

Lake Tahoe 2017 was full of some stressful moments but I think the kids had a lot of fun at the beach! I'm researching cold vacation spots for next year!