Lake Tahoe, California

Most of April-December 2020

TL;DR: Tahoe during the summer is pretty wonderful. We ended up moving to the little cabin in Carnelian Bay for most of it, and it was wild to have so much space. Also nice to be close to Jess’s parents and our close friends in San Francisco… but getting very antsy to get on the road again!

The sights

Nights out at the Big House

Just about every night at Jess’s parent’s house was pretty fun and full of good food and drink.

We also had two very fancy nights:

First was Jim and Cheryl’s 40th anniversary, complete with a Zoom call with close friends and family, a photo timeline, and a gourmet dinner by chef Nick!

Second was Chloe and Brennan’s engagement! Black tie, of course, and with many cocktails and MUCH dancing! Yay!

Lake Tahoe

It’s the most beautiful. And we were so lucky to be able to spend a lot of time on it, whether it was on the boat with picnics, watching sunsets, waterskiing, or taking a spin in the stand-up paddleboards.

Found a little cove that we really linked on the northeast side, near Sand Harbor. Relatively calm and not a ton of people.

We also saw it from many different angles, whether it was on the Flume Trail or the Fire Lookout.

There’s not a sunrise or sunset on Tahoe that isn’t spectacular, though we had a few smoky skies that were particularly troubling.

Boca, Stampede, and Prosser Reservoirs

We drove up here for our eighth wedding anniversary, and at first, everywhere was packed with people. So we went up north a bit more to try and avoid them, and spent about 90 minutes on dirt roads (there was no A/C in the truck, and it was quite hot so we kept the windows down. The truck was well-dusted).

We weren’t really sure where we were going, but we ended up finding a nice little spot right on Boca Reservoir in front of a discarded comforter. Was honestly great.

Pensacola

Flew to Florida in July and stayed with Craig and Hil for a little summer reunion. Was nice to be with the fam again. Drank lots of seltzer, snuggled with Duna a ton, got lots of sun.

Jess did a cartwheel on the beach!

Saw some pretty crazy storms, too.

Details, details, details

Frankster was a pretty big highlight all summer long. She’s just the cutest! Duna held her own in Pensacola.

Re-watched “The Office” and realized we actually never finished it! Successfully got to the end this time.

Bri found Jim’s old adjustable dumbbells and put them to work.

Jess got on a pretty aggressive Stephen King streak (might have something to do with not sleeping…).

Bri started getting into sustainable housing which is awesome for everyone.

Drove 89 to Truckee a lot and noticed all the cool houses along the River that we hadn’t seen before. Could be a good spot for proof of concept for all those sustainable housing ideas!

There was quite the pollen explosion this spring.

Did a CSA box with Tahoe Food Hub, and it was wonderful all summer.

Also went to a few farmer’s markets at the end of the summer, and the California produce is just so stunning. Especially great for grilling.

Saw a drive-thru movie (“The Big Lebowski”) in Tahoe City which was fun. Mama T made us huge salted chocolate chip cookies to enjoy during the viewing.

Had a few visitors from SF which was AMAZING (Hiiii Megan and Franco!). So crazy to see friends again. Had to be super careful because of Mom and Dad, and just generally, but all went well.

Been supporting our friend Helmut’s amazing Iberico pork company, Encina Farms. Highly recommended if you’re on the west coast!

Any excuse to cook and drink, we took.

We started a garden!

We got into boxing (thank you, Megan) and got a water-weighted bag. It was pretty fun and quite therapeutic given the pandemic, political climate, etc.

Jess’s dad worked on the Model A much of the summer, and even took Bri for a spin at one point.

And then this happened…

Pretty soon after we got there, Bri and Jess were working downstairs in the big house when they heard a huge thump… Mom had fallen while cleaning and broke her wrist. Bri made a makeshift splint but we ended up going to the Tahoe ER which was actually pretty empty/painless (except for Mom, who was indeed in pain).

It got down to the 20s many times, so we had made sure Layla was snuggled in with the Reflectixx.

Brian made the mistake of trying to swim in April (we later found out the average water temp then is about 46 degrees). It lasted approximately 30 seconds.

Thanks to those 20-degree temperatures, we woke up in a winter wonderland many times this summer. Full-on flurries on June 8. Also 15-20 mph winds on the lake, with gusts up to 30 mph, and 1-3 foot waves.

Saw quite a few bears, especially at the little house and the gym, where they got all up in the dumpster.

We used the radio to watch “The Big Lebowski” for the drive-in movie, and right after Mom and Dad left, we tried to start the truck and the battery was dead. Thankfully we caught them before they were too far away.

We lost the RV keys. And we made do for a while, but eventually Bri decided the best course of action was to break in through the back window. Welp. It shattered. A new one has been ordered and we are embracing our trash bag window in the meantime.

Jess’s parents had a couple dead trees cut down at the cabin. Right when we were about to go on a walk with Megan and Franco one morning, the tree cutters came, so we stayed for the show. Pretty wild how they do it.

Of course, this meant that Brian, Jim (Jess’s Dad) and Nick (Jess’s brother) spent what seemed like forever splitting up the rounds into firewood and stacking what appears to be a five-year supply.

But that meant Jess could ask for a fire whenever she wanted…even in the middle of summer. This. Was. The. Best.

At one point, Frankie somehow made her way onto the picnic table at the little house. And we just let her stay there. Because she is the best, most spoiled dog in the world.

Biden got elected. But the whole process was quite a to-do with the split Turpin-parent household and everyone’s nerves on edge. Still. We won.

When we left in November, we were treated to the most amazing sunrise. Not pictured: a bald eagle soaring over the lake next to us.

We were going to do Thanksgiving in Laguna, but it seemed just too risky to get everyone together, so Bri and Jess and Nick drove up to Tahoe and we had a family Thanksgiving just the five (six with Frankie!) of us. It was really nice. We ate a lot. (Noticing a theme?)

One of the last things we did before leaving was get a Christmas tree, and were maybe a little too ambitious in our selection.

Now we know

If you don’t really care what pots look like, don’t buy regular pots; ask for the recycled ones. They sold them to us for $1 in Truckee and I think they were happy to get rid of them.

Jess learned how to cut her Dad’s hair (and eyebrows) in the world’s most scenic hair salon.

We discovered Blueland soap tablets this summer! Natural/non-toxic little guys you just drop in water and they create soap. They also do multi-surface, bathroom, and glass cleaners. Come with glass bottles so you don’t have to keep buying disposable plastic ones. And they take up no room for RV travel. Brilliant!

We were sitting in the living room one day and Bri saw something move out of the corner of his eye—a mouse! He left a little trap consisting of tupperware, a dab of peanut butter and a battery, and it worked! Cruelty-free!