Tahoe - By Land and By Sea

This lake is huge!  It covers 264 square miles and 1645 feet deep at its deepest point, making it the third deepest lake in North America.  If you took all the water in Lake Tahoe, it would cover the entire state of California 14" deep.  I did not physically measure that, but rather got it out of a book.

We started the day on the land side, by taking a ride up Heavenly Mountain.  Since the Gondola at Heavenly is closed until Memorial Day, we instead drove to the top and took a short hike.

Coming down from the mountain, we stopped at Zephyr Point and enjoyed the brisk 40 degree weather as we looked at the water for awhile.  The water was quite clear and very blue.

We stopped at the local Safeway (sort of a Harris Teeter) to pick up some snacks for the water portion of our day.  Imagine our surprise to find a mini casino inside the supermarket.  When we return to SC, I will be in touch with Governor Haley for permission to add this service to our Teeter.

We then boarded a cruiser on the lake for a two hour tour.  The earlier cruise was unavailable due to a wedding.  (We later learned that the Captain performed the ceremony.)  We watched the wedding guests maneuvering down the boardwalk in their high heels.......hilarious!

We were the first to board the ship and took seats topside in a good spot.  It did not take long for some of the passengers to join us which consisted of 7 adults and about 14 youngsters.  As grandparents, we have nothing against young children as long as they are OUR young children.  This bunch were all over the place.  Lucky for us, the Captain offered two seats right next to him and we jumped at the chance.  So for the entire cruise, we sat next to the Captain as he piloted the boat.  How cool!

We toured Emerald Bay which boasted a beautiful home built by a rich widow many years ago.

Captain Jeff and I were swapping old maritime stories and discussing extensively the Civil War......we are both "buffs."

After this experience, we call ourselves buds.

Coming back to the dock, Captain Jeff pointed out a $43,000,000 mansion right on the lake.  Some people just like to show you how much they have!  Not too shappy.....

We went to mass at St. Teresa's and were surprised to see such a small crowd for a Saturday vigil.  Then it was on to Murphy's Irish Pub to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in traditional fashion!