On September 27th, my hubby and I celebrated 10 years of marriage. There’s a part of me that giggles at that number. 10. In reality we met and fell in love almost 17 years ago. We were young collage students. Goodness, he was still a teenager! So, you can see why saying 10 just doesn’t really cover it. It’s truly been a lifetime. Our entire adult lives have been spent together.
Still, an official decade is something to celebrate. The moment we said “I do” forever. The moment we started this family. The moment our lives truly began.
We have a tradition of traveling for our anniversary. Usually road trips and camping and hiking. I don’t know how we settled on Lake Tahoe for this trip, but we couldn’t have chosen a more perfect place. The end of September is kind of in between seasons for the area. The boaters are gone for the summer, but the skiers have yet to arrive. We really had the whole place to ourselves. It was peaceful and quiet and romantic and the weather was perfect.
On our way into town, we stopped by Sand Harbor as it had been recommended by many people. It was beautiful and it gave us our first glimpse at the pure, clear water. Every time we got close to the lake, we both kept saying that it looks like a green screen image. It can’t possibly be real. It seems so untouched by mankind.
And it was really nice to put our feet in the sand for a bit.
The next day we decided to explore Emerald Bay which is iconic Lake Tahoe. We hiked around the shoreline on the Rubicon trail. It lead of to some amazing rocks and more breath taking views.
In the evenings we walked around near Heavenly Village (the ski resort area) popping into little shops and restaurants. And breweries, there were of course beer tastings happening. The pretzel bites at Coldwater Brewery were the perfect snack after a long day of hiking.
The morning of our anniversary we rented a tandem kayak and hit the lake. The water was like glass and the views were once in a lifetime. As I mentioned before, we were there between seasons and we didn’t see a single other boat on the water for a good hour and a half. It was absolutely amazing.
After a couple hours on the water, we headed back to the Emerald Bay area to hike to Eagle Lake. Talk about a hidden gem! This was a moderately difficult hike, but a quick one and totally worth it. It took us about 1.5 hours round trip and that included some quiet resting by the lake. Seriously, if you’re in the area, go.
The evening of our anniversary was like a dream. We put on wedding-like attire and headed to Cave Rock to renew our vows. We scrambled (in my dress) to the top of the rock to be there for sunset. We read letters to each other and recommitted to a lifelong love affair. And we brought my new friend Elsa with us to document the whole thing. She’s shared a few sneak peeks with me {some you can see on her IG}, but I will be sure to share a link to her blog here once she’s completed it. I cannot wait to see all those images! In the meantime, here are a couple of cell phone shots so you can get the idea.
Our final adventure of the trip was pretty spectacular. While we were kayaking we noticed a single hot air balloon floating over the lake. We both said, I wonder how you go up in that?! Well, a quick google search found us Lake Tahoe Balloons. We figured we were here to celebrate something pretty special, so without really even thinking about it, we booked a trip for the next morning; one last adventure before we left town.
The whole experience was incredible. The staff was so much fun. Watching the sunrise over the lake was breath taking. Launching and landing on a boat was impressive {the only balloon in the whole world that does that}, but the views from above. Holy Hell. These pictures can’t even begin to do it justice. You must go down and ride on the big yellow tulip balloon. Don’t hesitate.
As with every trip we take, we’re home now planning our next adventure. Where should we go? What should we explore when we get there? What advice do you have for our next 10 years of marriage?
Courtney MaCaire 