It was starting to get late in the day, so we headed to Pope Beach to check out the sunset. The kids got in the water, but it was freezing. It won’t warm up for another month or so.
Cameron-that water is never warming up. I see Andrew in up to his knees only. He's smart. Ashley has gone rogue, what can I say. I'm surprised she isn't handstanding in the shallows.
I've been in Lake Tahoe every month of the year, including scuba diving there in December and it's never warm. It's kind of like the ocean on the West Coast. It looks warm and inviting, but at best it's just OK, and mostly it's just cold. With rogue waves. Wear a wetsuit.
I’ve heard the very surface “warms up” to 70 or so around August, but is in the 50s a foot or two down.
It was definitely in the low 50s during our visit, not good for swimming, but was perfect for kayaking.
We rented kayaks at the beach in Emerald Bay, adjacent to the Vikingsholm Castle. This was super cool because you can paddle Out to the island to explore and climb up to the Tea House.
We were late getting up that day so the Emerald Bay parking lot was full. We had to put the rental Camry in 2-Lo and go rock crawling for a spot. Believe it or not, it was almost high centered here
If you keep going, you end up at the beach, where we turned toward Rubicon Point. If you don’t want to hike very far, you can drive to the beach (if parking spots are open) and walk to Rubicon Point from there. Much shorter.
The “Point” is one of those rocky cliff areas you always see in pictures. They put up chains & rails so you don’t fall off. Much of the trail is cliffside with no rails, so bring a leash for small kids.
The next day, we packed back up and drove back down to the Bay Area for Part II of our adventure. We had a few other things we wanted to do in Tahoe, but they either weren’t open for the summer traffic yet, or were delayed from opening due to snow at the higher altitudes. Guess we’ll have to make a return trip.
We jumped on Highway 50 and enjoyed the view. Right around Sacramento, I happened to touch the window and almost burnt my arm. I looked down and was surprised to see it was 106 outside. This was quite a shock from the 45-75 degree weather we had just left.
Luckily, our turn toward cooler temperatures was just ahead. Bay Area temps would be 55-65 while we were there. Perfect.
Mr. & Mrs. @TrickyT graciously offered to house us in their little slice of heaven in Mill Valley, which is across the bay from SF, just a few minutes from the Golden Gate Bridge. This could not have been more convenient for what we wanted to do & see.
The next morning, Mrs. T drove us into the city. We got a nice taste of the fog, which was covering the top of the bridge.
She dropped us off at Pier 33, where we picked up the ferry to Alcatraz...
Prison history aside, the plant and bird life here is astounding. Both are growing out of every nook and cranny. It’s a Mediterranean climate, so everything flourishes year round...
There’s a really cool audio tour that guides you through the prison with stories about daily life, riots, and escape attempts. I didn’t take many pictures with all then people walking around. I actually left thinking that if I had to go to prison, Alcatraz might be better than most as long as you don’t try to leave.
