Tahoe dreaming

/ Meg

Lake Tahoe I


I need a vacation.

Given that I’m planning a wedding and honeymoon, I know my vacation-energy should be channeled to that . . . but maybe that’s why I need a vacation. Way before November.

I got in a minor car accident a month ago. The other driver and I are both fine, thank goodness, and I know that’s the important thing — but it rattled me. Big time. It was the first crash I’d been in that was really a crash, and I didn’t want to get behind the wheel again for days. I had to, of course; living in the suburbs, I can’t exactly walk to work. Not if I want to get there sometime this month.

So I’ve been going to my “happy place.” Almost four weeks later, my car is still not completely back to normal — despite a handful of trips to the body shop. Thinking about it makes me groan in frustration, so I’m trying not to. It will get fixed. These are just the adult things adults deal with — insurance; follow-up; messes — and I have to just keep pushin’ on. I have my car back, even if it’s not 100 percent, and I realize that’s lucky, too.

Still. Happy place.

Since getting back from California last June, Lake Tahoe has become one of my mental escapes. Though Spencer and I were both sick from the altitude during our 24-hour stay, even we couldn’t miss how gorgeous it was. Like many of the places we saw on our tour, I wish we’d had more time to explore the area — but that’s just a reason to go back!

And I would like to go back.

Like, tomorrow.

Or maybe Saturday.


Lake Tahoe II

Boats


We also stayed in one of the coolest hotels ever and had our own suite — with a dining room table and couch! Which would have been especially awesome if Spence and I weren’t up half the night with sour stomachs, coughing and sweating to death. I was actually pretty worried he’d come down with a legit illness — and wasn’t sure how we were going to take care of him on a bumpy bus as we made our way across Northern California, some 3,000 miles from home.

That’s the part of vacation you don’t see in those adorable trip wrap-up posts, eh?


Mountains


He felt much better in the morning, thankfully — and so did I. Whatever had befallen us in Lake Tahoe eased as we got back to flatter land. And by the time we made it to Yosemite National Park, I actually felt fine . . . despite the fact that we were still way up higher than the swamplands I’m used to in Maryland.

Guess we were just super excited to see some waterfalls.

Ooh, waterfalls . . .


Yosemite Falls


17 thoughts on “Tahoe dreaming”

  2. I’m glad you are ok. I was involved in a car accident once and it really stays with you for awhile. I love that Lake Tahoe is your happy place. I have always wanted to go there–your pictures are gorgeous! My happy place is Hawaii and I “return” there often, especially during these cold winter months.

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  4. I want to go with you! I had to check and see if I’ve ever been anywhere with that high an elevation and I have and it didn’t bother me. We lived in France at the time, though, and I’m not sure what type of elevation we were coming from.

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  5. Ooooh your pictures make me so nostalgic! My husband and I went there for the first week of our honeymoon in 2007. It was fantastic…so beautiful, and we went in Sept which is not summer tourist season OR winter tourist season, so it was blissfully quiet. I can’t wait to go back one day. Until then I will just keep looking at your pictures. 🙂 I am glad you are OK–I’ve been in a few accidents and even when minor, they do rattle you mentally and physically.

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  7. That’s my happy place too…so I love that you love it! It’s one of the few places that my family seems to be able to really relax. Still, I hope that as time passes, the post-crash stress fades. It’s crazy how much an experience like that can affect you. Not fun.

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  8. Your photos are incredible! They make me want to go to Tahoe, like, yesterday, and I say that as someone who already lives in the California mountains (near Mt. Shasta, which is a little different, but still). So glad you were able to get away for some R&R after your accident!

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  10. Oh man, traffic accidents totally suck. I had one not long ago, and it was so small it was stupid and even more maddening because I still had to deal with the insurance and the idiot that hit me. So yes vacation. We are going to Key Largo for spring break (early April) and it can’t come soon enough.

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  12. You definitely need a vacation! I remember wedding planning in 2009 and it is stressful! Add into that a full-time job and house hunting, then moving a couple weeks before the wedding, ugh! I don’t think I ever needed a vacation more! I’m glad you were ok after your accident too.

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  16. With two months left to my wedding, I cannot stress enough the importance of taking YOU individual time and/or YOU AND FIANCE TIME to break up the inevitable stresses of wedding planning. I’m proud to say that the past few weeks have finally been my breaking point stress wise … and we are doing an overnight in Boston this coming weekend to unwind a bit. Got a great deal on a nice hotel to boot!

    As for car accidents- my fiance and I had a nasty one two Novembers ago- it definitely sticks with you for a while!

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  17. Growing up in Northern California, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite are two of my most favorite places. Love your photos. I’m glad you’re ok after your accident. My car slid on the ice several weeks ago and I went up a curb between a tree and a post. Bent the wheel, but didn’t hit either one. It was scary not being able to stop and I hadn’t even been going fast.

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