A wise Lake Tahoe resident once told me, “People come to Tahoe for the winters but stay for the summers.”

As you can see from my adventures, Tahoe has always been a winter and spring thing, not summer. I was finally able to check out what the summer scene is all about.

Even though it was weird to see the mountains without any snow, the scenery was incredible. The slopes were brown with patches of grass, and way up at the top you could still see some snow that refused to melt, despite the 80-degree weather down below. The air was sweet and the town was bustling with summer travelers who were there to relax, hang by the water, BBQ, drink, and eat.

There’s so much to do, I wished I could’ve stayed longer, but this is a recap of what went down over our two-day excursion to my happy place. We stayed at the Hardrock Hotel thanks to some CSR points.

Hanging by the lake

The weather was perfect for hanging out at the “beach” all day. Even though, technically, it’s a lake. I didn’t realize there were so many different beaches all around the lake, and depending on where you go, you’ll have to pay to get in the parking lot, or the beach itself. It’s around $8-10.

The first beach we went to Round Hills Pines Beach Resort. There are golf carts driven by workers there to take you from the parking lot to the beach. So, we hopped on and headed down.

I realized we came grossly unprepared for the day. I wished we had a cooler, umbrella, and chairs… which seemed to be the standard for beachgoers at Tahoe (or anywhere else??).

At the beach, you can kayak or rent a paddleboard for about $25-30 per hour. The water was clean but really cold. I think I read that it was in the 50s. COLD!

Even though I sat in the shade, the sliver of my shoulder that was exposed got burned. Yikes.

Relaxing and my audiobook

Oddly, I didn’t feel like kayaking or paddleboarding. I laid down and listened to my favorite audiobook for that week, which was “I Am Brian Wilson.” Very fitting, considering I was at the beach. Plus, who doesn’t love the Beach Boys? It was so good I finished it in a few days.

Random side note: I met Brian Wilson’s daughter, Carnie Wilson. Twice. Once at an award show for work (she was so genuine and sweet) and another time when we were boarding a flight from Seattle back to L.A.

I had a layover that was delayed and we stood next to each other before boarding. I looked over at her and she smiled. I told her we had met before and she was ecstatic. I asked her why she was in Seattle and she told me she was there to console a friend whose mother had passed away. She struck me as down to earth and very nice.

Time to fully relax

I was never one to lay around on a beach, but for some reason, it was easy for me to do what everyone else was doing on the beach. Nothing. I took a quick nap, listened to my book, and watched the waves.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been so busy lately, but the time to lay down, enjoy the sun, and just be, was very much appreciated.

We also hung out by the pool at the hotel and walked over to the village to grab a bite to eat and have some wine at California Burger.

There was an artist sitting in a cubby hole above the bar and oil painting the lake. It was also shown on the TV above the bar. It was creative way to add some artsy flavor to a bar and oh so Bob Ross-y!

The rest of the village was set up to embrace the hot weather and long summer days. There was even a mini-golf putting area set up.

I wished I could’ve stayed longer. Like, the whole summer-longer. Maybe I’ll go back one more time before the summer ends, but we all know what I’m really waiting for…