Lake Tahoe - Labor Day weekend

I've never been to Lake Tahoe, so Jeff suggested we drive up to visit his parents and relatives for Labor Day weekend. We rented a van and drove up Friday night. It was dark the whole way up, but we spent the rest of the long weekend looking at and photographing one breathtaking view after another.

The scenery in Tahoe is lush and the weather perfect. We couldn't help but exclaim how lucky we were because it was definitely a nice escape from L.A.'s heatwave. We took a gondola ride up Heavenly Resort (home to world-class skiing during wintertime), hiked down and saw mini-waterfalls and a view of Emerald Bay, and even drove to Reno (another place I haven't been to) to visit Jeff's brother's family. Sunday was more relaxed, with a drive to the lake's beach called Zephyr cove to swim the clear fresh water of the lake, lay out and people watch. It was sort of a call-back to my college spring break years. Tahoe also has about 5 major hotel/casinos, including the very first Harrah's. We planned to watch Labor Day fireworks Sunday night, but our group was running late and starving, so we opted for dinner at a restaurant at the Montbleu (formerly Caesar's Palace).

The ride home yesterday was long but easy - no traffic, and since we left during the day, we were able to take in the majestic scenery of the California Sierras. We even saw two rainbows side-by-side along highway 395. I plan to return to Tahoe during snowboarding season and fall in love with it all over again.

***All photos below were taken on my iPhone***