Sailing on Lake Tahoe

My coworker Nancy and her husband Rich have a sailboat and a slip in the Tahoe Keys.  Nancy's been talking about taking Gil and I out all summer.  Finally, the weekend they planned to haul the boat out for the winter, and Nancy's birthday, we headed up for a day of sailing.

The weather was beautiful.  Lake Tahoe is massive and a stunning place.

Gil coming up out of the cabin.

 Gil and I with with Nancy.

 We sailed into Emerald Bay and docked.  Nancy wanted us to take the tour of Vikingsholm, a historic house on the shores of the bay.  We bought our tour tickets and wandered around the visitor center.  We still had some time before the tour so we headed up the trail to this beautiful cascade.

One thing I really enjoyed about the tour of Vikingsholm was the ability to wander around the house and grounds as we pleased.  We had a time constraint and there were barriers preventing us from going into certain rooms, but after a brief intro from our guide, the time and house were ours.  It is an interesting amalgamation of Scandinavian architecture.

 We got back to the boat and had lunch.  Then we hoisted the sails and sailed out of Emerald Bay.  I learned the finer points of tacking, or how you move forward when you are sailing into the wind.

 Rich coaching Gil on the tiller, wind direction, lines, and sails.  Gil, talented at everything he tries, sailed the boat out of the bay and onto the lake.

 My handsome and talented husband.

 I took a turn at the tiller.

We got back to to the slip, docked the boat, then had some pie to celebrate Nancy's birthday.  We all went out for pizza and enjoyed each others company.

A big
THANK YOU
to Rich and Nancy for a truly spectacular day!