The Ketch Versus the Vikings

So Hunter was treated to his first trip to Emerald Bay, and he got to experience the family favorite, Fresh Ketch. It is difficult to say which he preferred more.

The day was passed on a long hike, spent mostly watching Mija run around like a little puppy in the open space near the house. She was in and out of snow drifts, sniffing creek sides, generally running unhitched; a dog in her natural element is beautiful to watch. After a couple hour hike, in beautiful t-shirt weather, despite the snow on the ground, we made our way to dinner at the family favorite restaurant, The Fresh Ketch.

Much like his cousin Blake, Hunter really seemed to enjoy the party atmosphere. Though it was crowded, we seemed to just beat the after skiing dinner rush and got a fine table over-looking the lake. There was a live musician ably playing soft-rock cover-songs along with generally good food. The highlight, though, had to be how much Hunter lit up the place. Nothing lights up a room like a beautiful baby. He was smiling at everyone, drawing rave, unsolicited, comments from all around, including one ill-suited gentleman who issued numerous thumbs-ups, and was in a great mood despite his obvious lack of fashion sense. I won't get specific. Let's just say, if you are over, say 55, the tight UnderArmor shirt, mixed with tight jeans, snuggly belted, just under your rib cage, is not the best look.

Emerald Bay was at its glorious, picturesque best; the classic glimmering jewel of so many post-cards. There is the Vikingsholm Castle at the bottom, which houses neither vikings nor castles, but it is gorgeous nonetheless. It was a sunny, if windy, day and there was snow on the ground. However, there were a number of tourists around, as the pathway down from the parking lot was relatively easily navigated. Hunter was "iglooed", as one ogling tourist noticed, as if Hunter were the attraction, bundled in fleece, jackets, hats, hoods and dad's sweatshirt as he rested in the bjorn. Heather enjoyed the castle grounds before we made our way back up to the car for chow.

These are a couple of the little pleasures that make visiting lake Tahoe precious.