Lake Tahoe was the perfect place to spend time with my husband before he leaves on a four-month work trip. The lake is so tied to memory for me that visiting it is like coming home to see an old friend. Driving down into the mouth of the valley is like getting a warm hug, and seeing the first glimpse of the crystal blue water is a “welcome back.”
Growing up, my family traveled to the lake for summer vacations. The drives were longer and getting out of the car to stretch our legs and smell the clean mountain air was a magical gift. Days spent at the lake shore and biking through forested meadows and streams. Evenings at casino kids’ clubs while my parents gambled. Endless breakfast buffets.
As a teenager, I sometimes brought a friend along, and the goal was to meet cute boys. We arranged to meet up at the dock at night, to listen to The Cure and drink wine coolers… Feeling brave in the dark.
During my 20s, I made many trips to visit my old friend the lake. Days mostly laying on the beach, getting too much sun, inhaling Rum Runners and jumping into the icy water to cool off and clear my head. Floating on the surface of the lake, bobbing like a cork in that huge basin of water; I felt alive.
Then there were special moments we shared. I came up to see the lake with my first husband and parents to celebrate the news I was expecting my first son. We rode around the lake on a dinner cruise, buoyant with hope. Ten years ago, I married my husband on a yacht in the middle of the lake, the water calm, cornflower blue and full of promise. There were family vacations with my own kids, week-long stays and daytrips—paddle boards and jet skis—and always plenty to drink.
It is a place so tied to memory and celebration, which to me meant drinking, that I had to take some time away when I stopped. I couldn’t imagine myself spending time with my friend the lake and no Rum Runner to consume along with the view.
This was my first time back, and it felt like the right place to say goodbye. I’ve changed throughout my life, but the lake hasn’t. It will be here when my husband returns. True blue, constant and deep…the way a friend should be.
3 thoughts on “Tahoe Blue”