Tahoe - Round 2

I went back out to Tahoe last weekend (for my second weekend there in a row) -- 

but this time with some 4th of July flair!

(It's only July 3rd -- but I have too much red white and blue to wear all in one day)

As expected, the line at the airport was the longest one ever, but somehow I got swept in to the "Known Traveler" line and got around almost everyone.  I'm definitely going to have to look in to signing up for a Known Traveler Number for all the flights I have coming up...

The flights were quick and easy, and in no time at all I was back in Shannon's car in Reno!  This time, instead of heading over Mount Rose to get to Incline Village, we took the long way and went to Truckee first.

Much different landscape this way than heading over Mt. Rose!

Ryan needed a bathroom break, so we stopped at BoomTown - a little stop in the middle of nowhere with the most depressing casino known to man.

The reason we took the long way was because I wanted to check out the "Truckee Thursdays" event with all the local vendors!  Truckee is such a cute little town, and I was pretty excited to see what all this had to offer.

It wasn't a very "little" event, as the booths sprawled across the streets for blocks.  

And of course I wanted to look at every. single. thing. (Poor Ryan.)

We stopped at the Tahoe Mountain Club tent because they had a little wheel you could spin to win something.  We're all about free stuff, so we signed up and took our turns.  Shannon didn't win anything...but low and behold, I just happened to win THE GRAND PRIZE!  We were high fiving and taking pictures -- even though it was just a round of golf that I wasn't going to use.  Still exciting to win something big!

I don't think the guys working were quite as excited as I was.

Once we had our fill of Tahoe Made, Truckee Made, and whatever else Tahoe area related merchandise you can imagine, we decided to go to Kings Beach for the fireworks.

Northstar from the Trukcee Valley

 The sun was just setting as we got there...and I was H U N G R Y.  Once we eventually found parking, the plan was to get something semi-healthy at the new little delli/market there.  BUT, it was closed.  Second best option?  Chinese take-out.  From China Express.  

The cute little couple working was just the sweetest.  She promised us lots of food and quick, haha. 

(Ryan and I ordering with our big chair/backpacks on)

We asked her to take a picture of us while we waited (and her husband cooked for us in the back).  After a couple of tries and some laughs, she eventually got it.

It literally just took a few minutes for them to whip up waaaay too much Chinese food, which we quickly grabbed and made our way to the beach to find a good spot for firework viewing!

Now, I thought the food was going to be in those little white box things...but no, it was in these GIANT styrofoam containers big enough for an army.  We could have all three split one thing and still not eaten it all!

I swear every single residents of the greater Tahoe area - plus a few more thousand - made there way to Kings Beach for the show.  We scored a good spot right up front, practically in the water, which mean we had annoying little kids splashing around in front of us.

But all of that went away as soon as the show started.  Fireworks have to be in my top three favorite things in the world.  It just takes my breath away -- especially when they are over the most beautiful lake in the US with a mountain backdrop.

Of course I took approximately 600 pictures in about 15 minutes (only slightly exaggerating) and I have a hard time deleting fireworks pictures...so, here are just a few of the show.

As soon as the show ended (it wasn't as good as Incline's last year), we raced back to the car to try and beat the traffic.  It's a small, two-lane road from Kings Beach to Incline, and we were worried it was going to take forever if we didn't get moving.

Still in the 4th of July spirit from the show, Ryan decided to crank some patriotic tunes and wave the flag out the window, hahaha.  Still makes me laugh to look at these pictures -- what a goof!

Once we got to the condo, we had some prep work to do for the long day on the boat tomorrow.  So, yea, we cut up watermelon at 11pm.  (And by we, I mean Shannon did everything while I tried to keep my eyes open.)  Ryan apparently wasn't pleased with Shannon's work as she shredded the watermelon, so he took over himself to show her how it was done.

I think I just crashed after that.  I was super tired from getting up early and working all day...but also super excited for a day on the boat tomorrow for my favorite holiday!