Photo Op! Emerald Bay by Jannine Gallant

I've had a busy weekend and was scrambling to put together my blog post by Sunday night. On Friday, my youngest, Kristen (a high school junior) and I spent the day driving all over Northern California to look at colleges. Okay, maybe it just seemed like all over... We checked out Sonoma State in the wine country then stopped at UC Davis (my alma mater) on the way home. Both beautiful schools, but it was a looooong day. On Saturday, a group of Austrian exchange students arrived for a week long stay in Tahoe. We're keeping two girls for the whole week but had two extras Saturday night since their host family wasn't home from spring break yet. This is the second time we've hosted Austrian students, and it's always fun for our kids to learn a little about a different culture.

Sunday morning a group of us took some of the kids down to Emerald Bay for a hike. Emerald Bay is one of the most photographed spots in America. A real "gem" on the south-west corner of Lake Tahoe. I've used the Tahoe area as a setting for a few of my books and mentioned Emerald Bay in a couple of them. Take a look at the photos, and you be the judge. When it comes to sheer natural beauty, our little corner of the world is hard to beat!

Austrian exchange students with a few of our kids. Kristen is front row in the blue windbreaker.

Emerald Bay from the top of the hike down. Fannette Island is in the middle.

Beach at Emerald Bay.

A goose who thought I was going to feed him. Didn't happen!

Vikingsholm, a small Scandinavian castle built just behind the beach at Emerald Bay in 1929.

Cascade Creek feeds into the lake at Emerald Bay.

I hope my pictures have brightened your Monday morning! If you want to "experience" Lake Tahoe in my books, check out Every Move She Makes and Road To Serendipity. Or visit my Website for info on all my books. Have a great week!