Monday, April 18, 2016

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!

15 comments:

Margo Hoornstra said...

Yep! Beautiful! Bet you had a great time.

Brenda Whiteside said...

Oh lovely! We hosted an Austrian youth hockey player about 30 years ago and we are still friends.

Jannine Gallant said...

Margo, it was a gorgeous day. I hadn't hiked down there in years. My bad!

Brenda, this is our second time hosting Austrian students. A school in Graz has an exchange program with us, and they come to Tahoe every other year.

Alicia Dean said...

Oh my gosh, breathtaking! Sounds like an amazing day. I would love to live in a beautiful area like that. (Sorry, I love you, Oklahoma, but you just don't have some of the amazing scenery of other places). Yes, you brightened my Monday!

remullins said...

How pretty. Looks like you had a wonderful time.

Alison Henderson said...

Gorgeous photos! Your area couldn't possibly be more beautiful, and what a perfect day to you had to show it off to visitors!!

Anonymous said...

Ohhh--my daughter and I visited Tahoe a couple of years back--had a lovely time and, as you say, terribly beautiful. Did those Austrians compare it to their Alpine lakes?

Jannine Gallant said...

Ally, I drove across Oklahoma once years ago. I just remember it being flat. LOL I'm glad I brightened your Monday.

Robin, we did have a great morning!

Jannine Gallant said...

Alison, the last few days have been just beautiful. But it is April. Snow in the forecast for later this week...

Andi, the Austrian kids thought it was beautiful, but they did feel the altitude hiking back up the trail. I guess Graz is down at a lower elevation, and Tahoe is at 6200 feet.

Diane Burton said...

Beautiful photos, Jannine. You really have had a busy weekend. Best wishes on the college hunt. How great to host the Austrian students.

Jannine Gallant said...

Thanks, Diane. I can't say I was sorry when Monday morning rolled around. LOL

Leah St. James said...

Well, I missed this yesterday, but you sure brightened my Tuesday morning! That must be so cool to host kids from another country. We've never done that as a family, but at my "day job" we have an exchange program with journalists from Ukraine, and it's been fascinating to learn about their country and culture on a more personal level.

Jannine Gallant said...

It's a great experience to learn more about life in other places, Leah. These kids are required to take German and English throughout their whole school career PLUS two more languages during junior high and high school. I guess the rest of the world isn't solely focused on math and science!

Rolynn Anderson said...

Lovely photos, much appreciated by your guests. You live/write in an extraordinary place, Jannine...great inspiration!

Jannine Gallant said...

Thanks, Rolynn!