Summer Vacation, part 1

I had the honor of being a bridesmaid in my brother-in-law's wedding on June 12th in Lake Tahoe. This wonderful event kicked off a twelve day vacation for Michael and me. We flew in to Reno, NV on Thursday, June 10th and rented a car to drive to Tahoe. It was our first time visiting this picturesque vacation town in Northern California. I've always loved hanging out with my in-laws, and I feel pretty close to the bride and her family too. She was a bridesmaid in my wedding last year. The weather was colder than I expected, so I ended up buying a cheap sweatshirt to use for the few days we were there. Saturday morning was bright and beautiful for the wedding, and when the wind wasn't blowing, it was quite nice. The photo shoot was fairly windy, however, and I was shivering and covered with goosebumps. The ceremony was beautiful though, and the reception was inside (delicious food too!).

beautiful view of the snow-capped mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe

photo by Andrew Chu

photo by James Glover

We stayed in great rental condos right on the beach, and the whole weekend was spent with family. We even had a make-shift church service led by the officiating pastor on Sunday morning. We also set the standard for the whole vacation of eating well and eating a lot. Fortunately I got in three decent runs while we were there.

We left on Sunday afternoon to drive to San Francisco. We only stayed a night there because we left from the airport in the morning for Hong Kong. With only a brief stay, we still managed to take in some sights. Michael's uncle lives in San Francisco, and he took us to Old Mandarin Islamic restaurant. We followed that with a walk along the beach and a hike through a beautiful wooded area with views of the the Golden Gate bridge.

We also made it over to Fisherman's Wharf where we had dessert at Hard Rock Cafe. It was my first time visiting San Francisco, and even though I know I only skimmed the surface of what there is to do there, I'm glad we made the most of our time.