It was with a bit of sadness that we wrapped up the USA leg of our trip with a week in Lake Tahoe before flying from San Francisco to begin our European adventures in London.
The American South West is really something else! The remarkable concentration of breath-taking sites and great camping, hiking and biking make it a true paradise for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. Our month here was about the right length of time to get a taste of what the region holds and we’ve already marked it as the one place of our trip to date where we must return to explore further – next time with mountain bikes for the whole family.
We all loved Lake Tahoe. With crisp cloudless blue skies, beautiful scenery, sandy beaches, kayaking, rafting and great biking, there was a lot to love. The kids were right at home at Kiley’s cabin and spent hours at a time just hanging out and playing in the woods around the cabin. Sadly though, we had a flight to catch and left to spend a lovely night just south of San Francisco with Jeff and Gina, who we had met in Nicaragua, before spending our last afternoon with Michael and Kiley on our way to the airport.
Our time in London was all about catching up with friends and family, and checking out the incredible – and free(!!) – museums around the city. Favourites for the kids were the mummies at the British Museum and the dinosaurs at the Natural History Museum. 10 days passed in a flash, and shortly we’ll be at our ‘second home’, staying with Iris’s parents in Austria…
The mountain biking in Mammoth Mountain is rather good… 10 minutes uphill (via Gondola) and seemingly endless sweet singletrack back down. This was easily the mountain biking highlight of the trip so far.
It was only by serendipity that I got up there at all as we were only intending to stop over to break up the trip from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe. Our cheap Walmart tent was kaput, so we stayed at a Priceline mystery hotel, which happened to be right outside where the Gondola left from. A bit of googling uncovered that it just happened to be one of the best places in California to bike. With stunning views and technical trails at the top and with flowing trails through pine forests towards the bottom, it would certainly be hard to beat!
In Tahoe we stayed at this cabin which was won by Kiley’s grandmother in a poker game in the sixties…
But of course, Kiley’s cabin would not be complete without a Kiley.
…who brought some gifts from NZ. Thanks Heidi, Freddie and Peter!
…and Michael – Liam absolutely loved these
The kids put on a number of acrobatic, dance and theatrical shows for the grown ups
Kayaking around the beautiful Emerald Bay
…to Fannette Island
Cruising down the Truckee River at the North of the lake
The mountain biking around Tahoe is pretty well renowned. It certainly didn’t disappoint on the couple of excursions to parts of the Rim Trail, as well as the famous Flume Trail below:
With white sandy beaches, it felt like the seaside
After Tahoe, we stopped off overnight near San Francisco for fondu at ‘Finca de Jeff and Gina.’
As we approached San Francisco, it’s famous mist rolled in and the temperature dipped about 10 degrees. We caught up with Michael and Kiley for final farewells before leaving for London.
Yes, definitely London
and we made it out to Surrey a couple of times to catch up with my cousin Amanda and her family.
Back in London, this unruly mob were causing trouble in Battersea Park
Followed by fun at the fountains with Clemmy & Rufus
‘I don’t mean to alarm you Liam, but…’
Catching up with Abi and Suzette at Southbank
Hanging with Clemmy and Rufus
The family London shot…
Breakfast with George and Clara at Emma’s house, where we were lucky enough to be guests.
Emma and Iris at Kew Gardens
Cacti in Kew Gardens
Looking out for the giant bunny!
