Vacations are Underrated!

Every year we come to Lake Tahoe during the summer…. it is honestly a little slice of heaven on earth.  The temperature is particularly inviting because we abide in Phoenix…. the Valley of the Sun.  I happened upon the weather at home today and it was a blistering 114.  It was a balmy 76 here at the lake… with a light breeze… and slightly cloudy skies that randomly hid the sun from view. It is sublime.

As a homeschool mom, you would assume that my life is somewhat lackadaisical with relaxed schedules and leisure time at hand.  Not so.  Imagine the pressure of your four children’s education resting solely on your shoulders.  It’s A LOT to think about…. and more so than not, why I completely appreciate our time in Tahoe.  I do not bring one iota of school with us. OK, that was a lie.  I did bring two audio books from our literature list next year.  OK, AND a small reader.  After being away from our home for approximately 35 minutes, I realized that the audio books were useless because we no longer possess a functioning portable CD player.  My driving shift started at 2:30 a.m. ….. when I was not afforded the luxury of using the car stereo for my American History literature choices…. simply because four other people wanted to sleep at 2:30 am.  How selfish.

The 1850s novel I’m reading purely for pleasure has been cracked open but once during the past three days on the lake.  How have I been busily spending my time, you ask? Relaxed in the sand I stared in a catatonic state at the crystal blue water for several hours.  Perched on the couch I gazed at the aqueous goodness beyond the patio doors for long periods of time.  Parked at the kitchen table I played game after game after game after game. Today we all walked into town.  TWO whole miles one way… uphill… in the snow (well, it would be snowing in January, but we are here in June.)

Somehow the cerulean water calms my spirit.  Surprisingly, breathing is easier up at 7,500 feet due to lack of stress.  This scenery allows me to collect myself and ease off of the pressures of home.  Vacations are WAY underrated in my humble opinion.

Damping… Camping in the Rain

 

I made that up myself.  The creativity must stem from four straight days of fresh air stimulation.  A friend called on Tuesday and asked if we wanted to go camping for the rest of the week at a lake that is only 22 miles from our house.   “YES!”  And thus brings you up to date on our week right until last night when we dumped loads and loads of campfire-smelling articles into piles in our garage.  They are still there.

Funny thing was, I checked the weather report for the week on Wednesday morning AFTER I had shopped and packed and hauled and directed.  It reported “Major thunderstorm warning!  Avoid outdoor activity!  Stay indoors!  Unplug electrical appliances!”  Does anyone really do that?

So off we went to the lake.  All seems pretty normal, well, for homeschoolers who spontaneously school at unpredictable locations.  Why not the lake?  I read somewhere that camping is nature’s way of promoting the hotel industry.  HA!  That’s true for my mother, my sister, my sister-in-law and many others, but not for me.  Camping promotes wonder and awe at God’s creation…… wonder in the dark inside a flimsy nylon tent that is your only protection from those strange noises…. and awe that Lewis and Clark did this for a living (minus the nylon tent)!  I truly feel at home in front of the Coleman stove with recently caught and be-headed fish in the cast iron frying pan.  My kids have never caught fish while camping.  So I didn’t leave openings in the meal plan for freshly drawn bass.  After my sons snagged seven scaly specimens the first day, I casually mentioned to my friend that I had never cleaned fish or lit a Coleman propane stove before.  Proudly, I can check those off my bucket list now.

The thunderstorms didn’t materialize… however it did rain three times for 27 seconds each time.  We had a daily wind gust that blew anything and everything not tied down toward the lake.  The clouds made me wish, more than once, that I had a folded copy of the Cloud Formations poster that my husband memorized in flight school.  Cumulonimbus…. uh….. stratus….. cirrus…..

Wildflowers bring joy to my heart.  God made them especially for nature lovers like me.  Pink, yellow, purple, orange… LOVE IT!

This was my first vacation ever where I actually read through every book and magazine I brought and still had a day and a half left over.  I didn’t stress about it…. I just stared at the lake.  The kids stayed busy kayaking, swimming, fishing, riding their bikes, gathering wood, building fires, playing games and laughing.  I never once heard, “Mom, there’s nothing to do!”  What an awesome week!

Heaven on Earth……… well, close.

We are going on our annual trek to Lake Tahoe today.  I L-O-V-E  Lake Tahoe.  The smell of the pine trees.  The bright purple lupine swaying in the wind next to the crystal clear blue water.  The gigantic pine cones.  The paths of crunchy pine needles.  The brilliant blue jays.  The slow pace.  The laugh-til-you-hafta-run-to-the-bathroom games with our dear friends.  This year marks 30 years that we’ve been friends.  We’re officially old now.

Packing for Tahoe is like packing for no other destination on earth.  We pile the van with games, snack food, bathing suits, bikes, sunscreen, craft supplies, pellet guns, beach towels, DVDs, the dog and Christmas presents in July.  See.  Like no other.  Nothing comes in the van that involves business, school, church ministries (OK, the Bibles come) or thinking.  Nothing.  Only pleasure reading books too.  I’m taking The Shack.  I’ll give a book report later on.

It is pure relaxation for seven whole days.  No alarm clock.  No agenda.  No bedtime.  No worries…. unless Trixie gets out again.  Or Leonard Nimoy’s dog digs a hole under the fence again.

So don’t worry about us this next week.  We’ll be just fine.  I’m planning a photo essay for y’all of our daily sites and sounds.  Ooooooh, tantilizing, I know.  Hit the snooze button a few times for me this week, ok?

P.S.  New bags:  www.bagsforzaza.blogspot.com