A Day On The Lake Wearing The Jewel Of The Sierras

A slow float around Emerald Bay completed with wakesurfing and, of course, Wet Woodies at Gar Woods.

“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains photographed upon its still surface, I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.” - Mark Twain

At around 6:30 am on Saturday morning, I was abruptly woken by the sound of my telephone buzzing on my nightstand.

My sleepy eyes slowly began to crack open to see who was calling at such an hour.

My brain began to power up, and everything began coming together.

The buzzing phone was summoned by my lovely girlfriend who was calling to see when I’d be by to pick her up… casually masking my panic, I let her know I'd be there in a cool 15.

This weekend lived in high anticipation because we were bound for Lake Tahoe, or, as my girlfriend likes to call it, the Jewel of The Sierras.

After a quick trip to Starbucks, we hit the road, knowing that we’d be on a boat soaking in the high Sierra sun and emerald blue waters of Lake Tahoe within a few short hours.

The trip from San Francisco to the crown jewel flew by, and by 11:00 am, we were happily sipping strawberry daiquiris on the back porch, the smell of pine and summer filling the air.

We sipped our decadent drinks and patiently waited for our good friend Sam, a Tahoe local (and damn-good writer), to give us the details for meeting him on his boat for the day.

Just as we gulped down the last few sips of daiquiri, I heard my phone ding. It was none other than my old pal Sam letting me know we were a go for a day on the lake!

Before we knew it, we were down at the dock, towels, beers, and snacks in hand, getting ready to head out on the lake for the day.

The journey began with a quick 30-minute ride to the lake's west shore, where the winds would be the calmest.

As we cut through the choppy waters, a sweater was a must for the windy ride.

The westerly wind made for more than a few exciting moments as the spray blew over the bow of the boat, soaking anyone unlucky enough to be in its war path.

The ride flew by, and before long, we were relaxing near Rubicon Point, enjoying some lunch, a few beers, and the famous emerald blue water of Lake Tahoe.

After lunch and a couple dips in the water, we decided to head a little further south to the fabled Emerald Bay.

It's hard to express the beauty of Emerald Bay in words. The deep blue/green color of Lake Tahoe is ever-present in the small oval inlet.

If the majesty of the lake wasn’t enough, at the end of the bay is a literal castle - Vikingsholm Castle, which was built-in 1929 by Mrs. Lora Josephine Knight as a summer home.

After a slow float around Emerald Bay, we began to make our way back up north.

By this time, it was nearly 5:00 pm, and the wind had died down significantly, meaning it was time to do some wakesurfing.

For those of you that don't know what wakesurfing is, you surf the wave created by the boat as it breaks through the water.

Naturally, I had to do it in a sweater.

Then with a wet sweater and terrible sunburn in hand, we set off for the journey home, arriving just as the sun was setting.

We waved goodbye to our trusty boat and made our way to Gar Woods, where we passed around a pitcher of Wet Woodies and laughed about the memories from the day.

If you believe that every good wardrobe starts with owning less and owning better, consider buying yourself an OLIVER CHARLES sweater.