We cruised around the north shore of Tahoe, down Lakeshore Blvd. in Incline Village, drooling over the homes on and near the lake. Then, up Country Club Blvd, a short detour over to College Ave. and up the Mt. Rose Hwy a bit to the vista point. From there, all of Lake Tahoe lay before us like a big, blue Diamond. It was truly MAGIC!

Then, back in the cars, and on to Carnelian Bay- stop for a great tour of the Sierra Boatworks Factory and storage facilities. It was amazing. They store over 600 boats there during the winter months-400 of them being the old wooden Chris Crafts. Karl, the manager, was a great tour guide, and he really knew his stuff!!

Next stop was Sunnyside Lodge for a great, casual lunch out on the deck, and again, it couldn't have been any better had we ordered it custom..Food was great, weather was warm with just a hint of cooling breeze, and company was the best ever!!!

Our last stop was at the newly opened Mariner's Museum located at the base of the Homewood Ski area. There were more old boats in there, including one from the 1800's that has been rescued from the bottom of Lake Tahoe, and lots of videos to watch, and a great wall of vintage outboard motors. Well worth the $5 entrance fee.

Finally, it was time to leave this magical fantasy world, and so we returned via the quiet, quaint Hwy. 40 route. If you haven't tried this to get up to the lake, it's a wonderful break from the screaming big rigs and deep ruts on Interstate 80, and with all of the construction delays this summer, you may even find you get to Tahoe quicker.

Landon plans to do another lake run next summer, (another route and more surprises) so keep it in mind when you're looking for a nice day trip.

Check out the photos from the trip

Story by Karen S. • Photos by Edie & Bud H.