My dear friends Bill and Julie Green have a primitive, but quaint two room cabin at Fallen Leaf Lake that has been in Bill's family for 4 generations. They have been kind enough to invite me there every summer for the past 14 years. It seems like all of the everyday stress falls away and the biggest decision to make is which flavor of beer to have at sunset. I always have great memorable times with friends who have turned into part of my family.
We get up in the morning make a pot of coffee and stay active until sunset. New trails to hike, mountain biking, water skiing, fast boats to drive, and this year we were the first to introduce stand up paddle boarding to the lake. The Uli boards are inflatable and make traveling so easy. Every day we would do an 8 mile paddle around the lake. On another day we went and paddled Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. The waters were the color of Tahitian blues!
Every adventurer has a few fears that he or she don't like to admit and one of mine is being afraid of bears. Year after year, I get teased and dared to sleep on one of the 3 porches outside. When I finally get the courage up, the bear horror stories start getting told. Once out on the porch tucked under my blankets with my bear away kit handy (a pot and lid), I do find it so beautiful gazing at a sky full of stars through the pine trees. Of course I wake up multiple times during the night listening for any strange rustles. I am relieved and proud when the sun rises realizing that I made it another night bear free.
On our last morning we had only been up for about half an hour and were meandering around the cabin sipping Mocha Java and packing when HE showed up. Bill was sitting on the porch when this cinnamon colored bear popped his head out of the bushes about 25 feet away from us. We all ran out to see him. His head popped up again and he was not fazed by 3 girls in their pj's starring back at him. I could only imagine him saying, "hey guys, got any more joe?".