You know when you’re 100% sure about something and then you find out you’re completely wrong? Like my friend who was positive the song lyrics to Purple Haze were, ‘excuse me while I kiss this guy’ instead of ‘excuse me while I kiss the sky’ or the guy I worked with who didn’t know pickles were cucumbers…. (yeah, really.) Well, it happened to me this weekend and blew my mind!
For my entire life, my family has been going to South Lake Tahoe. Those familiar with South Lake will know there’s an area called “the Y.” I mean, it comes up a lot. My parents, grandparents, family, friends…everyone uses the Y as a reference point when giving directions or talking about that part of town.
We’re sitting around in Tahoe and I bring up a spot that I heard was opening down the road… By the YMCA. My mom looks at me like I’m crazy and asks me where there’s a YMCA. I’m like, the place we allllllways talk about. You know. The Y.
This is when she explains to me that the Y is not the YMCA that I’ve somehow created in my head for the last 30 years, it’s where highway 89 & 50 meet and form, you guessed it, a Y! Oh geeze, duh. Not sure how I’ve had that miscommunication for so long!
Anyway, in the spirit of learning something “new” about South Lake Tahoe this weekend, I decided to make a list of five other new (well, new to me) things in South Lake worth checking out.
1) Boutique hotels – South Lake Tahoe is spotted with run-down motor lodges, I’ve checked out a few lately that have been turned into rad boutique hotels. These three have been redesigned with contemporary decor, pet friendly rooms, and (my favorite) hip bars, what’s not to love?!
2) Beer! South Lake Brewing Co, Sidellis, and Lake Tahoe AleWorX have all opened fairly recently (all down toward the Y, by the way). I’m going to have to plan a beer crawl to find my favorite draft.
3) The top of heavenly Okay, okay, all activities can’t revolve around the bar. Heavenly is now offering ropes courses and zip line tours at the top of the mountain. I haven’t gone yet but want to check it out this summer, it looks like a blast!
4) Van Sickle Bi-State Park – While the trailhead here isn’t exactly new, it opened in 2011, I just did my first hike here. Choose your own adventure, there are options like taking an easy 30-minute hike up to a small waterfall with lake views or continuing on to where the trail links up with the Tahoe Rim Trail.
5) Sam’s Place/Wally’s Huddle –So not exactly new, I went to Sam’s Place for the first time maybe a decade ago (slightly before turning 21, shhh!) But the fuzzy memories here in my early 20’s are wiped away now with new owners, a remodel and a new name. I stopped in for a drink w/ friends at what is now Wally’s Huddle. Not Sam’s but it still has the quirky nuances that make a great neighborhood bar.