Take a chance! Trust a coin :)

“If we take the back road, we’ll drive by Lake Tahoe,” I told my boyfriend as I pointed to the exit near Eugene, Oregon. “But we need to decide right now because that’s our exit!”

We were driving from Seattle to Yosemite National Park on what would be our wildest California road trip. We were four hours into our ten-day trip, with an open road and no real plan. It didn’t help that we were both very indecisive.

“Let’s flip a coin,” we agreed. “Heads says stay on I-5 and get to Yosemite faster. Tails says take the back roads.”

We flipped tails.

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I’ll be honest. I was not excited about California. Nothing about California has ever captured my attention. Not the heat, the droughts, and most certainly not the overcrowded cities. But I wanted to visit some of their most prized national parks, and so I dragged my feet as we packed our bags.

I guess the Universe also got a whiff of my unenthusiastic attitude and sent the same vibe right back at me…because everything started on the wrong foot.

When we tried to pick up our SUV rental, we were told we couldn’t rent it without a credit card. Seriously? I’ve rented SUVs from the same location, countless times, and without having to use a credit card, I thought to myself. I don’t even own a credit card.

We were stuck with a regular sedan. Our rental fiasco made us lose several hours of driving time, but eventually we accepted the fact that we’d probably have some uncomfortable nights sleeping in the car if it came down to it.

But, the road.

That feeling of uncertainty and the unknown brings a sort of ecstasy that makes it all worth it. Suddenly, all negativity dissolves with the wind, and the road heightens our sense of awareness as we find our way through the unfamiliar — like a new love.

…shut up and take my heart.

Our coin flip lead us into the night and into Lake Tahoe. The night was chilly and the roads were quiet. Neither one of us had ever visited before, and we had no idea what the sun would uncover the next morning. But not yet having found a place to rest our heads, we were already eager to wake up.

This is why we road-trip. No plans, no expectations…just a road full of possibilities. We took a chance and trusted a coin, as silly as it may sound. I regret nothing :) When was the last time you flipped a coin?

Love & Adventure,

Denise

PS: The following photos are mostly still-shots from our GoPro videos. I don’t own a water case for my DSLR, so I left it behind for the day. Hope you enjoy anyway :)

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LAKE TAHOE, CALIFORNIA/NEVADA

Driving into the night as we neared Lake Tahoe.

Sunsets from the road are some of my favorites.

We couldn’t find any available campsites near Lake Tahoe. It was also almost midnight when we arrived. Instead, we stayed in an overpriced motel, but at least we had good sleep and a shower.

The next morning was sunny, though chilly. I was also not excited about the crowds of tourists, but there were were, adding to the crowds ourselves…haha.

I had read that stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) was the best way to enjoy the lake. So being a SUP fanatic myself, I was stoked to start our morning with a paddle sesh!

I’ve been to many lakes — many of them with insane hues of blues and greens. But the color and clarity of this lake blew my mind!

I love, love, loooove SUPing! Have you ever tried it? (I wrote about this some years ago, blog post here for more inspiration and tips :))

He needed a bigger board…

 

Watch me go, bae…

Don’t be fooled, though. As sunny as it looked, this water was pretty chilly.

I discovered that one of my favorite colors is Lake Tahoe.

Every bod is a summer bod.

I’m dating a merman :)

We had way too much fun :-D

And I cannot wait to visit again…

Hang loose, always.

:)

I don’t remember what we were staring at…

Oh. I don’t know how to swim. So knowing that we could come across a lake during our road trip, I made sure to pack my own life-vest. Winning! :)

He’s my favorite animal…

Lake Tahoe was not originally a place I wanted to visit during our trip. But I’m happy the coin-flip brought us on this route.

Always laughing with this guy :)

“I wasn’t ready.”

And because Lake Tahoe was a small detour, we spent only a few hours here before jumping back on the road.

Stop by the blog later this week for the next stop — Elsewhere on a Different Galaxy (Mono Lake). And if you’d like to browse through some images from our entire road trip, search #WildestCAroadtrip on Instagram.

Thanks so much for reading <3

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Stay curious, wild hearts!

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