The Tahoe Queen....

I know...it doesn't even look real...but trust me, it was truly that blue and that gorgeous at Lake Tahoe!  The weird thing was that the color of the water would change periodically....

It was just the craziest thing....it could be deep, deep blue and then an emerald green...and many other shades in between those two!  After doing some research, what I found out about the colors of Lake Tahoe are this....

"As light penetrates the Lake, water molecules absorb various colors. Fine particles and the exceptional clarity allow backscattering of the predominating light color toward the eye of an observer. The lake water appears blue as other colors in the light spectrum are absorbed at deeper depths and the predominant blue light is scattered back toward the observer’s eye. The center of the Lake can appear cobalt blue, as blue light is absorbed further, leaving visible violet light as the predominant light color. In shallow areas, the water can appear emerald or turquoise in color since green is the predominant light color at shallow depths. In addition, under the right conditions, the Lake surface can reflect the adjacent mountains and the color of the sky."

Well...there you have it!!  That explains why I kept oooo-ing and aaaah-ing at the many colors of this lake.  Another interesting fact is that the water is 99.994% pure, making it one of the purest lakes in the world (commercially distilled water is 99.998% pure). 

Our tour on The Tahoe Queen was scheduled to depart at 1:30, so we had some time to explore and shop first....

Wow...you just never know who you might run into while shopping at South Lake Tahoe!!  They told me to keep it hush-hush as they were "on a mission from God"!!  Shhhhh.....

Oh hey...are you hungry??  After shopping for 30 minutes (my max--not a shopper)...we were all starving!  Where else to go for great food and great brew??  MacDuffs Pub(lic) House!!  This a favorite of the locals...and for these visitors too!!

I cannot even lie about this....but this Reuben Sandwich was OMG OMG OMG good!!!  Jan kept laughing at me repeating that over and over after each bite....but O.M.G.!!

The boys had to get their picture taken as well....

 Yum!!

http://www.macduffspub.com/tahoe/index

(Just looking at the food on the menu made my mouth water...definitely need to go back to try the wood-fired pizza!!)

Oh yes...these were Terry's big shopping purchases...looking for security torques bits (tools for the Harley that he had forgotten to bring along on the trip)....and may I add here that these tools DID come in handy later on in the trip (...to be continued)!

And this was our vessel for fun and excitement for the afternoon!!

 The Tahoe Queen is a 312-passenger authentic Mississippi paddlewheel boat that cruises out several times daily for tours.  In the photo above I did a panorama picture and it shows the shore as we were leaving, with Randy and Terry at the far right.

There were many ships anchored not far from the shore.  Apparently you can spend the night on the water during the summer and enjoy the beautiful sunset on the water...wow! There are many people during the summer who do that. Next time!! ;)

These separate wheels would guide the boat in the direction that it needed to go...very interesting.  It was strange to see them both going different directions at times.

A view from the front of the boat as we headed out....to the left is Terry, Randy and Jan.  The boat was loaded down with tourists.

Randy and Jan enjoying the cruise as we get into the deeper waters.

There's that water changing colors again....like the old "mood rings" from back in the 70's!  By the way....the surface of Lake Tahoe is at an elevation of 6,225 feet above historical sea level.  The surrounding mountain peaks vary from 9,000 to almost 11,000 feet!

These two pictures show Mt. Tallac, the guardian of the south shore of Lake Tahoe.  It is a 9,700 foot summit, with the east face bearing a shiny white cross...visible for all to admire.  God does such amazing artwork in nature!

I mean seriously...look at the color of the water....I do believe it reflects the color of the sky!!

It was a little bit cool on the tour with the breeze, but the sunshine would warm you up.  

Look at all of the different colors in the water in this photo!  Unbelievable...just splendid!

To be completely surrounded by mountains as you float on this ethereal-colored water was almost like being in a dream.  I may have written this before, but it needs to be reiterated....the pictures do NOT do justice to the beauty that surrounds you at Lake Tahoe.

Oh Vikingsholm...isn't that beautiful?  The history behind it makes it even more fascinating. It is called the "hidden castle" in Lake Tahoe's Emerald Bay.  The original owner was Lora J. Knight of Montecito, who bought 239 acres for $250,000 back in 1928.  The scenery reminded her of fjords she had visited in Norway, and so she proceeded in building her castle from materials acquired from all around Lake Tahoe--with the exception of the stained-glass windows from Sweden.  It took 200 workers one season to build from the designs of her nephew, a Swedish architect.  Lora enjoyed 15 summers there before she died in 1945.  The castle was sold several times, before finally being transferred to the state of California in 1953 for $125,000, half of its estimated value.

It is a little difficult to see, but Lora Knight also had a "teahouse" built on Fannette Island, which was a short distance from Vikingsholm (many visitors mistake it for Vikingsholm because of its castle-like appearance).  Several times a summer, tea was served in the small stone teahouse.  Servants would bring food and table settings and the guests would travel by boat to the island, then hike up the rocky trail to the summit.

After boating around Emerald Bay we began the journey back to the shore.  Majestic....stunning....resplendent.

It's not a complete ride on the Tahoe Queen without a selfie on the trip back....you can see the teahouse in the background!  Terry, Jan and Randy are behind me...and yes, the sun disappeared for a bit and it was down right chilly! Nothing that a cup of coffee couldn't help...maybe had a little added ingredient in it to warm us from the inside out!

Looking towards the back of the ship you could see the mountains and our United States flag....it was too cool to pass up.

Back on land...and walking back to the condo and saw this cool wood sculpture. So much to see everywhere you looked.  It was such a lovely day.

Back in our home-away-from-home with Randy, Jan and Terry on the deck before the sunset.

View of the sun going down from the deck of the condo....ahhhhh.

Sampling some more of that California wine that we purchased on the way up!!  Perfect end to an unbelievable day!!

While Terry and I were enjoying our California wine, Jan and Randy went for a walk down to the lake and shared these pictures with me....Lake Tahoe is just magnificent, exquisite and alluring!

How about you join us next time as we take a gondola ride into some heavenly scenery??  Until next time....