The next morning we woke to a homemade breakfast of strawberry muffins, freshly baked bread and orange juice. This and the walls of books, and lush indoor plants were tipping Lake Tahoe hostel into best hostel ever territory, alas no delightful animal companion though. Devon, our fairy god-baker merrily chatted to us while we devoured muffin after muffin, there was love in every bite. “When I’m not in the mood for baking I can taste the difference”

We delved into discussions of sustainability and economical inequality and I love the way she described the situation. “I feel society is like a pot of water on the stove, it’s boiling now and any moment it could explode over the sides.” I think that tension is what people concerned with sustainability in whatever form feel on a daily basis, most people feel nothing.

Then another relaxing day of mostly solo people/dog watching on the beach while Dylan looked after himself reading a book on Samurai Gardening, or at least that is what the title lead me to believe. Young things cavorted through hula hoops, children played the age old game of bury your friend to his neck in sand and skim boarders glided and sometimes stacked (to everyone’s internal delight) in the lakeside pools.

We were there due to a offhand comment that could have passed me by, I’m glad it didn’t. One of the twins in New Mexico had said this would be my perfect town, when I had mentioned my dualing desire to live in the forest and by the beach. Water that meets the mountains, that is so clear you can see to the bottom. It was just how he mentioned and it had a new organic grocery, that became out go to in an instant for fresh juice and deliciously naughty treats like chocolate brownies and palm sized cookies.

Dylan kicked his legs on the pier while I strolled, drinking it in. Two kids were busy digging to china, so proud of their 2 hour deep hole they demanded their mother take a photo, she lacking the imagination of youth she refused. Pine trees incongruously grew out of the sand, pinecones littered the beach and bobbed lazily at the shore. Dogs ruled the beach, more than one had a pinecones in the mouth to the delight to all passersby.

We returned to the hostel, Dylan exhausted, but I wasn’t ready to call it a night. I felt the call of the water again and for perhaps the first time in our trip I ventured out alone. I walked for hours, people watching. I was waiting for sunset, uncertain of staying, but I was glad I did. Oh the endless sky and the colours on the water. This was a magical place.