By: Annie Phan
First, a collage of dear Kate Pearce, which I hope does an adequate job of conveying just how lovely this lady is.
Next, a brief overview of our rest day in South Lake Tahoe, as told from my perspective i.e. the only perspective that I'm able to tell things from.
Today, I...
… ate a gorgeous jalapeño-cheddar breakfast bagel with egg, bacon, avocado, and cream cheese, at Dragonfly Bagel Co. I am still thinking about it.
… went parasailing for the first time with An and Alex, on a whim. There were many other first time para-sailors on our boat, including a lady in her late 60s, and a young man on a quest to conquer his fear of heights. Parasailing is much less stressful than I expected it to be. Although at the end of our flight, the captain decided to drag us through the water, soaking Alex’s Banana Republic chinos.
… biked around all of South Lake Tahoe, basically. It’s very small and concentrated.
… tried to bike to the Upper Truckee Marsh beach. On the way there, a section of the path was flooded. There was a way around the flooded section, but instead I decided to roll my leggings up to my knees and wade through the muddy marsh water with my bike. I’ll admit it was kind of dumb, but now I have this "great story” about another “wild adventure.”
… weaved Biz (our car) through some firetrucks to get to the Zephyr Cove Stables. We went on an hour-long trail ride on horseback, which demanded no horse skills. Cowgirl, my horse, kept turning around and trying to chomp at An’s horse. We were stressed.
… celebrated Kate’s birthday! She turned 19 today, and we ate at Azul Latin Kitchen, where they brought us a Tres Leches cake with a candle stuck in it. Kate spent the morning going on a gorgeous hike with Bethany - I still don’t understand the appeal of hiking on rest days, but she seemed to enjoy it, so kudos to her.
We really took full advantage of our time in South Lake Tahoe. When it comes to unique opportunities, the attitude throughout the team this summer has been, “Yes, let’s do it!” - and I think we have a lot of crazy memories and experiences thanks to this open-mindedness and willingness to just “go for it,” as they say.
It’s been such a rich and rewarding adventure with this team, full of laughter, resilience, silliness, determination, and boundary-pushing in so many ways. I’ve learned so much about myself and my teammates, and there’s a lot to love.
My body’s telling me that I’m just about ready to quit, but I know once we get to San Francisco, I’ll be wishing that there was more land to the west for us to cross.