Little Lake House

Let me start by saying that Tom and I are so incredibly lucky to be in the position to buy a vacation home.  We feel very fortunate and appreciate every minute of this exciting new chapter.  When it was clear that buying a place was going to be a reality, the question then became...where?  I wanted to be at the coast.  The ocean has always been part of my life and I love a day at the beach.  Tom wanted to be in the mountains.  He loves skiing and snow, and so do the kids. But a main criteria was that it needed to be a rental property when we aren't using it.  More and more, popular vacation destinations are putting restrictions on short term rentals.  

We looked at a cute place on the beach in Watsonville, but it was too little.  We looked at some places in the Tahoe area, but they were too run-down or too close to the highway.  We weren't trying to be picky; we just knew that if we were going to do this, it had to be the right place.  Also, we needed something that satisfied my need for a beach with Tom's desire to be in the mountains.  The solution...Donner Lake.  Donner Lake is like the tiny, little brother to Lake Tahoe.  Our very first ski season, when our kids were wee tots, we rented a house near Donner Lake.   A house at Donner Lake meant skiing in the winter, and beach time in the summer.  And the town of Truckee, where Donner Lake is located, didn't have restrictions on short term rentals.  Our realtor wanted us to see a little remodeled cabin just a block from the lake.  He took us on a virtual tour over a video call as we peppered him with questions, and made him walk all over the house and yard multiple times.  The sellers were already taking offers and if we wanted to be considered, we had to put in an offer that same day.  Even though we didn't see the house in person, it felt right, so Tom scrambled and got everything together so we could put in an offer.  When we found out our offer was accepted, it was an equal mix of excitement and panic for me.  What if we hated it?  What if I didn't want to go up there as much as everyone else but felt I had to because we have this place?  Little did I know that was just the beginning of the roller coaster.  Between having our offer accepted in late August and closing escrow in late September, we were thrown two major curveballs. First was the reality of fire insurance in an area that is at high risk during California's wildfire season. Once we figured out that we could manage it if the house was generating income from renters, the Town of Truckee called an emergency meeting to put a halt on issuing short term rental permits.  Eek!  We needed that permit to rent out the house and also use it ourselves during the winter.  Thankfully, our escrow closed and our application was submitted in the days before the meeting when the town council voted to freeze permits.  They honored all the applications submitted before that date and we were granted our permit.  Shew!  

All this drama happened before we had even seen the place!   We finally got a chance to go up in mid-October, right after Leo's birthday for Columbus Day weekend.  

Here it is!  Our little house by the lake.  It was a one room cabin built in the early 1950s.  In 2017, it was remodeled and two second-story bedrooms were added.  

It still looks like a cute little cabin from the front. 

This was the first time we saw it. 

It came with a canoe!  There are also a couple of kayaks.

But most exciting is the little cart we negotiated. 

The cart is a popular mode of transportation in the summertime for people to bring their toys down to the lake.  The lake is a stone's throw from the house, but we can best access it from the private beach club down the street a bit.  We aren't official members quite yet (they are slow to process our application), but we found a way to access it anyway.  

It's a really pretty spot. 

But let's be honest, the kids' favorite part is the cart.  It's been nicknamed the "Cool Rider" and the "GoGo Cart". 

 Here's Leo illegally driving it in the neighborhood. 

Our last day during that first visit, it snowed a bit.  Mousse was a bit unsure about it. 

During that first trip, we learned that the GoGo Cart could not be left outside through the winter.  Since the house doesn't have a garage, we needed to bring it home or put it in storage.  We opted to bring it home.  A big storm was expected to hit the area in October, so we scrambled to rent a trailer and get up there before the snow started falling.  We drove up Friday night with the empty trailer, loaded up the cart Saturday morning, and we were back on the road by mid-day Saturday right as the snow was starting to fall.  

It's not too fun to drive my car while towing this cargo, so we will try to figure out a different option in the future.  But for now, it is safely parked in our Sunnyvale garage. 

Tom and I were eager to get back up there.  We had a long to-do list to get the place ready for renters, but we also just wanted to enjoy the peace and beauty of the place.  The kids had the whole week off from school for Thanksgiving, so we headed up (with a very full car) on Sunday. 

I went down to the lake every day with the dog.  Monday and Tuesday it was just the two of us. Tuesday afternoon, my dear friend from grad school came by with her family.  They were in the area for the holiday week too, and we felt so fortunate that it worked out that we could see each other. 

On Wednesday, I made the kids come with me to try to capture the perfect Christmas card picture.  Here's an outtake. 

Serafina is a dancer anywhere and everywhere. 

Pre-Thanksgiving dinner lake visit. 

Mousse doesn't like getting in the ocean water, and he really hated the pool, but he's a fan of the lake.  Its calm water and gradual entry embolden him to explore it further than any other body of water. 

Yep, he's definitely a lake dog. 

The house came fully furnished with lots of throw pillows and wall art with corny sayings.  It also has a well-stocked kitchen, which came in handy for our Thanksgiving meal.  Serafina set the table and she did a lovely job. 

Here's part of our gorgeous spread. 

Friday was the best weather.  Unfortunately, Serafina was under the weather.  Leo and I headed into downtown Truckee for some shopping at the boutiques.  Of course, we had to have another wonderful lake visit with the dog. 

We drove home Saturday, and there was a bit of traffic.  Overall, it was a really nice visit.  The kids were a bit bored, but that's to be expected during the off-season before the ski resorts open.  This house is closest to Sugarbowl Resort, which is where my kids learned to ski all those years ago.  We still have some work to do before renters will use the house, so we'll go back up in December.  Our ski trips this winter will be planned around Serafina's dance schedule, but we'll get up there when we can.  A rental management company will handle the renting, cleaning and maintenance of the property when we aren't there. Hopefully it all goes smoothly.  I'll be looking forward to the summer months and hanging at the beach.