Happy Cabin is a dream come true for our family, a second home at Lake Tahoe where we can make memories with our girls, Anaya (10) and Maris (3), friends, family and our black lab Oliver (8).  We live in a beautiful place.  Santa Cruz is a travel destination in and of itself, with gorgeous beaches, redwood forests, and the iconic Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  We often staycation, because we can't think of a good reason to go anywhere else.  It takes a special place to lure us away from the Monterey Bay.  Happy Cabin is that place.

My husband, Eben, grew up spending time with his Grandpa Wilmot at Wolf Lake in the Catskills.  Wilmot and Edith had a small cabin with a dock and a blueberry patch right on the lake.  Eben and his brother learned how to fish, paddle a canoe, and launch a kayak.  The family pictures are replete with idyllic summer scenes, including Eben’s parents’ festive wedding at the lake, pictures of Eben’s mom lounging in the sun, pregnant with one or the other of the boys, and then finally pictures of those summers with the grandparents, action photos full of joy. 

We dreamed of having that kind of place for our family, a cabin away from it all to spend quality time and get back to nature, a happy place to retreat from the bustle of our everyday lives.  We looked to the nearby mountains for the right kind of place, considering Big Sur, the Russian River, Pinecrest, Arnold and Bear Valley.  We finally decided on Lake Tahoe because it has a good mix of summer and winter culture, along with a special something we couldn't quite put our finger on, something that makes us want to stay.     

Our family is relatively new to Lake Tahoe life.  My husband and I enjoyed the occasional ski or snowboarding trip growing up, but nothing regular, just enough to leave us wanting more.  Our girls have only been to Lake Tahoe a few times, mostly for winter snow trips.  Anaya and I are just learning how to snowboard.   Maris has only been in the snow twice.  We are still getting a feel for the place.  We are Lake Tahoe "beginners." 

This blog gives me an excuse to slow down and remember the journey. I hope it will also become a place for our guests to learn more about Happy Cabin and its charms.  We want to spend as much time at the cabin as we can, but we don't want it to stand empty when we're not there.  Instead, we hope to share Happy Cabin with friends, family and like-minded visitors looking for a special place to make their own Lake Tahoe memories. 

To visit Happy Cabin during your trip to North Lake Tahoe / Tahoe Vista / Kings Beach, click here.