Breeze and Marley’s blog continues with the 4th leg of their circumnavigation around Lake Tahoe as this time they crash a wedding:
LEG 4: Zephyr Cove to Eldorado Beach
Well, you can check “Wedding Crashers” off the Breeze and Marley summer bucket list of embarrassing situations to encounter. During the 4th leg of our trip we paddled from Zephyr Cove to Eldorado Beach and Captain Moo was not acting like herself. We were accompanied by the fearless First Mate Phill on my spare Lakeshore board (the original Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride), which may have caused the Captain to feel a little out of sorts. Whatever it was, my SUP dog did not want anything to do with paddling on this particular day, and jumped overboard every chance she got. We spent more time paddling after Marley than we did making any sort of progress on our journey, but in the end we finished the day with 6.5 miles under our belts and another colorful story to tell.
As we paddled out of crowded Zephyr Cove, we stopped to take a photo in front of the MS Dixie. This was Marley’s first DOB (Dog Over Board) attempt of the trip and it resulted in an embarrassing scramble to keep my bathing suit top on while retrieving board, dog, 
GoPro and paddle in front of a beach full of gawking tourists. Once back on the board, it didn’t take more than a few minutes before we went through it all again… And then again, and again, each time with more and more difficulty getting Marley back on the board. 
By the time we passed Round Hill and approached Nevada Beach, Marley was just swimming alongside us, refusing to have any part in our normal routine. We figured maybe she needed a bathroom break, so we pulled our boards onto the small stretch of the beach that is dog friendly. We hung out, had a snack, and waited for Marley to seem like herself again. Being mid-afternoon, the wind started to pick up, so after about 30 minutes we decided to keep on moving down the lakeshore.
After our little break, I thought Captain Moo would have her head back in the game, but unfortunately I was mistaken. As we paddled past Edgewood Golf Course, my “loyal” Golden Retriever went AWOL. She leapt off the board and headed straight to shore. I saw Marley make eye contact with some golfers on the green and I knew I was in trouble. 
As we paddled along the shore to try to catch up with her, she (thankfully) bypassed the golfers. Just when I thought her charade was over, I looked where she was headed and realized Marley was about to interrupt far worse than an afternoon golf game.
In the distance, on the beautifully manicured lawn of the Edgewood Club House, was the bridal party of a black tie, formal wedding. Marley took off in that direction, trotting along the beach with her wet tail flapping in the wind. When I finally caught up to her, I hopped off my board and hurried onto the beach. The guests of the wedding started to notice the mayhem that was ensuing. They pointed and stared as I, some crazy blonde girl in a bikini, tried to wrangle my ruthless animal. As I approached Marley, I felt like that frustrated mother in the grocery store with cranky kids in her cart—the mother that is reprimanding them under her breath in her scary mom voice in order to regain some sort of control without making a total scene. Marley and I came to a standoff. She didn’t move, I didn’t move, and she gave me this look that could only be described as the look a 13 year old gives her mother that results in her getting her mouth washed out with soap. Just as she turned to snub me and run away, I grabbed her. 
At this point, we had completely interrupted the bridal party’s group photos, and the tuxedo-clad groomsmen stood laughing and taking photos of us with their phones. Mortified, I scurried back into the water, dragging the fugitive behind me. After getting back on the board, and with the wedding party behind us, I turned and raised my paddle in some sort of “sorry I crashed your wedding” salute. It’s the only wedding I’ve been to where I didn’t have to buy a present, and I consider that a minor victory.
With enough excitement under her collar for one day, Marley seemed to relax the rest of our paddle. The wind picked up even more and made for a tiring last stretch, but we persevered. We crossed into California, entering much shallower waters with lots of boats, docks, and people. What a circus we were– wet dog, disheveled Breeze, and then First Mate Phill, cool as a cucumber in his big silly shade hat. I don’t even know how long it took us to paddle those 6.5 miles, but when we got to Eldorado beach we were all pretty ready for a beer…or 5, and First Mate Phill was definitely ready for a crew change.
About Breeze Turner
Breeze is a transplant from Anguilla, a little British island in the Northeastern Caribbean. She spent most of her childhood on the water, snorkeling, surfing, waterskiing, and exploring, until moving to the US for school. In 2010, Breeze moved to Reno, where she works as a Realtor.
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