Yosemite 2.0

Well folks, I've been slacking on here haven't I? I've been a bit preoccupied... visitors, training, dieting, and well... ok I don't have a great excuse. Mostly I just didn't want to write another post about running and how dieting makes me so hungry sometimes I could punch through a wall like the hulk. So here we have a nice little post about Brian & Michelle, elephant seals and Yosemite!

I should say, I cherry picked a couple pictures from Michelle's album (pretty much all the pictures with actual people in them) so thanks for being such a great photographer Michelle! :)

We picked them up from the airport and went straight to Half Moon Bay for a little beach time and a brewery for which we had a Groupon. The weather has been ridiculously nice lately but the beach was still chilly - as all Northern California beaches are...

That did not stop this from happening:

 No pants! (Which in my head will always be said the way Fred says "No panties!" in Drop Dead Fred)

They were gallantly rescuing what turned out to be an empty suitcase from the ocean.

We all got a little sun and caught up while the boys dried off. The next day the real adventures began!

We made our way to Ano Nuevo beach to see the elephant seals - large males and little pups who were called weaners. Yes, there was no end to the stifled giggles over the number of times our guide talked about weaners and weaner pods.

The houses below were used for navigation but abandoned when they set up more advanced services that didn't require someone manning it at all hours. The houses are abandoned now and infested by sea lions. Our guide showed us a picture of the insides... it is unpleasant. But would be a great set for a horror movie - if you didn't have to wear hazmat suits to be there.

The first big male we saw is below. Let me just say, they did not move very much. The guide said physical activity in their body was something equivalent to running a marathon in a wet suit with a fur coat on top on a summer day. I would not want to move much either.

And the weaners! They were adorable. They also looked incapable of moving but just because they were so ridiculously fat. Honestly, it was like scene in A Christmas Story when Randy can't put his arms down.

Michelle took this one, I love it.

We watched this guy make his way in from the ocean and then make the exhausting trip up the beach.... only to cause a ruckus with some other males and then chase another female into the water for ages.

From there we made our way to Yosemite. Traffic was... not pleasant, but that's what we get for going through the east bay instead of around it. Oh did I mention we rented a car? You can imagine my surprise when Ed and Brian came home with this:

Ed swears he asked for a Corolla. Suuuuuuure he did...

Either way it made for a fun drive to the park. We stayed overnight in Mariposa, driving into the park the following morning. It was even better than I remembered, with all the waterfalls rushing and the Merced river going gangbusters.

Bridal Veil

The boys risking life and limb. You know, the usual.

The spray from Bridal Veil was crazy. My hair was soaked just from the few minutes of standing there at the base. It was pretty incredible.

Tunnel View lookout spot

We made our way over to the trail we took with Dad and Debbie before. The top of it was closed for the winter, (the scariest part) but that was alright. It made for a really beautiful hike and felt good to get out and get some exercise. 

We had a wonderful lunch at the base of El Capitan but didn't take any pictures.... oops! I guess we were a bit tired by that point.

Look at how teeeeeeny Brian looks in comparison to it all

This same coyote was there when we drove in. And even though I know it's a coyote, I like to think it's a 'toy dire wolf' :)

It was a really great visit. It's too quiet without them here! I'm so glad they could come out and that everything went so well.

Like I said I've been running... 7.45mi this past Monday and this Sunday will be my longest run to date at 8mi. I'm excited because apparently there is a dam and a big ole water reservoir I haven't seen yet. And based on the number of pictures I take, you can see I love running by the water. I feel a little bit less like I'm running through the desert, dying of thirst and exhaustion. I'm still only down about 12lbs... since the friends visit I kinda plateaued but I'm hoping I'll break through that this upcoming week. That's all I'll say about that!

It feels like summer is right around the corner here and I can't wait. We have a bunch of visits lined up including a trip to MD for my sister's baby shower! Yes, I'm going to be an aunt and I cannot wait. I know Omi is disappointed it's not twins but I'm a bit relieved. Now I can spoil that one little niece or nephew like crazy and not have to split the riches. :) Congratulations Ck!

"I'm headed out west with my headphones on"

Hoooo whirlwind weekend! Kicked it all off with Ed's birthday on Friday, the big 3-0. Cannot believe it... (Often I think about how in a few short months I will be 27, the same age my mom was when she had me - startling, to be sure) I jumped out of bed to get to work on my birthday morning surprise:

Breakfast pizza!!!! I knew when I found it here and here, that I just had to save the recipe for Ed's big day. He's pretty much in love with any kind of pizza so this was a winner. (Side note: Remember what I posted before about my horrific plating/making food look appetizing skills? Compare my photo to the photos of the other lovely pictures and it becomes all too clear exactly what I was talking about) Ed said he was ready to go back to bed after eating it :) Ed had to work most of the day, but around 3pm we took off for Yosemite.

It wasn't a short drive, but it sure was easy. We narrowly avoided rush hour, insert applicable Californians reference from SNL about driving in these parts, and made pretty good time.

Dad and Debbie knew this amazing hotel right on the river so we stayed there the first night. Grilled burgers and had celebratory cheesecake and champagne for Ed. Eating outside by the river was refreshing, even though four raccoons tried to come join the party, eventually herding us inside. Of course, as soon as we left they rolled around on the ground trying to be cute to get us to feed them. Little did they know we were all immune to this behavior because as we've learned from cats, they're reeeeal cute until they're jumping from the highest shelf right onto your face at 3am.

Saturday was our main event day, waking up early and heading straight into the park. Our first stop was the Tunnel View which was just stunning. It looks nothing like it does later in the day when the sun is full on and it's bright and too much in my opinion. In the morning, the sun comes through in shafts and falls on the cliffsides selectively, while the valley floor is still hazy and shadowed. The first thing I said was that it looked exactly like a Bob Ross painting. Ok maybe some of grander artist... damn, this is where that Art History class from UMCP would come in handy if I wasn't actively blocking out my UMCP memories at all times... shucks.

Next we headed over to Bridal Veil Falls... not much for falls, but just the size of everything is so unreal. Who needs waterfalls when you have massive towers of rock surrounding you completely. You feel like an ant! And for those of us with a touch of fear of heights, you feel pretty dizzy most of the time too.

Post falls, we made our way over to our big hike for the day, the trail up to Vernal Falls/Nevada Falls. Saw a really cool rock that had just cleaved right off... Side story, when I was a kid I used to have a recurring dream about a kindergarten class that was out at recess and there was a rock that looked like this one below - enormous - and that at one point a kid would hit it with a paper airplane. It would then come to life and slowly roll forward and crush all the children. I had that dream so many times... not sure I wanna know what it means!

The hike up was steep, but beautiful and shaded so even though you're working for it, it just feels so good to be out in the thick of it. We discussed bear safety - outrun at least one person in your group. Women's rights. Different kinds of hiking types - the slower 'pack mule' and the quick paced 'gazelle.' 

Then the hike sort of... changed. What was once a path through the woods turned a lot steeper, rockier and steppier...

We could see Vernal Falls ahead! But we could also see our doom one foot directly to our left. Dad started freezing up pretty quick, announcing to everyone repeatedly that this was VERY UNLIKABLE for him. My dad is not a fan of heights. :)

I myself started to freeze up at this picture above. I may not have a fear quite like my dads, but when I start thinking about it, I do not trust myself to be graceful and avoid accidentally tripping over the edge. Didn't help that we saw one dude taking a picture with his girlfriend and he literally stumbled in the direction of the edge saved by his girlfriend grabbing his shirt. So needless to say when we saw what the stairs looked like ahead, Dad and I said, yeah I think we're good here. Can you see where they lead? It's really difficult to see, but there are steps that continue past where the railing ends against the cliffside leading all the way up to:

Vernal Falls! The path would've taken us up the right hand side and up the the top of the falls. There's a railing up there on the right but it's too hard to make out.

Very slowly and with great care, we made it back down those steps. Many a person older than me offered me a hand as I slide down the steps on my butt and all fours. :) The rest of the hike back down was actually incredibly painful, whatever injury I had with my knee from moving back in August was re-aggravated by the steps and the steep descent. (I'm still laid up with an ace bandage, ice and Advil). Verdict: Still  so worth it.

We walked around to see Ahwahnee Hotel, which was stunning. Then for our picnic lunch we went out into this picturesque field. Surrounded by all the mountains and with the wind blowing through all the golden grass... I said I felt like I was Maximus in Gladiator!

This one above is hands down my favorite picture of the field. It's like a painting!

On Dad and Debbie's way out we stopped by this lookout, which I thought was perfect. It included all the things I love best about nature, the water, the green, the blue sky, the mountains and the fields... just all rolled up into one little place of perfection.

After Dad and Debbie headed out, we took their advice and drove up to Glacier Point. It was so worth it. Some of the scariest roads we've EVER been on. Sheer drop offs and teeny tiny roads that Dad agreed, are only appealing to drive on when you're in a SmartCar or a Mini. 

Look at all those teeny tiny cars in the parking lot!

You could see everything. 

It was a great place to end our adventure. Thanks Dad and Debbie for guiding us around and thank you for sticking with me through the long post! :)