Bridalveil Falls, Yosemite

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Spring Break Beach Day

While my schedule has been much more forgiving this semester, I was still pretty excited to find Spring Break waiting patiently for me after my midterm projects were handed in. With everything happening around here, I'm happy to make this week a little less hectic and a little more about doing things I've been meaning to.

I had been planning to take a couple of day trips during this week while David is also off work. Yesterday, we decided to drive down Hwy. 1 and the Pacific Coast without any real destination in mind. Those, my friends, are my favorite trips.

The minute our car left San Francisco County, I felt lighter. The sweet smell of eucalyptus trees and salty air can clear a heavy head fast. On 1, there's a quiet, scenic beach roughly every 2 miles. Stopped at the Pescadero State Beach beyond Half Moon Bay to take some photographs and bask in the sun for awhile.









After leaving the beach, we came across the Point Pigeon Lighthouse, which was beautiful wrapped in the afternoon fog.

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In Search of Autumn (And Other Stories of Hope)

Autumn does not exist in California. Now, I must clarify before going forward that no seasons exist here; regardless of what the weather man suggests. It is, however, Autumn that leaves me longing to trade 70 and sunny for crisp, cool air, apple cider and changing colors. For piles of fallen leaves and Fall jackets; dewy morning grass that sticks to your shoes.

People who live here still act like it is "Autumn", they shop for pumpkins and decorate their stoops with Indian Corn. But they don't get it. They still complain when the temperature dips below 70 and the blue skies could be compromised.

In these weeks before Halloween, I miss Wisconsin. I miss the things I can't explain to anyone who hasn't been there. The sights, the scents, and the feeling that Autumn brings; the death of the year that will soon come to an end.

Today, Dave and I went out in search of some Autumn. I came back with a heightened appreciation for my home and my husband, a refreshed spirit, and maybe, just maybe, a more open mind on what "Fall" is, or what it can be.

On a whim I suggested we drive down Hwy 1. outside of San Francisco, toward Pacifica and Half Moon Bay. You'll remember that the BMPOAT was in Pacifica, and ever since I drove out there for the interview, I've been thinking I needed to take Dave for a drive along the coast there. Also, there's some giant redwoods on the path. We didn't see redwoods today, though. We parked just outside of Pacifica at a parking lot that lead to a few different trails going toward the hills on the opposite side of the ocean. The trail we chose went up the hill and paralell to the water.

After our little hike, we stopped at a roadside farm that had a pumpkin patch. Unfortunately, between the two of us, we had a $100 bill and a $1 bill - neither of which were correct for buying a pumpkin. We strolled a bit through the patch and then headed home, where we proceeded to catch up on this week's episode of the Office while burning my pumpkin and harvest candles, which I call my "Autumn Fireplace." Even though I'm feeling a little better about California in October, I'll still yearn.

David and I along the trail

These pumkins were silly. I've never seen them in gray. They were decidedly dreary and beautiful all at once.

At the top of the trail, looking out over the Pacific

Fall color wasn't prevalent, but here's a little taste of what it looks like in California:

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Seattle in 24 Hours

The fun part of our trip included of a couple friends, great seafood, and the discovery of what could quite possibly be the "most wonderful neighborhood in the world", where we wandered through the History House, found the Seattle Troll, and a wonderful craft/found fair.

The Fremont Troll

The Fremont Street Fair, held every Sunday


This statue of Lenin stands in the Fremont neighborhood. It was purchased and brought here simply because. It's quite odd.


The drive was 12 hrs each way. It's a lot, but honestly, the time away from the bay area with my husband was welcomed. We'd also never traveled through Northern California and Oregon before, so there was a lot to see. I actually can't wait to go again.


During our trip up, there were fires burning in the Mt. Shasta area. We'd never seen Mt. Shasta, so we didn't necessarily realize how different the terrain looked. Here's a shot of the Mt. on our trip to Seattle:


And on the way back:


I miss it already.

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Wilderness

Dave's parents left today after a great visit. We had lots of fun and were quite busy while they were here. Sunday, we drove up to Humbolt County in northern California, where the giant Coastal Redwoods grow, and there's more trees than there are people.

Hanging out with an 800 year old log!

Our quick visit up north was really eventful - we saw real wilderness, almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, and saw a 5,000 year old tree.

Honestly, being in the middle of nowhere was fantastic. There were points in the trip where my cell phone didn't have service. I can't remember the last time that happened. It was incredibly liberating to know that I couldn't be contacted by anyone. The air was cleansing.

Sunday we left Richmond early and drove the 5 hours to the Avenue of the Giants, which is a 30 mile stretch of thick redwoods. I had never seen large redwoods (they grow here, but don't get that big) and neither had David, so it was pretty spectacular. I won't go in to the major details, but we did all the Americana stuff you'd imagine goes along with giant trees.

Not knowing how extreme the terrain was, we journeyed to the coast, which was about 30 miles from our hotel at the end of the Avenue of the Giants in Fortuna, to visit Cape
Mendicino - the most western point in the continental United States. We ended up taking a trecherous drive through the King mountain range, through three tiny towns of 300 or less, and pleading for gas in the first California town ever drilled for oil (Petrolia). Any of the bitten down nails were worth the absolutely pristine, wilderness of the Lost Coast (near Cape Mendocino) - it is quite possibly the most beautiful and wonderful places I've been in my life. The rocky beach was covered in beautiful, colorful seashells and bits of crabs and lobsters left by passing sea birds. No trash, no people, no trace of humans...I cannot believe such a beautiful place exists that has not been exploited, especially in the country's largest state. The Lost Coast, in fact, is 80 miles of untouched coastal area - the mountains around it are so treacherous that no construction of roads has ever been possible, leaving it as the largest stretch of undeveloped coast in the country.

The Lost Coast, Humbolt County, California

I'd talk more about our mini vacation, but it's really difficult to put in to words how it went. Being in the wilderness was incredible, and spending time with family was great as well. I would recommend that everyone spends time in a place like that...where people are an afterthought.

We stayed in Northern California for just one day and night; Monday I took the day off from work so that we could take a long drive home and stop in Sonoma County for a few wine tastings. It was a beautiful day, and we had some great wine.

We're back home alone today. Just a week until we get ready for my parents to arrive for an entire week. We're thinking of driving down to Yosemite, and I hope that works out for us.

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Visits

Dave's parents just arrived, and we're getting ready for bed in the living room. It's odd to have family here, in our world...much has changed since they were here in 2006. They haven't even seen the blue couch! They've also just met Agatha and Suzanne. They are the first family to do so.

We're going up to Redwood National Park tomorrow for a short vacation. It's about 4.5 hours, but I expect it to be a beautiful drive. I've never seen large redwoods.

In other news, I haven't had much to write about lately, mostly because it's been busy here and I'm midway through some bigger changes, but not really in a position to write about them. I'm waiting on something fairly bit to happen at work, so if and when that becomes reality, I will share. Until then, I'm enjoying summer vacation from school and trying to catch up on projects that fell by the wayside during Spring semester.

My parents will be here two weeks from now for a week. We're thinking of taking another short trip to Yosemite, another place I haven't been. It will be nice to have them here, too. It's a little odd to have two sets of parents here within two weeks. Lots of excitement for the middle of Summer, though it will be slightly sad when we don't spend the 4th of July in Wanamingo.

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Stupid Airlines.

I'm bummed. Turns out our summer vacation plans aren't happening; my dad and step-mom aren't going to be able to make the trip out this year. It really stinks, considering I was super pumped for a vacation to Vegas and the Grand Canyon. The economy can really just bite it right now, seriously.

To top that off, plane tickets back to Wisconsin/Minnesota for the 4th of July (when my parents were going to be here; when Dave's family has a giant picnic and my family comes) are nearing the $600 mark. So that won't happen either.

I wanted to see my sister graduate 8th grade next week, but now that we might plan a trip home later in the summer (we weren't going to go at all) I can't possibly make sense of flying out twice. But, David can't take time off (his parents are coming the next week) so we can't just do our trip then.

I'm annoyed.

I have to admit I'm getting really sick

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Last Minute Travel Plans

D's dad has been nominated for the Teacher of the Year in Minnesota.
We're going to be flying out to attend the banquet ceremony on May 4th. The tickets were pretty cheap, respectively, and we snatched 'em up. Hopefully, the Monkey family will be coming as well - we won't be going home until next Christmas, so it would be nice to see the kids before they are 25.

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