Adventures in Yosemite

We slept in on Saturday morning - we got crazy at the wedding and stayed up way past our bedtimes ;-)

We woke up and had breakfast in the restaurant in our hotel - yum - and hit the road on our way to Yosemite.

Before I continue, let me remind you of our camping plans here - and then we came to find out about a month ago that we could not get day passes to hike Half Dome and we had to enter a lottery that only gives you a 20% chance of getting a permit! 

WhooooWhat?!

So we woke up in the middle of the night when we were in Monterey and hoped and wished that we would get a permit to hike Half Dome.

When we got back from the wedding on Friday night, Rich checked his email and guess what?!

WE GOT PERMITS!

WooWoo!

Anywho...

After a long, hot ride in the car, we finally made it to Yosemite.

Let me tell you - This place is Gorgeous!

We were in campsite 137 in Upper Pines, which was perfectly located near everything!

Our camp site!

Where we pitched out tent

Our tent!

Yes, I slept in that!

We arrived in the middle of the afternoon on Saturday and decided to head to Yosemite Village and get some pizza.

We wanted an early night because of our Half Dome Excursion on Sunday!

We got back to the site, get ready for bed and were sleeping by 9:30!

On Sunday we woke up at 4:00 - yes, 4:00AM got our stuff ready and hit the road!

We rode our bikes over to the trail head and got started, in the dark!

The Mist trail

Because it was dark, we had to wear our head lamps - yes we look tired, because, well, we ARE tired!

Only 8.2 miles to the top of Half Dome - yes, that is 1 way!

2 Miles to go!

The gorgeous blue skies and tall to the moon trees!

Our first glimpse of Half Dome from this Vantage Point

What an amazing view!

This is the last leg, the leg with the cables!

We made it to the top!

We are standing on the "Diving Board" of Half Dome

Woohoo!!

We climbed down in the same position we climbed up - it was safer that way!

The Cables!

We made it! It took us 4 1/2 hours!

If you plan to hike Half Dome, the earlier you leave, the better!

We got there and there was hardly anyone there, so we didn't have to worry about crowded cables. 

But on the way down, there were a lot of people going up, so they were crowded and we had to do a lot of waiting. It was very nerve wracking!

Especially knowing how dangerous this part of the hike is - people die, every year, doing this hike!

It is seriously, people! Be careful!

After we finished taking our pictures in front of the cables we walked back to our backpacks (We didn't take them to the top with us) and We came to see that my backpack was open! Um what?! Apparently squirrels got into my pack to get the food out of it! Huh?!

And then we come to realize that they RIPPED my pack and broke it! 

What?!

Oh well!

So, because of my hurt knees, I had hiking poles, and believe me they were very appreciated!

This is Nevada Falls

We made it to the bottom - I hate to admit how slow we had to go because of my knee...

It took us 4/4.5 hours to get up to the top and it took us about 8 to get back :-(

So in total, we were hiking for 12 hours - that is a long, freaking time!

The next day we headed on a bike ride/short hike up to Mirror Lake

How stunning!

Half Dome in the sunset!
Gorgeous!

We had a big campfire on Monday night, to help our neighbor campers get rid of some of their wood!

Then we went over to their sit and roasted Marshmellows on this fire!

Like I said, we needed to get rid of some wood!
Ha!

We woke up bright and early on Tuesday morning, put the bikes on the car and got our move on!
Good Morning Half Dome!

Good bye, for now, Yosemite!
We had a blast!

Love in Auburn for some Wedding Time

After our relaxing 2 days in Monterey, we headed up to Auburn to celebrate a great friend's wedding.

The backdrop was totally stunning!

The beautiful bride!

Her dress was beautiful! 

The happy couple!

Having the time of their life! 

What a fun night!

Too much fun with the photo booth!

Some Delta Pi Alpha Gamm Love

This lovely bride is one of my Alpha Gamm sisters, and I am certainly proud to call her that! 

She is kind, beautiful, friendly and all around awesome!

It was such an honor to celebrate her special day with her and her handsome husband!

 Tune in tomorrow for some Yosemite fun!

Relaxing in Monterey

We just got back from our week long vacation!

You heard me right - 1 whole week!

It was splendid

Fantastic

Amazing

Relaxing

Romantic

Adventurous

Joyous

Much needed!

We packed up the car on Tuesday Night. Woke up very early on Wednesday (July 4th) put the bikes on the car and hit the open road.

We stayed in the cutest Bed & Breakfast in Pacific Grove. We arrived before noon, unpacked and walked up and down the cute downtown of Pacific Grove.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that boasted that they had the best clam chowder.

I must say, it was pretty tasty, maybe not the best, but definitely delicious! After lunch (and a beer - hey, we were on vacation and can do whatever we want!) we headed to a cute coffee shop and enjoyed coffee and an eclair.

We decided to head down to Cannery Row, Monterey and ride our bikes around.

The seals were relaxing

We rode our bikes down to Breakwater Cove and saw a Momma Otter with her Baby Otter on her tummy and she was cleaning him! It was the neatest thing!

I learned that Jellies (Not Jelly Fish..they aren't fish) don't swim. They, pretty much, just float with the current. And when you see them making that motion of "Swimming" it is actually them eating!

So In this little harbor there were thousands of Jellies! They get pushed in with the tide and have no way to get out.

If you look at this picture below, there are a bunch in this little cove!

After our bike ride, we headed to the Cannery Brewery and had some drinks and enjoyed some appetizers as well.

The hallway to the bathroom was actually chalk boards and there was chalk, so we tagged the wall! ;-)

In Monterey, fireworks are illegal so they had a laser light show...

We didn't watch it...

We walked down to Lovers point and watched fireworks from the different cities across the bay. 

It was a beautiful night and nice to have some peace and quiet!

On our way back to the B&B Rich made a friend with a cat named Atticus.

And when I say Rich made a friend, I mean that this cat followed us. 

He loved Rich!

On Thursday, we woke up, went for a stroll along the walking path, had lunch with my Dad in Monterey and Kayaked in the Bay.

When we Kayaked, we saw Jellies, Seals, Otters, Dolphins and all kinds of birds!

It was amazing! This was the first time that I have every Kayaked in the Open Ocean before! 

Overall, we had an awesome time in Monterey!

Tune in tomorrow for the wedding we went to after Monterey!