A Few More From the Wedding

To go from the stress before the wedding to the realization afterward that everything was wonderful and we didn't need to worry makes me wish we could get married all over again, this time with no worry. We had a wonderful party with lots of friends and family, signed a few papers making legal what we already knew, and it's a shame we can't do it again next year. Oh, well! Here are a few pictures from our wonderful photographer, Rebecca Stark.

Get Hitched!

"Get Hitched!" said the calendar on my phone, so casually. As if it were just reminding me of some movie I was looking forward to. "Get Hitched!" it said without a hint of stress, nervousness, or worry. And why not? This is the day I've been looking forward to for years, to get married to my best friend!

And yet, as the day approached, stress began to set in. "How's the wedding planning coming?" Thoughtful friends and family would ask of us and we would share a nervous smile as thoughts of all the things that still needed to be done were brought again to the forefront of our minds. The cake, a photographer, flowers, drinks, food, who is doing what, how to get the sound system to play our music at the right time... and so on. But these worries were easily tempered by supportive family who reminded us that everything would be great, weddings are what you make of it, and the most important thing is to relax and have fun. They couldn't have been more right.

January 25th, 2014, I married Erinn, my best friend, and our wedding was truly wonderful. The weather was a perfect 70 degrees with sunny skies, we were surrounded by loving friends and family, and we definitely did not do that thing with the cake where you're supposed to feed each other, but really you just smash your cake in their face and for some reason that's still a funny thing for people to do. We didn't do that. Instead, we cut the cake, fed each other, danced with each other, sang Country Roads, and had fun. We didn't have a big wedding, a fancy wedding, one with rituals, or one with seven courses for dinner. While these are all great kinds of weddings (and I've been to some great ones), it would have been strange for us. We wanted a simple, fun, beautiful wedding where we could relax and spend time with people we love and that's exactly what we got.

I am so thankful for all the people who made it up to Aptos for the wedding and for everyone who helped put it all together. Now if only we could get married again. Wouldn't that be fun!

Uncle Richard

(Some of) My Family

Erinn's Family

(Some of) My Seattle Family

A Wonderful Toast from a Wonderful Friend

My Wife

The Rest - To Move On to Better Things

In the interest of moving on, there'll just be lots of beautiful pictures from the last days of our summer trip. As we're well on our way into winter, this seems like the best thing to do.

Also, Erinn and I are getting married in less than a month, so there'll be lots of other things I'd like to talk about instead of a trip that ended over six months ago. So...

Time to move on!

Mountains and Craters

I-5 through most of California is not the most scenic route. From the bottom of the San Joaquin Valley in the south all the way up to Redding in the north, this stretch of the I-5 is more than 450 miles of California's hot central valley. California is such a huge state! It has its charms from time to time, with acres of farmland and distant mountains along the east and west. But it's mostly a straight line with little to mark your progress except cows, rest stops, and a Starbucks every now and then.

Once you make it to Redding, the landscape changes quite a bit. You can see Mt. Shasta in the distance and the drive through the mountains by Shasta Lake is beautiful. Mt. Shasta itself is impressive and gives you something to look at while you fill up your gas tank in the small town of Weed.

Mt. Shasta

For us, Mt. Shasta is where we left I-5 and headed north up highway 97 toward Klamath Falls, OR. Eventually, this is where we'd set up camp (KOA - Klamath Falls), but first we made a quick (2.5 hr roundtrip) detour to see Crater Lake.

The drive from Klamath Falls to Crater Lake is very pretty. The highway goes alongside Upper Klamath Lake, through a few farms, and then up the side of a mountain; all of it green and the last part covered in pine trees. It's a beautiful drive which ends in a breathtaking view of Crater Lake.

Crater Lake is the result of the eruption of Mount Mazama about 7,700 years ago, which left a 2,000 ft. caldera that filled with water from rain and snow. It's a very unique lake and the views from the rim of the caldera have no comparison. Definitely a trip worth taking.

We walked along the rim trail for a while, trying not to get our feet wet in the snow, which was melting in the warm weather, causing puddles and mud everywhere. We didn't stay long and went back to set up camp and eat a tasty dinner before settling in for the night.

One interesting bit about our trip up north was the noticeable change in sunrise and sunset. It was June so I was used to long, sunny days, but further north the days are even longer. So when we finished dinner and started preparing for bed around 9pm, it was still light outside. But Erinn and I just played some card games for a while and went to bed early.

Our North West Adventure - 2013

This year we took a long journey up the western United States to experience the beautiful, green landscapes of the Pacific Northwest. For us it was a stark contrast to the Grand adventure we took summer 2012 and to our daily lives in Bakersfield, CA. While last year's trip across huge deserts, famous mountain ranges, and the Greatest of plains was hot, arid, and sometimes even on fire, our trip through Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming was always seen as a vacation, as a temporary excursion. However, our trip to the northwest came with a very different attitude. Not only were we vacationing across the states, but we were also looking for a new home.

Our many years in Bakersfield have given us a longing for rainy days, pine trees, and winter snow. We left Bakersfield on a June day with clear, sunny skies and 99° heat, pretty typical for the San Joaquin Valley. The next two weeks driving across Northern California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia never made it over 80°. Personally, I would love summer if it stayed in the 70s the whole time.

So for us, this was a sampling of what life might be like for us in the future. We're hoping to make our home somewhere up north, where the sun doesn't beat down on us for 9 months out of the year and seasons change when they're supposed to. Where winter means it's cold, but where you also get to wear your winter clothes for more than a couple weeks in January. Simply put, we're looking for a dramatic change in climate and we loved trekking across the Pacific Northwest. I hope to see it again, soon.

Here's my 2,000-picture movie of our trip. Enjoy!

Tomorrow Another Adventure Begins

We're about to set off on another extended adventure. This time we're going to the Pacific Northwest. Here's a preview of what's to come:

Caves in Avila, Parking Lots in San Luis Obispo

This weekend we took a trip to our usual beach getaway, Morro Bay. It's quiet and beautiful and the hotels usually aren't too expensive. Target is about 20 minutes away in San Luis Obispo, but for a weekend getaway, that just fine. Lots of tasty food can be found on Embarcadero Road and there's an Albertsons around the corner for groceries.


Mostly we just relaxed, ate BBQ at Main Street Grill in Cambria, and walked the beach a bit. The workweek is long and it's nice to sit back and enjoy the ocean breeze.


There are so many hikes in the Central Coast area. About a year ago, we hiked to the top of Bishop Peak and since then we've been roaming around San Luis Obispo County, looking for other trails to do. This time we had our sights set on Reservoir Canyon Trail, but by the time we got to the trailhead, the parking lot was packed tight. A bit aggravated by the teensy parking lot for the most popular hiking destination in San Luis Obispo, we decided to save it for another day and found another hike in Avila, this one much shorter and with a bigger parking lot.


The trailhead can be found at the end of Cave Landing Road, right off the main drive to Avila Beach from the 101. There were lots of people already there, but we still found decent parking and roamed around the area. Trails go up and down and left and right, all over the hillside. One went to the top of the hill, which was covered in wildflowers and another went down to the water. We took a trail that led to the point where the rocks jutted out over the ocean, then took another that led to a cave.


None of these trails were particularly long, but it was a beautiful day with nice weather. It was good to just walk around and smell the ocean and wildflowers. From the rocks, we could see the beaches of Pismo and from the trailhead we could see Avila. It was a nice place to be.



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Vegas, A Fake Eiffel Tower, and Home

by James Walker

Days 11 and 12 - Friday and Saturday, June 29-30th, 2012



Our last days were simple. We came down to Las Vegas for a reprieve before returning home, and we got some Chipotle and checked into our hotel. We also found a little video blackjack machine down at the South Point Casino that made us feel like we were winning, but ultimately took all the money we fed into it. A note about the people at The Silverton Casino: I was absent-minded enough to leave my wallet on top of a slot machine. A few minutes later I realized what I had done and went back to get it, but it was already gone. Reminding myself not to get worried too quickly, I talked to the security there and they raised their eyebrows and smiled at me saying I was one lucky guy because they had just found it! Apparently, moments after leaving my wallet, the janitor picked it up and turned it in, with nothing missing. I was so lucky!

The next morning we went to a few other casinos, really just to browse more than anything else, and stopped at the Paris Hotel to ride the elevator up to the top of the fake Eiffel Tower. It was fun to be at the top of even a false Eiffel Tower, but the hot desert air was determined to remind us that we were far from France and we didn't stay long.

The last leg of our Grand Adventure was the same as the first, but instead of stopping momentarily in Las Vegas, full of excitement about the days ahead, we were taking our time in the city of neon lights, making the most of our last few hours of vacation. Soon we would be returning to work, the monotony of our daily lives replacing the constantly changing landscape of the last two weeks on the road. Despite the relative shortness of a 12 day vacation compared to the countless days spent at home, we had found a new normal, one that we were not excited to let go of. We had trekked across the United States in a nice little SUV and it had been good. The hikes, the sweat, and the sunburns had made us stronger and we felt healthier and happier than we ever had from the comfort of our soft beds at home. We had by no means been on an adventure as wild as the likes of Christopher McCandless or John Muir, but we had found our own bit of adventure and our own bit of home out on the road during those two weeks. We had always been wanderers at heart, stuck in a town we didn't like, hoping for something new. But those days spent driving across the United States reminded us that we aren't stuck and we weren't without hope, but we can find something different and new if we really want to. Someday we'll settle down and I'm sure that place will be full of tall pine trees and mountain tops. Someday we'll find a true home of our own. But we'll always travel.

Our Route:


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San Francisco, A Few Months Ago

We went to San Francisco back in May and I had been planning on making a video for it. Well, I finally did it! Here's a snippet of our fun. For more info, go to the post called San Francisco, May 11-13, 2012

Leaving Vegas for Utah

by James Walker

Day 1 - Tuesday, June 19th, 2012

So far my discussions about our trip across (parts of) America has been light on specifics and more about my longing for travel. I could talk for days and days about how I'd love to be on the road or walking down the street of some far-off city, but this blog is supposed to be a log of my past exploits, so I'll fill in a few details.

Our trip originally came from an idea of Erinn's that we could drive across the United States and see something like 20 states. We would have gone all the way from the west coast to the east coast and back, driving about 6,000 miles. It would have been crazy, so we scaled it back and ended up with just 5 or so states, most of them new to both of us. Officially we passed through California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, and Idaho, but the substance of our trip was mainly just Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, and South Dakota.

On paper, our trip looked like this:


View Larger Map

That would have put us at 2,585 miles, but all the sightseeing, detours, and wandering gave us right around 3,700 miles. It was quite a lot of driving for just 12 days, but we made it work and we had a great time. I've been on many drives down I-5 to southern California where I've gotten sleepy and bored and needed someone next to me to keep me awake, but there was so much to see on this 3,700 mile drive that we rarely got sleepy and never got bored. One of my favorite drives was the drive on I-70 through Utah and into Colorado. The landscape itself was so dramatic and in just a single day's drive it changed so often that I couldn't have fallen asleep if I wanted to. I felt like to sleep would be to miss the very thing I was here to see on this trip. From the beautiful countryside of the valley at the beginning of I-70 to the dramatic bluffs and canyons in the middle to the beginnings of the Rockies on the western side of Colorado, I was taken in by the beauty and variety of the land.

And this was all in the first few days of our trip.

We begin, as I said before, in Las Vegas. It was hot when we drove in that night at 10pm and it was already getting hot the next morning when we left at 8am. There's not much to see in this neon city except big buildings and slot machines so while we appreciated the inexpensive-yet-luxurious Orleans Hotel, we were happy to leave it behind (for now).

We left Nevada, drove through a corner of Arizona, and wandered into Utah.

Disneyland with Erinn's Family, Lunch at Club 33

It's been nearly two months since we went to Disneyland. The demands of school and work have taken their toll on my extracurriculars, but I put together a short video from our trip and I hope you'll enjoy it.



Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/06/13/disneyland-with-erinns-family-lunch-at-club-33/

San Francisco, May 11-13, 2012

I hadn't been to San Francisco to visit my sister (Megan) and her husband (Dave) since before they were married. That time, I had come up for a quick trip and the three of us saw a Ben Folds concert. It was pretty great, but I let myself get busy and never went back.  I'd always talked about going up to visit some weekend, but that never seemed to materialize because while I'm good at dreaming about running off someplace nice for a weekend, I'm pretty bad at making that happen. Erinn, on the other hand, is not.

A few weeks before that weekend, Erinn told me she was going to take me out of town, just as a fun trip for the both of us. She told me to request a few certain days off and she would do the rest. What I didn't know was that she had been messaging my sister the whole time, setting up a trip to San Francisco to visit her, Dave, and the city. We had a great time, I fell in love with the weather, the atmosphere, and the countless things you could do in a beautiful place like that. We went on hikes, ate fishwiches at Salty's, drove around town, saw the Palace of Fine Arts, and lots of other stuff.

What we didn't know then was that Meg'nDave were thinking about packing up and moving south. It turns out we picked one of the very last times we could have visited San Francisco with them living there, so thank goodness for Erinn planning a trip up there!

I'm just really glad I got to visit. I would have been bummed if they moved and I never got to see them and tour the city with them like we did.

Here's a bit of what we did.

Fisherman's Wharf - Boudin's Bakery, took a picture of a gold painted living statue, got frustrated with all the people there.

Drove up and down the streets of San Francisco - saw so many beautiful buildings, got just a bit lost but had fun doing it, eventually made our way to...

The Palace of Fine Arts - we were planning to just drive by, but it was too good to pass up, we walked around the lake and followed a path under the big dome, followed another path out and sat under a tree on the grass next to some flowers wishing we lived somewhere as great as this... what? Oh, I got lost there for a bit.

Golden Gate Park - it was nice, but we didn't stay very long and didn't get too attached to anything in particular there. We walked around Stow Lake for a bit.

Legion of Honor - we made our way to this museum after taking a snapshot of the Golden Gate Bridge from the nearby Land's End park, we walked right past a cast of Rodin's "The Thinker" without notice, ate a delicious sandwich in the museum's cafe, and roamed around the corridors for a few hours.

Drove to Meg'nDave's place - sat around for a few, went to an Indian-Burrito-Fusion place called Curry Up Now, I had deep fried ravioli and Erinn had a vegan burrito, both were covered in curry and were very tasty, we drove to some park where we could watch the airplanes land and laugh at the local guys fishing and making fun of each other, did a quick tour of their neighborhood, and came back to their place.

Bonita Point Lighthouse - in the morning we drove up through downtown San Francisco again, drove across a very foggy Golden Gate Bridge, went through a single-lane tunnel, and meandered through the Marin County countryside to the Bonita Point Lighthouse. We got there a little early and couldn't go in yet, but it was too beautiful to complain so we just watched the seals on the rocks below and enjoyed the cool weather. Eventually, we walked through a tunnel, across a bridge, and checked out the lighthouse. Inside was a map of the area with marks where ships had wrecked before the installation of the lighthouse. It was quite foggy that morning, reminding us of the need for such a lighthouse in past times. On the way out we stopped at the Visitor's Center and grabbed some chips for snacking. Dave took us out a different way than we came in, giving us a fantastic view of the Golden Gate Bridge before crossing it back into San Francisco.

Salty's Famous Fishwich - After the lighthouse we ate lunch at Salty's and the living statue was back again, this time painted silver. We forgot to go to the Musee Mecanique, which has lots of antique arcade machines and music players and whatnot. Next time, I suppose.

After that, I don't remember the order of things, but we went to Castro, got some cookies from Hot Cookie, drove to the top of Twin Peaks, but couldn't see anything because it was so foggy and windy, and went back to Meg'nDave's.

We had a lot of fun that day and relaxed that evening with some pizza and House Hunters.

It was a great weekend. I got to visit my sister, Erinn and I got to peruse the city on our own for a while, and Megan and Dave showed us around to some great places, giving us an idea of what it's like living there.

The next morning we took our time driving back to Bakersfield. We stopped at the Gilroy Outlets, snagged some tasty fruit from Casa de Fruta, and meandered home, watching the scenery turn from green to brown and the temperature go from beautiful to blegh.

Wishing for someplace new is a common theme of my posts. I'll keep dreaming about moving and I'm sure Erinn will help us get there.

P.S. Here's a little video I made. I'll be extending it soon.



Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/san-francisco-may-11-13-2012/

Bishop Peak, The Hunger Games, and Avila Beach

It might come as a surprise to some who know how much I love to sleep in till noon, but I really love the early morning. The air is crisp and clean, the sun is soft, and everything seems so fresh and inviting. And on top of all that, there typically aren't very many people out and about just after sunrise, so the world is all yours. This is how we started the day in San Luis Obispo and it was wonderful.

After a quick breakfast, Erinn and I drove to the trail head for the Bishop Peak trail and got started. The first bit of the hike is an easy stroll under some trees with a lot of wildflowers along the side, but just a few minutes later the incline changes pretty dramatically. To be honest, I thought I would do alright. I've been going jogging recently and I'm definitely in better shape than I was a month ago, but this first incline was a subtle reminder that I still have a long way to go. Nevertheless, Erinn and I continued, undeterred.



We did get a little lost early on when we came across a sign that read "Trail", but had arrows pointing in two directions. Neither of us were sure where to go, so we took the right fork, which was definitely the wrong way to go. We ended up on a horse trail and had to keep a close eye on where we were stepping. The good part is that we were ultimately headed to the top of a 1,500 ft mountain, and it's impossible to get truly lost with the peak right in front of you the whole time.



After going around some barbed wire and a cow pond we found ourselves walking through a nice grove of trees, which brought us around to the south side of the mountain. This is where the trail begins to wind back and forth as it takes you more directly up to the peak. There were lots of eager hikers here who were much quicker than we were and less out of breath. Lots of "Good morning"s were exchanged and quite a few dogs were on the trail. As we got closer to the top, we could just make out the ocean, which is right around 9 or 10 miles away.



Bishop Peak is not the hardest hike we've ever been on, but it's also not the easiest. Going up that mountain was a nice workout and gave us a very rewarding view from the top. Once we got to the peak we took our time resting and sat down to enjoy the view for a while. On the top, there are two benches to sit down on and lots of big boulders to climb around on. Erinn and I found our way to the top of one of the boulders and took in the view.

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Eventually, we scrambled down off the rocks and began the hike down the mountain. By this time it was mid morning and there were a lot of people on the trail. There were lots of golden retrievers, a couple dachshunds, and a giant group of people that was carrying a cross up the trail. Going up, I only had to carry my own weight and that itself was enough to keep me out of breath. I can't imagine how much harder the climb would be with a full sized cross on your back. I'm sure they traded off, though. There must have been 80 people in that group. For a few minutes we stood on the side of the trail letting the group pass and then continued on our way. It was a very pleasant stroll down.



It ended up being a 5.5 mile hike round-trip and it took us just over 3 hours. We high fived each other and drove to downtown San Luis where we ate pizza and watched The Hunger Games. A note about that: Solo Pizza has a delicious Pesto Chicken Pizza. I recommend it.

To finish off our quick trip, we drove to Avila Beach to stroll along main street, watch the waves, walk on the pier, and get a snack. We stopped at a candy store and I got the tastiest caramel apple I've had in years and Erinn got some toffee and coffee ice cream. It was a nice way to celebrate the end of a very busy ten weeks of school. It was good to have this trip to look forward to and we had a lot of fun.

Can't wait for the next one.

Untitled from James Walker on Vimeo.


Credit: Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood

Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/bishop-peak-the-hunger-games-and-avila-beach/

A San Luis Obispo Weekend

By the end of the week I will have finished my second quarter at CSUB and I will be just a teensy bit closer to graduating. There are all sorts of obstacles to overcome there, but as for this quarter, things are going well and I'm looking forward to the end.

I am especially excited about this Saturday. Erinn and I will be heading to San Luis Obispo to hike around, watch Hunger Games, and generally enjoy the beauty of the central coast. We won't be there long, but it's certainly a long-awaited trip after the busy schedule of the last ten weeks.

The plan is to hike Bishop Peak, which is just northwest of downtown San Luis Obispo. It's a beautiful place (as all of San Luis Obispo is) and should bring with it some amazing views of the area. Bishop Peak itself is the tallest of the "nine sisters" and should be a pretty fun little hike.

After the climb we're going to go relax in downtown San Luis Obispo and watch The Hunger Games so it'll be a nice getaway from the busy schedule of home. I'll be sure to post some pictures.



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Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/03/19/a-san-luis-obispo-weekend/

SeaSET

Erinn and I drove to the coast last week so she could take the CSET. The actual test wasn't much fun for either of us, but it's always nice to get out of town for a bit. She lost her mind scraping her brain clean during the test while I read at a park down the street. Alright, I guess my part sounds pretty nice.

We then took a short drive south to Solvang to walk around and soak in all its Dutchiness, ate a Cream Puff at a local dutch bakery, and continued down highway 101 to Santa Barbara. Again, we parked, walked around the town, and soaked in its niceness. There's no comparison between Solvang and Bakersfield or Santa Barbara and Bakersfield. There aren't any places in town where one would go simply to walk around and window shop.

That particular evening, Santa Barbara was having a farmer's market on State Street. Erinn and I made a few passes at one of the stands getting a bunch of samples of cheese before giving in and buying one called Garlic Jack that is super delicious. I bought Erinn some daisies and she bought some tangerines.

I'm sure Erinn would like me to point out that tangerines are hard to come by in a typical grocery store. You can get "cuties", clementines, or "small oranges" any day, but tangerines must be too tasty to keep around at Albertson's.

We then walked back up the street to our car in time for parking to be free (ah, yeah!) and started a lazy drive home. I love slow drives with no rush. We get to talk, listen to music, listen to movies play in the car, make stops whenever we want. When we got to Valencia, we made an impromptu stop at BevMo and picked up a handful of rootbeers. Then we stopped at Islands for a burger before heading north for Bakersfield.

It was a nice, quick trip. Solvang is pretty, but kind of boring on a weekday, especially if you're not hungry. Bring an appetite and walking shoes. Santa Barbara and the whole area that surrounds it is beautiful.

Original Posting:
http://themanylivesofjules.wordpress.com/2012/01/18/seaset/

Yosemite: Oct 27 - 29, 2011

     Most of our trips are pretty quick, usually only one night away, sometimes even working the morning before we leave. This trip we wanted to be able to take it easy and not have to worry about wearing ourselves out, so we stayed two nights. It was a fantastic idea. That first night we stayed in Curry Village again and played Trouble. The next morning we made our most ambitious hike yet; we took the Mist Trail to Vernal Falls. Again we showed our inexperience, getting passed up by the old and young alike, but we eventually made it to the top! It was really exciting being able to finish that. There were moments toward the end that we both wanted to stop or turn around, but we pushed on and it was definitely worth it.
     That afternoon we relaxed, strolled around the valley, and fell asleep very, very early. It was great not having to make the drive back down the mountain after a hike like that.

Yosemite: Sep 12 - 13, 2011

     This trip marked the first time we actually camped in Yosemite. Normally we stay in Curry Village's tent cabins, but this time we were staying with family, and besides, we wanted to camp out in a real tent anyway. Much more fun!
     We made s'mores, cooked hot dogs, and kept a keen eye out for bears! Then in the morning we hopped on our bikes and toured the valley (Erinn and I rented ours from a place in Yosemite). Toward the end of the day a storm rolled in and threw some lightning around, but it wasn't dangerous, just fun to watch!

Sequoia National Park - General Sherman: Aug 1, 2011

     It's hard, really, to appreciate how massive these trees are when you just look at them in pictures. Even now, looking at my own pictures, I have trouble appreciating how exceptionally big these trees are. I don't think it was until we were driving through Colorado and Wyoming, looking at all the beautiful trees there, that I realized how small most trees really are. We're spoiled, living so close to the giant sequoias of Sequoia National Park or the amazingly tall redwood trees of northern California, and I often forget that this is not the norm.
     On this trip, we visited the famous General Sherman and all the surrounding giants. Some of these massive trees stand on their own, such as General Sherman or The President, but others stand in awe inspiring rings, like The Senate and The House. It's really a trip worth making.

Running for Senate?

Topanga State Park: July 30, 2011

This was a surprise trip. Erinn is very good at things like that. Planning things out, organizing them, surprises... Erinn's got that down. I get lost in the details, but she pulls it all together and it's always great. This time she just told me to be at her house nice and early so we could hit the road before the sun came up. I had no idea where we were going except that we were headed south.
A little after sunrise, we pulled into the parking lot of Topanga State Park, which is right in the middle of a very nice neighborhood near Santa Monica, CA. We pulled on our hiking shoes and headed for the peak. It was a beautiful hike. I'm sure true hikers wouldn't say it was very strenuous, but for novices like us it definitely tested our resolve. We made it halfway, myself drenched from sweat, and we sat for a few minutes before continuing for the top of the mountain. It's a good thing we came as early as we did, because not only did it get quite warm as the day wore on, but the trail got very busy.
After the hike we took it easy down in Santa Monica. It was a great day and a wonderful surprise trip.

Trail of 100 Giants - Sequoia National Forest: May 20 - 21, 2011

    This trip came about spontaneously. We both had Saturday off so we decided to find a place up in the mountains to camp. We drove to Lake Isabella, CA and headed north, looking for a decent campground to stay at. The Kern River runs from the north down into Lake Isabella and we were following it upstream. There are countless little campgrounds to stay at along this route, but we weren't impressed by any of them so we just kept driving. After a long drive we got a bit lost and came across a bulletin board on the side of the road with a map of the area on it. We used that to get our bearings and headed north again.
     I honestly couldn't tell you how we got there, but eventually we came to Redwood Meadow Campground, which is a lot higher and a lot colder than we had planned for, but it was perfect. It was located right across the street from a little hike called The Trail of 100 Giants. It's an easy hike among some of the biggest trees in the world. That night we set up our tent, cooked up some hotdogs, and hit the hay. The next morning we roamed around an adjacent meadow and then walked the Trail of 100 Giants. They are truly impressive. After the hike we still had a lot of time, so we drove lazily through Sequoia National Forest, zig-zagging our way through the beautiful trees, eventually driving highway 190 down to Porterville and then home. Highway 190 is a beautiful route and I definitely recommend it. Porterville and Lake Success are brown and boring and I definitely recommend driving right past those.
     Also, I just remembered that this was the weekend the world was supposed to end, according to Harold Camping. I remember seeing at least one sign inviting everyone to expect the end of days come May 21st, 2011. Good thing it didn't end. I've still got lots of places to see!