Yosemite, Sequoia, and King's Canyon

President's Day weekend was spent on a road trip up to visit some of California's national parks.  We planned to leave Thursday evening and drive to Bakersfield where we would spend the first night of our journey.  We got an earlier start so had the ability to stop along the Grapevine at Pyramid lake before a major storm blew in.

We arrived in to Bakersfield much earlier than planned... checked into the hotel and then went to Hodel's Buffet for dinner.  Excellent Southern cuisine for a very reasonable price if you are ever in the area.

Friday morning amidst howling wind and a bit of rain we started our journey up to Sequoia.  Upon entering the park we decided that it would be in our best interest to buy a year pass to the US National Parks.  We were also advised that we would need chains for our tires or All wheel drive... check to both!  Needless to say as we climbed the road in Sequoia the rain progressed to snain and the to full on SNOW!!!  :)  By the time we reached the General Grant Sequoia tree it was coming down steadily and the snow was 6-10 feet deep!!  Absolutely beautiful.  

To put it into perspective the General Grant Tree is the largest sequoia and if you put it in the middle of Interstate 5 it would fill 3 full lanes across!  It was massive!

After Sequoia we headed back to the car to drive up to Yosemite.  We got to Cedar Lodge around 7pm.  Cedar lodge is 8 miles outside of Yosemite but a quaint, "rustic" place to stay that is much less expensive than staying inside the park.  Cell service and internet is not existent so if you plan on going into Yosemite... enjoy the time unplugged!

Saturday and Sunday we spent out and about exploring, hiking, and playing in the snow.  The beauty around us even though the weather was wet and foggy was still beautiful.

Due to all of the rain... all of the normal waterfalls like Yosemite and Bridalveil were really flowing and then there were waterfalls where there was not normally water flowing from the mountain sides.  The crowds were a lot less at this time of the year however there were a lot of sights closed due to the high elevation and the huge amounts of snow.  Overall an amazing trip and very relaxing!  Plus 3 more national parks added to our National Park Passport! 

Valentine's Day 2017

Valentine's Day has always been one of Angela's favorite holidays... not because of the gifts but because of the story behind it.  In Justin's view... why only set aside one day a year to tell someone you love them???

Last year while we were dating Valentine's Day fell within president's day weekend.  We spent the long weekend on a road trip up to the bay area to visit friends.  Valentine's Day was spent going to church with the McHale's and then driving down to Monterey Bay to dip our toes in the water and Big Sur to watch the sunset.  Justin's "gift" to Angela was a singing telegram of "let me call you sweetheart" by a Barber shop quartet from the University of LaVerne.  This made Angela's heart just melt!

This Valentine's Day due to the Ortega Highway being closed...  we were unable to be together on Valentine's Day but had plans to spend the weekend on a road trip.  Justin surprised Angela with flowers... Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday along with heartfelt messages of adoration.  She was blessed beyond belief by her amazing husband!!!

Brickmania 2017

For Christmas, Angela got tickets for World War Brickmania 2017 in Anaheim for Justin knowing how much he enjoys legos.  We planned to drive to Anaheim the morning of February 10th not really knowing what to expect.

When we walked in the door of the conference room and Justin's face lit up... it was a gift success!  We enjoyed walking around looking at these war scenes elaborately made of legos.  We also enjoyed chatting with the other lego enthusiasts about their creations.  Some of these took 9 months to a year to complete and thousands of dollars were invested in completing these projects.

Everyday life...

It has been over a month since we last updated the blog... there have been a lot of fun adventures but also just a lot of every day life.  With both of us working more than full time jobs plus commuting at least an hour each way... it makes for a long day and a long week where not much else gets done.

Challenges have arisen like Angela's normal commute route being closed for 3 weeks due to a sink hole and having the choice to either stay with friends closer to work or spend 4+ hours on the roadway each day.  There was much rejoicing when Ortega Highway reopened February 15th. Now the commute is back to 3 hours a day!!!

Justin's job as project manager plus extra volunteer activities within the community offering emergency training have  required a lot of really long days (ie being at work at 5am and not leaving until 9pm).

This has left us with our weekend to get things done around the house, catch up on rest, spend time with friends, and schedule a few adventures together.  We look forward to sharing a few of these weekend adventures in our upcoming blogs.