Yosemite Part 1

Ok I still haven't gotten a good night's sleep. I think it's a combination of being on West Coast time, wanting to hear from the mountain man, and general antsy feelings - wanting to be back hiking not stuck at a desk. But I figured I should at least start a little vacation talk, since it will take awhile!

Day 1 meant waking up at 3:30 am to get to the airport for our flight. When we tried to check in I didn't show up on the reservation. We could not get anyone's attention to fix the problem and both John and I got grumpy. Mostly due to lack of sleep I'm sure. Once it was resolved the whole trip to California was uneventful. But once there we had to wait in line forever to get our rental car. Then we got on the road.

It's about a 4 hour drive from San Fransisco to Yosemite, but we stopped for food, fire starting materials first. And we went to our campsite (25 miles from the park entrance) to set of camp before heading into the park.

Windmills not far outside San Fransisco.

Driving through the low mountains.

Man-made lake in the foothills.

Driving higher.

Meadow drive-by shot, actually inside the park.

When you first go through the entrance to Yosemite there's just a lot of wilderness. Then you go through a tunnel and suddenly you're hit with amazingness. I was awe-struck. I teared up a bit because of how beautiful it was and how happy I was being there experiencing it with John. Seeing the high cliffs and waterfalls with him for those first few moments was simply perfect. And we hadn't actually gotten to the famous Yosemite Valley yet.

*The pictures just don't do it justice but they'll do.

Once I had taken it all in we continued our drive to the Valley. I continued to be amazed by the abundance of waterfalls and the height of the rocks. Of course we weren't just sightseeing. We had to find John's rock climbing partner, Kevin. The problem with boys making arrangements is the plan was "meet at the pizza place sometime after 5." Well it was way after 5 because of all the delays in rental car pickup, stops on the drive, and us setting up camp - all things I would have anticipated when estimating a timeline. And no one had cell service. Well first we had to find this pizza place - and I must say I'm not to thrilled about all the stores that exist in the park. Anyway, Kevin wasn't there but we did miraculously find him close by. He'd actually just been on the patio as planned but ran inside for a coffee. So we picked up the guy and headed back to camp. Stopped at a different pizza place for dinner and went to bed. A day full of amazing sites but I'd been up since 3:30am EST and it was about 10/11 in CA. And there was much more to come!

Patience Please

I promise I will blog in detail about my trip to Yosemite. But first I need a good night's sleep, no family drama, and a chance to regroup. My flight was delayed and I didn't get home until 4:30 Monday morning. Life hasn't been the same since. And I'm seriously missing John because I am apparently emotional.

I managed to upload 100 out of 300 pics to Facebook but that's mostly because work was slow. So for now I will just say the trip was fabulous. And I will leave you with cuteness:

Vacation is...so...close...

2 more work days and I will be in Yosemite!!!

Stole this pic from a friend of a friend. It made me giddy.

I can't wait

to not have roommates.

Living with John had it's annoying days (he had this thing with banana peels) but for the most part we shared household chores and life was good. The roommates, not so much. I feel like I do everything around here.

I've taken the garbage out the last 3 weeks. Well no, I didn't do it this week because I was sick. So it didn't go out at all.
I've mowed the grass the last 2 times. It's now crazy long but I refuse to do it.
I tend to be the only one who realizes the floors need to be mopped.

I am seriously about to start a chore chart like you do with children.

But really, what's driving me crazy right now is the one guy's girlfriend. I tried to be understanding for awhile because John does stay here at least one night most weekends. We were rotating VA/MD weekends but now kind of go with where activities are so he's been here more often. So it seems hypocritical to complain about his girlfriend staying over. But seriously, I signed up for 1 new roommate, not 2. There has not been one day that Andy's been here that the girlfriend has not been. They try to make this ok by him going to stay at her place a few nights a week. So I either have 3 roommates (3 real, 1 girlfriend) or just one (Gabe). I really just think that if they spend literally every night together, why'd the guy move in here? They should have gotten their own place. I want to not be so aggravated, as they are both nice people, but the house is just feeling very crowded.

And what really got me was yesterday. I stayed home from work to recuperate. I woke up at some point and heard noises from the other room. Both roommates should have been at work. I checked, both cars were gone. I later realize the girlfriend has slept over Monday night and just stayed here all freakin day long. (and then slept over Tues night as well and is here now after a brief exist for work)

Is it wrong to be upset when they do spent 3/4 nights a week at her place? Will I ever see Andy alone? Is Gabe as annoyed about this as me? Does he also hate that John visits so often? Will either of them learn to do a chore other than dishes? (they seem ok with that, mainly so they can cook the next day I think)

End Rant.

Coming back to life

So Saturday started out pretty great. After some errands John and I went to Old Town for lunch then just sat outside in the grass by the water. We did some talking and some reading and had to hide under a tree from the rain for a few minutes. It was all so peaceful and beautiful. We cooked a wonderful dinner together that night.

Then I was all sick. And not from too much Indian food as I first thought. At 3:30 am we went to the ER. Ruptured ovarian cyst (again!) and kidney infection (yes, again) at the same time! No wonder there were multiple areas of stabby feelings. Been 3 years since the other cyst so my doc figured it was a fluke. We'll see what they say at my follow-up.

So I've been in bed on Vicodin pretty much since then. Oh John did help me hobble to a watering hole and found a pretty rock. Not the smartest thing I have ever done but I really needed to get out of the house. I went into work today (after skipping yesterday) because I was feeling better (still in some pain but it was tolerable) and I had a proposal to do. I felt bad that I had to pawn of yesterdays, didn't want them to cover 2 if it wasn't necessary. Well the proposal wasn't ready for edit so I left early. Probably a good thing b/c I was achy and it was good to just rest this afternoon. Even if I never did fall asleep like I wanted.

Vacation is coming up so I'm glad this happened now and not while I am in the woods. Still, I would like to be back to my regular energy level and be totally pain free.

Scott's Run

Yesterday John and I wanted to go out to Great Falls, have a nice hike, and then just chill outside and do some vacation planning. Of course everyone else had the same idea and the road to the park was at a standstill. So we turned around and luckily found a short trail nearby.

Scott's Run was not a great trail but we went off the path and wandered closer along the stream. We crossed the water over rocks and eventually did some fun rock scrambling. Then we were at the river! I nearly stepped on a copperhead, which was super scary. Wasn't sure what it was at first, just that it was a snake very close to my foot and it looked like something I did not want to be around. I screamed and jumped away to where John was standing. The snake flew across the water and under a rock. It was more scared than me, thank goodness! John got a better look at the thing as I was trying to get the fuck away. But after some googling we are both pretty certain it was a copperhead. First snake on the trail in a long time! Obviously everyone just wanted to sun themselves on some rocks yesterday. Perfect day for it. Later we saw a frog, which was much more welcome. Once we got to the river itself we sat on a high rock for awhile before heading back to the car. Not the day we expected, but it was a pretty nice hike, minus the snakes.

Garden

I love having a garden. I wish this was my own house so I could dig up the entire yard and just have plants. I miss the beautiful garden John and I built. But alas, this is what I have right now in my life. Potted plants. Yet they are still wonderful and I will have food and herbs...just not as much as I would like.

I have 2 herbs that I don't know what they are. Lost the tags...I am so bad about labeling my seeds. But most thing I remember what I planted and once they're big enough you can identify it. I have lavender which has been slow but is started to get to a size I consider "alive". Other herbs include cilantro, basil, and oregano. Then there's the craziest plant...catnip. It's seriously going to take over the world. I only planted it because it came in a seed kit and I wanted the other 2 herbs. Now I don't have any clue what to do with it. I'm kind of worried we're going to end up with a population of stray cats in the backyard and they're going to be all crazy and we won't be able to get rid of them.

I also have strawberries, salad greens, spinach, and tomatoes. The strawberries are still green but I should have some edibles soon. I made a smoothie with my spinach (plus kiwi, pineapple, mango, and banana)and will probably be having an awesome salad tonight. It's still early to actually have tomatoes but the plants are doing well so produce is not far away.

I love it!

Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run hike

The Whiteoak Canyon/Cedar Run hike is an 8.2 mile loop. Whiteoak Canyon is a steep climb but it's all waterfalls. I think officially it's 3 falls but there's little cascades all the way up. Then there's a horrible fireroad which is boring and somewhat uphill and you just want to be finished going up. Cedar Run is a steep climb down but again it's all falls. Of course at the 6.5 mile point your muscles are burning and having to watch rocks to keep from twisting your ankle kind of sucks. And by mile 7.5 you forget there's beautiful scenery everywhere and just want to rest. Add a few stream crossings and you've got one hell of a hike. Can't wait to do it in reverse so I can enjoy the Cedar Run falls more. Also, will do at least part of the hike in summer because there are so many great little swimming holes.

Easter Weekend

Although today is Easter and I am sitting at home by myself I'm happy with the way the last few days have turned out. John and I went out to dinner on Friday and the whole evening was rather uneventful. But as is the case lately, some good conversations occurred. But FYI if you 1) Do not want me to be with John or 2) Think John is terrified of children and should therefore be congratulated every time he is in their presence, you should probably not talk to us. Really, it's quite annoying that people are constantly shocked when John even looks at a baby. John is great with kids. He simply was not sure he wanted one of his own. So him holding a baby is not some miracle that needs to be praised. Getting on both of our nerves. As is the general commentary on our relationship. Good times!

Anyway, Sat we took Joey for a walk (dog sitting while Gabe was away for the holiday) then went to have pizza...and mimosas/bloody marys. Mainly to kill time before the Capitals game! I haven't been to a pro-hockey game before, unless I went to a Blues game when I was a baby. Doesn't count if I did since I can't remember. Well I won tickets from work and got to spend the afternoon in the KCO box. The game was pretty awesome. We missed the first few minutes (and the first goal) due to a delayed metro, but still got to see 2 awesome goals and a long list of really great saves by our goalie. In the end the Rangers scored 1 goal that made it 3-1 but it was kind of a throw-away from our goalie. I was ready to become a hockey fan after that.

Today John had to leave to see his family, which sucked. But I ended up repotting some plants so they have more room now that they're getting bigger. Then I made granola and cinnamon raisin bread. So it was not a wasted day.

In other news: we're in the middle of planning a trip to Yosemite. June cannot come soon enough. But I feel like I need to work out a bit more to get in shape for some of these climbs.

Also, I'm trying to figure out if my boss will flip out if I ask for another day or 2 off for my birthday as John has asked me to go somewhere with him. I am thinking she will, but I will ask the super boss her feelings (she's more laid back) first. July is our busiest month so I feel a little guilty even asking, but ya know, it's my freakin birthday. I could still go on the trip for just the 3 day weekend, but that means flying home on my birthday which does not sound fun. Stuff to ponder.

In even more random news: John's grandfather is in the hospital. He's likely not going to live much longer. This has made me kind of depressed. Mainly because I know that John is being a tough guy "We all die sometime" but he's always been close to his grandfather and will be quite upset when he dies.

Yesterday was my grandparent's 51st wedding anniversary. I'll leave you to ponder what that meant for dinner conversations.

And that's enough random topics.

Oh, one more. ST. Louis, specially the area right by my mom's house, got hit by a tornado. All my fam is fine but the place does not look good based on pics. It makes me sad. And glad tornadoes are rare here. But I would like a good thunderstorm.

So many babies!

So today is Cameron's first birthday, which means the weekend was his party. A party with a lot of babies. I love babies but even I was overwhelmed. There were like 6 kids under the age of 2 plus another kid or two, or three. Luckily the ratio of kids to adults was good. Still, whoa. Never. Opening. A daycare.

These events as well as the general status of our relationship led to many discussions with John about babies. All good, though we sometimes end up talking about the weirdest things. Key takaways:

Seeing babies makes me happy but does not yet make me want to go out and have them any time soon. Seeing John with a 1 yr old holding onto his fingers walking around the house? That's just trouble. I love babies learning to walk!

I am not capable of birthing a buffalo. (you had to be there, we're kind of nutty!)

If we have a daughter John will be that Dad with a shotgun and she will not be allowed to date until she's 30. Unless the guy is rich, then he's ok with an early marriage.