My California Trip

After much debate, I decided, at the last moment, to take my tent instead of sleeping in my car. I was worried about setting it up by myself, but as you can see, I did it! I had great neighbors camping near me both nights and enjoyed their company. I took my guitar and sang songs in the twilight; it was so much fun. I have forgotten how much fun and how easy camping is. I took my little chimney and used that as my stove with one pot for cooking; I had stew for dinner and hot chocolate and cereal for breakfast. The nights were warm and the morning brisk and the days were in the 70's. Perfect temperature for hiking around.

Yosemite was just beginning to bloom. Just as this bee is gathering pollen, I wish I could have gathered all the scents and colors of each wildflower. These purple flowers dotted the hillsides while yellow and red flowers were in the meadows. To my Texas friends, do these look like Blue Bells? I wish this blog was more than just sight; if I could infuse the scents that went along with Yosemite you would have a better understanding of its beauty. The dogwoods were in full bloom and their dizzying sweet scent was everywhere. The entire time driving around, I had my windows down and sunroof open so that I could enjoy the sight, sound and smell of Yosemite.

Going on vacation alone does have its drawbacks, for example taking pictures of yourself. This is one of the best ones I could manage. I will have to practice more. Here I am sitting infont of Cascade Fall. I had driven this road at least 4 times perviously and had never seen this fall before. It was only on my way towards Mariposa Grove that I decided to stop and look around. I am glad I did because this beautiful fall trailed down the mountain side. I was hesitant on coming to Yosemite alone, but I am so glad that I came. I had a wonderful time and was glad I didn't miss it. June was the perfect month to go; all the waterfalls were in full force, the flowers just coming out and the temperature was ideal.

After my trip to Yosemite, I headed down to Lemoore NAS (Naval Air Space) to visit Paul and Brianna.

Brianna is pregnant and keeps the house quite cold, as you can see in this picture. j/k

I had made lots of plans and places that I wanted to see, but found that there's not much to do. I had wanted to visit 2 museums, one in Lemoore and one in Fresno. However, these museums were not open. I just didn't understand why they weren't open, but they said not enough people were interested. The only days they were open were Saturday and Sunday. Our Saturday was quite full already, and Sunday wasn't an option, so I missed both museums. Just a little frustrating to say the least. But we managed to fill our days and in the evenings. I had time to watch a few of their movies that I hadn't seen before. So, what did we do??

After dinner, Brianna and I would break out the puzzle. She had the edges finished, but hadn't started filling in the middle. But we soon remedied that. I must say she chose a difficult puzzle; the only colors it consisted of were shades of blues and browns with an ocasional red speckled throughout. Brianna worked the sails of both boats and I worked the water. By the time I left, we had at least 3/4 of it completed.

Now I was in the heart of California and fruit season has arrived. There were all different types of fruit stands popping up. As I drove down from Yosemite, I saw stands for peaches, blueberries, cherries, strawberries, plums, nectarines, and all kinds of nuts. They also offered fresh vegetables like tomatoes, onions and varieties of squash. So why not take advantage of all this fruit. One day it was our goal to find some fresh fruit and make jam. I had never done it before and neither had Brianna; it was our "doing something new" day. We found a blueberry stand up the road about 15 minutes on hwy 41. The workers were out harvesting, so we knew the blueberries were fresh. I had never heard of blueberry jam before, but the lady selling (of course) assured me that it can be done and that she had just made a batch a few days ago. We bought some and continued on our way to the commissary to get the pectin and containers. It was fun and easy making freezer jam; Brianna was hesitant at the first sight of squished blueberries, but she got over it. If you're lucky enough, you might get a sample of our hard work.

Of course no visit with Paul is complete without the tour of his squadron and ops area (don't you love how I use military lingo with such ease?). Paul showed me around the hangar and parts of the F18 planes. I met his coworkers and they all love him; one of them even calls him Admiral Nelson. He is on the largest squadron on base and they are responsible for the most number of planes. The temperature is quite warm and it must add another level of difficulty to his job. My car temp gage read 113; quite hot for an outside job and it's only June. Can you imagine August?? Paul's work schedule is quite sporadic. I came to visit them specifically on this week because he thought he wasn't going to be working that weekend, needless to say he worked on Saturday. Some days he left at 5 am, others at 7. One day he was home by 2:30 and another day he was off by 10:30. Very difficult to plan things when you never know when he'll be around. And you know how I love to plan!

If you can see our faces peepeing thru, Brianna and I took a herb tour in Squaw Valley, at the foothills of Sequoia National Park. We learned about different types of herbs and different recipes and remedies (and can we forget the song with that same title?). We got to see, smell and sample different herbs and learned how to use lavender. I have always wanted a lavender plant and now even more. She made it sound so easy and so beneficial. Lavender is quite the plant. On our way back, we stopped at a fruit stand, of course, and bought the best tasting and perfectly ripe peaches, nectarines and plums. Paul loves plums and by the time I was leaving, there was only one plum and one peach left. I had peaches and cream later that day and was the happiest person alive.

Talking about things that aren't open, the Fresno temple is only open by appointment. So, we called ahead and made an appointment to do initiatory work. I had some names given to me from a ward member and was anxious to get the work done. Brianna hadn't done initiatory work, so it was a first for her. We left for Fresno dressed and ready to go. We were over half way to Fresno and I just happened to ask if Brianna had her recommend. Expecting her to say yes I was quite surprised when she gasped for air and threw her hands to her mouth in shock. She had left it sitting on her dresser at home. When we got to the temple, we explained our situation and they called for the temple president. We were able to go in and perform the work. It was such an amazing and spiritual experience and am grateful that we had the opportunity to attend together.

I also went to church with them on Sunday and met some of their ward members. They were very nice and I enjoyed worshipping with them.

So, that was my trip to California. I am very grateful to Paul and Brianna for allowing me to stay with them. Now for the fun facts:

• I drove a total of 1520 miles
• Average price of gas was $4.65/gallon
• Highest price of $4.98/gallon in Yosemite
• Average of 21.8 miles per gallon
• Best gas mileage of 23.3 miles per gallon in Yosemite
• Total of 9 days (driving days included)