California Adventures

Finally, I have some real adventures to report on! I mean, I’m sure you’d all love to hear about how awesome (NOT) business law and econ are, but I don’t think you can handle it. So I’ll scale it back just a bit. This past Memorial Day weekend I had the privilege of spending it in Cali with some pretty amazing people. No, not at California Adventures (but see how clever I am?? haha). We went to the far cooler (literally) northern regions of Sacramento, San Fran, Santa Cruz, and Tahoe. Umm, yeah. Gorgeous. I couldn’t help but ask myself the entire time, why am I still living in Utah???

We left Provo around 6:00 pm. Yes, six-o-clock at night. Which means we didn’t get to Grant’s house in Rocklin (outside Sacramento) until 2:00 am, and we were due for a wakeup call at 6:00 so we could be in Oakland for a wedding at 9:30. Needless to say, we ran on pure adrenaline that day. But it was so fun! Ok, I need to back up. We were in Cali for three reasons. One, Phil and Anna knew a couple getting married in Oakland. Two, Grant’s baby nephew was being blessed in church on Sunday. Three, we all needed a vacation, which is where Trent and I come in. We were along for the ride. Anyway, back to the wedding. The Oakland Temple is beautiful. While Phil was in the sealing, the rest of us wandered around the temple grounds which overlook the entire bay. I never get tired of being on the temple grounds. It’s so peaceful and the scenery is always breathtaking.

Look how colorful we are. Didn't even plan that. We're pros.

We spent the rest of the day in San Fran. We left the car and took the train into the heart of the city. After wandering around a pretty sketch part of town, we eventually found Chinatown where we stopped for some lunch at this place called R&G (recommended by the locals). The food was delicious and under normal circumstances the amount of food would have been just fine. But when faced with five, starving, twenty-something year olds, three of them being still-growing boys, it just didn’t cut it. Plus their service was nothing to write home about either, which is too bad. But it was enough to tide us over for the time being. We managed to make our way all the way from Pier 1 down to famous Pier 39. There we could see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and some sea lions. Ghirardelli Square isn’t far from there so we went to claim our free chocolate squares. Anna and I couldn’t resist one of their sundaes. Peanut butter and Ghirardelli hot fudge over ice cream is most certainly the food of the gods. We headed back up to Oakland for the reception that night, held at the Oakland Zoo on a lawn overlooking the bay. Probably one of the most beautiful couples and one of the most beautiful receptions I’ve ever seen. Their story is pretty great too. Both from Concord, CA, they grew up together but never really dated. Then after his mission and after she graduated from BYU they both found themselves on the east coast, in the same place. And, well, the rest is history I guess.

We spent the night sleeping under the stars in Santa Cruz, and the next day playing on the beaches there. The only downside? It was cloudy and windy. Boo. My beach attire was not exactly what I had planned it to be. However, these circumstances didn’t stop the boys from running head first into the ocean and then squealing like girls. Ok, I don’t really remember that last part, but I know that’s what I would be doing if the water were that cold. Crazy boys. We spent the next two nights back up at Grant’s house. His family is super great and we all really appreciated their hospitality. Grant’s little niece, Clara, is adorable and she definitely kept us entertained for most of the day. The ward there is awesome. I really miss good family wards and all the chaos that goes with them. Plus, since Phil grew up in that ward he was seeing people he hadn’t seen in ten years and that’s always fun to watch. It was a good day.

Unfortunately, we could not stay there forever, although I definitely wanted to. The prospect of coming back to the desert, along with going back to classes, was not appealing. But what can you do? We did manage to take a detour on the way back, something like a six-hour detour. We drove up to Tahoe and drove along the west side of the lake, past Emerald Bay, and up to a beach on the northwest side. There we managed to catch a few rays and somehow they convinced me to get in the water. Buuuuurrrrrrr! Before driving up along the lake though, we stopped to see Phil’s old house (grew up there too). What a fun place to live in. I was definitely in love with Tahoe. Why? Because I felt like I was home the entire time. It reminded me so much of North Idaho. I can’t wait to be back there for the 4^th! We didn’t get back until about 2:00 am, which means I definitely skipped my 8:00 am class. So all in all, good trip. Much needed vacation. Let’s do that again.

This is what I want my backyard to look like.

Emerald Bay

Before I wrap up this post, I’d just like to recognize the real meaning of Memorial Day and say thank you. Thank you to everyone who is serving and who has ever served this country. I know I don’t say it or even think it enough, but I truly am grateful and I really appreciate the sacrifices you make. I hope you all had a wonderful Memorial Day.

Also, if you can’t already tell or aren’t on Facebook, I met this boy. His name is Phillip. You have permission to Fb stalk him. He’s kind of wonderful and I kind of really like him. Just a bit. He’s also really, really cute. I also know that he’s just going to love that I’m writing this right now. It will make him happy. And he makes me happy, so it’s all fair. :)