California Girl.

Leo and I ventured west last week, and had a wonderful time exploring San Francisco & Yosemite National Park! It was the first time either of us had been to California, and even as we sat at our gate at DFW International, we were considering making it a one-way trip. They kept flashing the current temp in SF as 62 degrees. I honestly couldn't even fathom what that would feel like... We had packed jackets, but the idea of actually using them was hard to imagine.

But as we walked into the San Franciscan air, it was actually CHILLY. And we were in love.

We saw it all, ate it all, enjoyed it all.

We spent about 3 days total in the city and surrounding area, and I loved every second of it! It's definitely a city, with houses packed in super tight and very little green to be seen. But then suddenly, you'll turn a corner and there's a park! Or the bay! The little bursts of nature, the fact that so many people ride bikes/scooters/public transport, not to mention the SEAFOOD make this one of my favorite cities yet. SO. MUCH. FUN.

And then-- Just we were all amped up on bayside awesomeness, we grabbed a rental car and drove east-- to Yosemite!

I have always dreamed of visiting, and it did nothing but impress. I honestly have seen nothing like it in my life.

We got to break in some new camping gear, enjoy the absolutely breathtaking scenery, see some of the largest trees (and rocks!) on the planet... it was unbelievable. With only 2 days in the park, we definitely didn't see it all- but an excellent sampling for sure. And again- UNBELIEVABLE.

And it was nearly an injury-free trip! (keyword = nearly) On our last day in the park, I decided it would be a brilliant idea to try and cross a river using some deceivingly stable looking rocks. Well, they weren't so stable, and I ended up landing smack in the middle of the water- resulting in some extremely wet britches and a moderately scraped shin. Luckily, we had packed the first aid kit thinking "if we pack it, we definitely won't need it." But an antiseptic towelette and a few bandaids later, I was good as new!

As we boarded our flight to come home, I kept asking Leo: do we reeeeally have to go back?? And he assured me that yes, Keebler would die without us. *sigh* So we boarded, started out onto the runway... and the power died. Yep- all lights, air & music inside the plane suddenly went out. Everyone looked around, clearly trying to decide if we should be pulling an emergency slide, and that's when the captain came over the intercom. "Ladies & gentlemen, we seem to have lost auxillary power. No need to worry. We'll have it back up in no time and be on our way." Hello?? No need to worry? I think the guy in front of us said it best: "It's just electricity folks. Planes don't need that, right?" But the captain kept his promise and rebooted it asap, and it was an uneventful flight from that point on.

We were greeted yesterday by the hottest day in Dallas so far this year, and our sinuses are still trying to decide if they want to be on our side, but it is good to be home.

There are so, so many more pictures that can all be seen HERE.  --Except for the river dunk/scraped shin episode- which somehow went undocumented. Terribly sorry.