winter

we traveled to Connecticut to for megan's wedding and to celebrate an early Christmas. nice to see family and hang out.

then, we spent 4 nights at Yosemite, having fun near badger pass. we took a lesson, skied and hiked to dewey point, and skied on some backcountry trails!  the snow was better than last year, and I think we've gotten better too!

big sur

over thanksgiving, matt and i hiked 22 miles to and from sykes hot spring.

- relaxed and leisurely. we took it easy, hiking just short of it on the first day, camping in the same spot for two nights, and day-tripping it to the hot spring.  in fact, on the second day, we didn't even break a sweat!

- springs. the hot springs exceeded expectations -- there were several warm tubs, built into shelves above and below the trail, overlooking a river. we stayed until our hands were well-pruned. 

- treats. instead of following our usual spartan meal plan, we brought lots of fresh foods -- cold fried chicken, biscuits, mashed potatoes; apples & oranges; mac & cheese with broccoli!  

the microclimates along the trail varied tremendously -- from the dry, hot ledges to the cold, damp woods. a very lovely three-day trip.

happy fun times with my sister

michelle stayed for another week!  it was a low-key but fun stay-cation.

- foods eaten. super duper burger, la taq, moki's, all-star tamales, smitten, trouble coffee, beer in the middle of the day.

- moving around. bouldering, twice!  a jog. matt davis - steep ravine hike near mt. tam & stinson beach. yoga.

- dilly-dallying. a bit of gardening. a lunch interview. walking around mt. davidson, hayes valley. playing seven wonders! making beer. watching galaxy guardians.

a truly relaxing and fun time :)

rock creek lake

my mom, dad, and sister visited for labor day weekend! we stayed in a cabin in the eastern sierra at rock creek lake. we were a bit woozy from staying at 10,000 ft. elevation, but adjusted slowly.

- delicious foods. mapo tofu + other chinese dishes. niu rou main. roasted chicken + freshly caught trout. mom's soup noodles.

- happy fun times playing hanabi + seven wonders. watching thor and frozen.

- beautiful hike into the little lakes valley. matt, michelle, and i swam, skipped rocks, and had a stone throwing competition. another nice hike to devil's postpile.

- hanging out by the lake. dad caught 6 trout!  matt rowed the womenfolk around the lake in a rowboat.

on our way back, we stopped at a couple of places in yosemite.  and soaked our feet into tenaya lake. a really lovely vacation!

fun friend times in august

- visited baby sebastian, nathan, and rebecca.

- catch up with the cornerstone folks.

- very relaxing oyster cookout, picnic, and hike to celebrate pete & brett's birthdays.

at work, field trips to airport, fireboat, treasure island, and the new general hospital.

ireland, copenhagen, and norway

we celebrated the 40th anniversary of matt's mom & dad in ireland with matt's family.  then headed to copenhagen and norway.  highlights:

- in ireland, hanging out with family. shared meals, games, and beer. a fun hike through fenced pastures on the dingle peninsula. wandering around town. a very rainy and rocky trip to skellig michael. and a nice dance performance about the blasket islands.

- after some airplane mishaps, we made it to copenhagen, but with less time than planned. a lot of walking around. very big brunch!

- in oslo, awesome dinner at lofoten with matt's work associate and strolling around. 

- beautiful drive to jotunheimen, where we stayed in a super comfy mountain lodge. hiked in wind, fog, rain and sleet to the fannaraki hut. we had nearly 360 degree views of the glaciers all around us. drove through fjords, tunnels and bridges; hiked around; and stayed in a beautiful, secluded cabin in stardalen. ferry through the narrowest fjord. spent a day in bergen and took a train back to oslo. really gorgeous!

onion valley to vidette meadow

i'd intended to hike from onion valley to mt. whitney.  but, altitude + sun + 5,000 feet of elevation gain and loss = nausea and not fun.  i turned back after spending a night at vidette meadow, about 9 miles in. it was still a lovely hike!

here is the view from kearsarge pass looking west:

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trinity alps

matt & i explored the trinity alps wilderness, which is very close to oregon. we hauled our packs up a couple of thousand feet over five miles to a lake in set in a granite bowl, "Granite Lake."  supposedly, a low-effort to high-reward ratio hike.  i was expecting an easy stroll, which it definitely was not!  we took a nice dip in the lake and took our time selecting our campsite!

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very happy about the lack of mosquitos. relaxing and fun to explore a new-to-us part of california. very beautiful! 

p.s. we took a couple of succulents and planted them in our yard. :)

santa cruz

matt & i went to santa cruz for our july 4 weekend! highlights include:

- john & christina's beautiful wedding in a grove of redwoods via roaring camp railroad

- hike to a bunch of molting seals at ano nuevo state park + artichoke bread at pescadero

- hike and taking part in a few old-timey festivities at wilder ranch state park

- learning about marine mammals at the super-awesome and educational seymour center

a nice way to relax and celebrate our one-year anniversary :)