At about 7:30 in the morning Tomas and I, along with some of his coworkers in Yosemite, started our hike up Clouds Rest in Yosemite. It has an elevation of 9,930 ft which has a higher elevation than Half Dome which has an elevation of 8,836ft. It was suppose to be around 7.2 miles up to the top and the same back, but we took a couple of detours and there were a few times that we ended up off the trail. So with that we think we hiked at least 15 miles, but it was all worth it. On our way to the top we saw some beautiful views that we will remember forever. I recommend you take this hike at least once in your life, but I should let you know it is not easy. There are lots of rock paths that were very exhausting at times and because there is still snow on the mountain there were various patches of it that we had to hike through. Also since the snow is melting there were various times that the trail would have small streams running through it and there were some streams that cut the trail off so we would have to figure out the best way to jump it. One of the hardest things was in the beginning, there was a small lake that we had to walk through which was about waist deep. At 7:30 in the morning that water was really cold. On the way back we found an off trail detour that way we did not have to cross that cold water again. But I was told that by the end of the season the lake is gone so you wont have to cross the cold water. Even though the trail was hard at times and my body is really sore and sun burnt, I am extremely proud of me and Tomas for conquering Clouds Rest which we will remember forever.
This is the lake we had to cross in the morning. So I put on my flip flops and headed towards that path in the mid left section of the picture. I was so happy to put my socks back on once we got across.
Here is me getting ready to cross some more water in the beginning of the trail.
Here is what that first stream looked like.
After hiking up some rocks for a while, it was time for a much needed break.
Here we are looking at the view. You can barely see it but the fog was lifting and we could see a tip of a mountain range. Not sure which one it was though.
I'm on top of the world :) Not quite this area was about 2 miles in. It had some very nice views and we just had to take some quick photos.
Tomas and me taking the opportunity for a great photo.
Here is a zoomed out photo of us.
Tomas conquered this pile of rocks in this same area.
Heading on we came across this beautiful little lake. It looked so calm and peaceful. We also sat here on the way back as well to rest our feet.
I believe at this point we were less than two miles away from our destination. You can't really tell from this photo, but Mount Starr King can be seen off in the distance.
Another great photo spot, so we took a break to take in the view. From here we saw three small waterfalls flowing over the cliffs.
Here is that view again.
We finally made it to the top of Clouds Rest with Half Dome in the background. You can even see the valley from here, along with many other things.
Here is us with a view of the other side.
It looks crazy, but that is the way back down. It was worth the trip, but it was time to head back before it got dark.
This photo and the one following is a view of the sunset that we captured while driving back.
So beautiful.
And this is what I looked like on the drive down. It was so cold and windy, especially since the Jeep's roof was off.
Hopefully there will be more photos to come once I get them off my phone and from the others that hiked with us.
4th of July Celebration in Atwater: July 4, 2011
Yesterday I went home to Atwater to celebrate the 4th of July with my family. 4th of July is always fun to celebrate in Atwater. There is a parade, a festival and a big fireworks display at night. So I went home early in the morning so I could watch the parade. It was probably my first time actually sitting down to watch it in a long time because I was always in the parade for band or riding in the fire truck with my family. But not any more now I get to watch the parade with everyone else. After the parade we went to the festival to eat and look around, that was until we got to hot and decided to go home. After having a lovely dinner that my mom prepared we went down to the high school to watch the fireworks, which were beautiful. That was it for my 4th of July celebration. I really enjoyed spending time with my family. :)
Me and my mommy.
And me and my lil sis.
Back to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo: May 16, 2011
Tomas and I are both on this vacation this week and we wanted to do something fun. We wanted to go to Six Flags, but the weather wasn't looking too pretty. So instead we went to the zoo again because Tomas sister Dominika really wanted to go. It was nice because Tomas was able to enjoy it more because he didn't have to study for anything. So we went and looked at the animals again and took some fun pictures. It was a lot of fun to go back to the zoo again. :)
Me choking Tomas. JK :)
Tomas and Dominika
The two headed turtle :)
Tomas bonding with the reptiles
I love this guy. He looks like a giant hamster.
Tomas being Silly.
Pooh Bear Winnie the Pooh Bear.
They were so close to us
Dominika feeding the giraffe
The chimpanzee was playing under the blanket.
Dominika holding the parrot.
Tomas and I with the parrot in the background.
Take that :)
Pismo Beach: April 19-20 2011
For spring break we decided to go to Pismo Beach for a couple of days. We took off after work and stayed until the next afternoon. We were pretty lucky because we got to stay at a friends beautiful house with a fantastic view. Well that night we went and played pool down by the pier. For a little back story, Tomas took me on a spontaneous trip to Pismo for dinner when we first started dating. Well when we go there everything was closed but this pool hall that served pizza. So we ordered a game of pool and a pizza and had a wonderful time together. Ever since we try to stop and play a game of pool. Well back to present time. After we had played some pool and ate some pizza we headed down to the water. We walked along the pier and talked until we got cold, so we decided it was time to head back to our friends house. The next day we headed back down to the pier where we had a tasty lunch and drinks. After lunch we went to go sit at the beach where we decided to make a sand castle. After the castle it was time to head home. We had such a lovely time in Pismo. I can't wait until we get a chance to go again. :)
Here we are playing a game of pool.
There is Tomas taking his shot.
And there is me trying to take a shot.
This was us walking along the pier.
Lunch time :)
Here is me working on the sand castle.
And there is Tomas working on the sand castle.
Ta Da!!! Our sand castle
Last photo before coming home.
S.W.A.N. Banquet: April 8, 2011
Every year Tomas school has an awards banquet dinner, which are always very fun to attend. So far every year we have gone the name of the banquet has changed. The first year it was called the Barrister's Ball, last year the Amicus Soiree, and this year S.W.A.N. If you were wondering what that stands for it is Scholarship Witcian Awards Night. Whatever the name of the night is, we have always enjoyed dressing up and attending these ceremonies. And so far I would have to say that this year was the best. The food was great and there was entertainment during the awards ceremony. Most of all I enjoyed spending the evening with Tomas. I can't wait until next years banquet, which I am sad to say will be our last since next year Tomas will graduate.
Tomas and I looking wonderful. You can't see the back of my dress but if you did you would see how sexy it looked. If only I got a picture showing my back :)
Awwww!!!!! How cute are we :)
And there is me :)
Fresno Chaffee Zoo: March 14, 2011
Today for my birthday Tomas and I went to the Fresno Chaffee Zoo to celebrate. I haven't been there in years, so we thought it we be a fun way to celebrate my birthday. We got to see a lot of great animals and we learned lots of new things as well. Below are some of the photos of the animals we saw during our visit to the zoo. :)
No, that is not an animal. That is just me striking a pose :)
This is one of the first animals we saw. It is an anteater and it sure did have a very long nose.
This one is a Capybara. It looks like a giant Guinea Pig
Here is the Camel.
This was the Prairie Dog. It looked like a mini version of the Capybara :)
This had to be the biggest tortoise I have ever seen. You can't really tell by the photo, but trust that thing was so big a kid could ride on its back.
Look at the cute sleeping bear.
These sea lions were having so much fun frolicking in the water.
We got up close with the giraffes.
We got so close, that I was able to feed the giraffes. He grabbed those leaves with his long tongue so fast that we could not catch a photo of me feeding him.
Next up were the elephants.
It was very interesting watching them eat.
This is a sleeping porcupine. I don't recall ever seeing one up close.
I was trying to make it look like I was holding the parrot. :)
Next we went to see the stingrays.
Tomas pet them first because I was a little scared.
Then I pet them. They were very slimy :)
Look at the beautiful flamingos.
San Francisco: January 21, 2011
Just recently my boyfriend Tomas and I took a wonderful day trip to San Francisco. We were very lucky because it happened to be a very beautiful day and the weather was perfect. Another nice part about it was there were not too many people there, which was nice. When we first got there we headed to Ghirardelli Square because Tomas has never been there. While there we made sure to stop by the Ghirardelli store and get a free piece of chocolate, yum. After that we decided to head back to Pier 39 to eat, but we got side tracked on the way. Tomas spotted the cool ship in the background so we decided to stop and take a couple of pictures with the ship in the background.
After taking a couple of pics we continued on our way to the pier but we soon found out that we can actually go check out those cool ships. And that is exactly what we did next.
There is Tomas in front of the ship
And there is me :)
You can't really tell, but the Golden Gate Bridge is right behind us.
Tomas on the front part of the ship with the view of the city.
This is the kitchen on the ship. I don't know how they did it because I would never survive with a kitchen that small.
And I would defiantly not be able to handle a toilet like that either.
Now when I first saw this picture I was amazed on how much that guy looks like my dad. Others even agreed with me. Hey maybe this is how my family came to this country. LOL :)
Now I couldn't resist taking this picture for two reasons. The first being that I thought it was cool that the pigeon was striking a pose in front of Alcatraz. And second I am obsessed with Alcatraz. I cant help , but take a picture of this island every time I visit the city. I also own a bunch of movies and books dealing with Alcatraz (with one of those books being a cookbook, which I will have to share with you sometime) And when I was back in school I wrote a few papers on the subject. So can't you just tell that I am obsessed. :)
Halloween Puppies: October 31, 2010
On Halloween I just stayed home and passed out candy to Trick or Treaters. Since I was cleaning my house as I passed out candy I didn't dress up, however my puppies did. Bebe was a devil, Tommy was Santa Claus, and Kevin was a reindeer. Every time there was a trick or treater at the door my puppies went to go greet them as well. The kids loved them. They were their costumes all night until it was time for bed. Hope everyone had a fun Halloween. Now I will leave you with Harry Potter Kevin. I wish he could have worn that all night but it was too big for him because it was actually my costume that I wore to work that day. :)
The Patch: October 16, 2010
Me and Monika before entering the scary creature at The Patch
Everyday when I drove home from work I would see this really cool pumpkin patch. It would always catch my attention because there was this gigantic pumpkin that glowed and a huge scary looking creature. Well one day my boyfriend's sister Monika and I decided to go check it out. We weren't really sure what all was there, we just thought it was just one of those pumpkin patches that you see on many corners around town with. We were proven wrong, this pumpkin patch was way better than we expected. There was so much there to do. First we went to go check out the giant glowing pumpkin which turned out to be a costume store. After the pumpkin we went to go check out the food they have to offer. Since Monika couldn't make it to the Fresno Fair she got herself a funnel cake and I got myself a fried snickers which was way better that the fried Klondike Bar I had at there fair a few days back. After we ate we decided to go check out the giant creature which turned out to be a haunted house type of thing. Turns out the thing was pretty scary, we screamed the whole way through. After the creature we went around the patch and took some fun pictures. We decided that we should end the night with some pumpkin carving, but we didn't want to buy our pumpkins there because of the prices, therefore we went to Savemart because we could get three for ten dollars. Overall we had a great night and I am so glad we went to the Patch because that place was fun, I will definitely go back next year if it is there.
Carving Pumpkins
The finshed products. Mine is the Cupcake (it also say's Brandy's Creation's on the bottom) Monika's is the cat.
Here is what mine looked like lit up.
The Big Fresno Fair: October 14, 2010
I have never been to the Fresno Fair before, so this year I asked me boyfriend Tomas to take me there. It has many years since I have been to a fair, so this visit was long overdue. Now the main thing I like about fairs is the foods. I know that the foods are very fattening and pricey, but for something that only comes around once a year, I figured I should enjoy myself and eat things that I would not usually eat. For instance I really wanted to try the fried Klondike Bar. It was ok, but it is not something I would have again. We usually don't ride the rides at the fair but we decided that we would pick one and go on that. Tomas favorite ride was the Zipper, so we got our tickets and got in line. Finally it was our turn to get on, so we took our seats. The ride went around one time and then they told us we had to get off because of some malfunction. After we got our tickets back we decided to go on one of the ferris wheels there. I felt it was a good choice because we got a great view of the fair. Overall we had a lot of fun and I am glad that Tomas finally took me to the Big Fresno Fair :)
Here is the view we had from the top of the ferris wheel
And here is us on the ferris wheel. :)
California Adventure Again: July 28, 2010
Tomas and me on our trip back to California Adventure
We went back to California Adventure this week and we had a blast. Little did I know that when we left the last week that we would be back in just a week. The only thing different was that we took Tomas's three brothers with us this time. We ended up waking up at 3 in the morning that way we would be there when the park opened. Besides riding some of the rides that we rode last time, which we loved, we were also able to do some things that we didn't get to do last week. For instance we watched the Aladdin Musical and we went on the Mission Tortilla Factory tour as well as the Boudin Bakery Tour. At the end of the tortilla tour they gave us a free tortilla to sample, it was so yummy. We didn't get a free sample at the end of the bakery tour, however Tomas did end up buying me a Mickey Mouse shaped loaf of sourdough bread. I was excited about the bread because i was able to eat another mickey mouse shaped food. We ended our magical trip with watching the wonderful show World of Color again. That show is so magical, I would recommend that if any one goes to California Adventure that they watch that show at least once. After the show was over we hit the road and headed home. We didn't get home until 2:30 in the morning. I am so glad I got the chance to go back to California Adventure even though it was a short trip. :)
Here is me with my Mickey Mouse shaped bread
I'm being silly acting like its my head. :)
Tomas is in the black in the first car sticking his tongue out at me as he rode by on the roller coaster California Screamin
I just had to take a picture of the giant partially eaten cupcake in the Bug's Life section of the park.
Disneyland and California Adventure: July 20-21, 2010
Me in front of the Ferris wheel in California Adventure
My boyfriend Tomas and I just recently went on a trip to the most magical place on earth, Disneyland and California Adventure. We really love theme parks and these two were the last on our list of ones to visit in California. We went for two days and we had a blast. We were having so much fun we didn't want to come home. Here are some pictures from our wonderful vacation.
This is Tomas and I at California Adventure in front of a backdrop which looked like it went on forever.
This was at a waterfall by Grizzly Falls. These pictures reminded me of the time me and Tomas went to Yosemite National Park. Great Memories.
The Hollywood Tower of Terror was our most favorite ride in the whole park. We actually went on it a couple of times.
On the second day we had breakfast in Disneyland with Minnie Mouse and Friends. I loved how the characters came to our tables and took pictures with us. And the food was good too.
Here is us with Minnie Mouse.
Here is Piglet.
And these little cuddly critters were of course Chip and Dale. They gave me balloons, but I didn't want to carry them around all day. I left them outside one of the rides in hopes that some kids will find them and enjoy them.
In these pictures we decided to ride in the canoes, we didn't realize that it would be a work out.
And I couldn't leave the park with out enjoying some Mickey Mouse shaped foods. And of course I had to bite the ears off first.
Trip To Shaver Lake: May 30-31, 2010
On Sunday May 30th Tomas and I took a spontaneous trip to Shaver Lake for the night. We were invited to come stay at his friends cabin for the night. So after a long day at work we packed up our stuff and headed up for the cabin. Lucky for us it was only a short drive a way. When we got there it took us no time at all to get comfortable and start having fun. I ended up having quite a bit to drink, it actually wasn't too much, but since it has been a while since I had that much to drink I was feeling good in no time. Within a few hours I feel asleep and next thing I knew it was morning. It was so wonderful waking up in the morning with such a beautiful view. When we all finally woke up we decided to go grab some breakfast, which tasted great. After we ate we headed back to the cabin to rest for a little while before heading to the lake. When we got to the lake we rented ourselves a paddle boat and headed out to the middle of the lake. It was so nice being out there. I wish we could have stayed out there longer, but we had to return the paddle boat by a certain time. So we headed back for shore. I felt like I was getting a great workout for my legs with all the peddling I had to do. I wish the trip could have lasted longer, but it was nice while it lasted. I cant wait until I have the chance to go again. Below are a few photos we took while paddle boating. I forgot to bring the camera, so we had to use the camera phone. The photos actually came out pretty good for being a phone. :)
Here is me sitting on the boat.
There is Tomas with the beautiful view in the background.
Tomas stood on the boat to get this shot. He got lucky he didn't fall in.
Here is the two of us with our heads chopped off :)
Here is a better photo of us :)
One last view of the lake.
Trip To Pismo: May 12, 2010
The Family Photo
Just recently my boyfriend Tomas and I decided we should take a trip to the coast. So we loaded up the truck and our puppies and headed off to Pismo Beach for the day. When we got there we soon learned that it was going to be a very windy day, but we still made the most of it. We started up the BBQ grill, which was a bit of a challenge because the wind kept blowing out the matches, about a whole book of matches later we were ready to start grilling. We grilled us up some steak kebabs and some corn as well just because we love grilled corn. Unfortunately, we didn't have a complete meal because we left the bread and the pot to cook the beans at home on the counter. So we considered our meal a snack for the time being. We even brought the ingredients to make smores, but with the wind we didn't think that would be such a great idea. After we ate we walked the dogs along the beach and collected shells. The dogs had a blast splashing in the waves and chasing the seagulls. After a while we decided it was time to load everything back into the car and head home. It was nice to go to the beach for day and we cant wait until we have the chance to go again. I just hope next time it is not as windy. :)
Here is me and my wonderful boyfriend Tomas.
And these last photos are of me and my beautiful puppies. Tommy and Kevin had no problem looking at the camera. Bebe however was more interested at looking at the birds flying overhead then taking a picture with me, so that was the best picture I could take of us.
Pin It
Posts
