Road Tripping...

Hello Friends!!!

As for the last 2 weekends, Courtney and I have been road tripping a bit. Last Friday, I picked her up from the airport from her long Easter vacation home and didn't do much that night. That Saturday, we went into Gilroy to the large outlet mall for a little bit of shopping but first we stopped in Castroville, which is the artichoke center of the world, and got a picture with a giant artichoke =)

After Gilroy, we found a county park with a lake and spent the day laying out and exploring the area a bit. Oh! I forgot to talk about the weather! It was unbelievable! It was in the 70's - 80's on Saturday, which is not normal for this area.

As for Sunday, we headed into Santa Cruz to the boardwalk for the day. It supposedly only got into the 80's, but this is what Courtney's car told us...

On Monday, we went to the Aquarium because it was the last day we would be able to go free (it's the aquarium's anniversary so Monterey County residents get in free on the 20th of every month this year.) The new Sea Horse exhibit was just opened so we were very excited to see all of them!

We decided on short notice to travel to Yosemite National Park to camp this weekend and didn't quite realize how difficult it would be to get a site. We were able to get one for last night, though, so we ventured the crazy mountains out here and got there mid afternoon yesterday and spent the night and came home today. It was GORGEOUS there and I cannot wait to go back when Chris gets here! It was honestly breathtaking! It was also a great camping experience! It is "Bear Country" and we were warned around every corner. There were actually 6 bear "incidents" in the campground the week before! CRAZY! We also had a couple of neighbors who were on a 3 week trip from Germany who were very interesting to talk to! Here are some shots I got at the park...

Here is one of the first looks we got of the Yosemite Valley...

The next two are of Yosemite Falls...

And this little guy was very nice and came very close to us =)

Well, that is all of the excitement I had over the last week =) Now the rest of this weekend will be spent catching up on homework and hopefully getting things in order for the last couple weeks of school. I can't believe I'll only be out here for a few more weeks! I am very excited to get home but will definitely miss California...

Happy Easter!!!

Hello Everyone!

I hope you all had a WONDERFUL Easter weekend! Mine was alright... nothing special, but hey, I did spend some of yesterday on a beach, so I can't really complain =) Except that I wasn't able to be home with my wonderful family and boyfriend and his family... I hope you all know just how much I miss you all! It was great to see you all even just for that little bit on Skype! It is a wonderful thing to have when I'm so far away!

I also just wanted to take a second to thank everyone who has thought of me over the last couple months and sent me a card (or cookies or other fun things!!!)! It means the world to me that you are thinking of me out here! I keep these cards taped up around my room so have reminders of all the people back home who love me =)

Over the next few weeks here, Court and I will be doing a lot more exploring and I will be sure to post pics from everywhere we go! I'm really going to make this last month amazing and I cannot wait for it to get started next weekend!

On the hopeful agenda - Santa Cruz Boardwalk, Great America, and a lot of other things that really only Courtney and I understand, but there will be pictures anyway =)

Hope everyone has a wonderful week and I will keep in touch!

All smiles from Cali,

Love, Em

A Lonely Easter...

1st off... I had a GREAT time in San Francisco last weekend! For those of you who don't know, Courtney and I went with her Aunt Patty and her aunt's best friend TJ to SF for the weekend! We stopped at an outlet mall in Gilroy on the way up then spent the weekend doing fun touristy things including walking the Golden Gate Bridge, a tour of Alcatraz (in which we did an audio tour and James Quillen was one of the narrators), walked around Pier 39, explored Union Square and took the cable cars. Over all, it was a great weekend. Court and I went off on our own for most of it which was really cool and fun!

Now, unfortunately, I will be spending what I believe will be my first major holiday without my family. It wouldn't be so bad if Courtney were her but she was able to go home for the weekend (in which I had to take her to the airport this morning at 4:30!!) and I am SO happy for her that she got to do that! Very jealous, but also very happy! So, this weekend, Geralynn will be here which is exciting! Also, I have BIG plans including Chris' website, working on journals for class, papers, moving my room around, etc. =)

Also I am VERY excited because I registered for classes today and got into all the ones that I needed/wanted! =) There is one class that I am so excited about and it is a Book Arts class! Here is an article on the professor and what it really is if you are curious... http://volumeone.org/magazine/articles/398/In_a_Bind.html

I'm also taking Intro to Photo, Drawing 2, Women and Violence, and Art History. And no classes on Fridays! Which means one more day that I can work... Oh, anyone know anywhere that I can work during the school year in EC? =)

Alright, I actually have to head to class now... I hope all is well with everyone and that you have a WONDERFUL Easter! I'll be thinking of you!!!

View of the Golden Gate from the boat to Alcatraz

We did a night tour of Alcatraz so the view of the city was amazing!

Here is one with some "ghosts" =)

Stairway to the cell blocks

"Fire-eater" at Pier 39