Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Thanksgiving
Things I am thankful for this year:
1) Family and how much they have given me over the years.
2) Friendships I have made that have helped to shape the person I am today.
3) A big comfy warm bed in my freezing basement room.
4) Space heaters.
5) A hound that wakes me up every morning with her big wet nose in my face.
6) The church and the amazing gospel that it brings.
7) Fat baby animals.
8) New crushes when trying to get over someone.
9) Sushi.
10) The beauty of the earth.
11) A car that I have had for 10 years that has kept me from ever getting into an accident.
12) My job.
13) All of the amazing opportunities I have had in my life, and the opportunities yet to come.
14) LOVE.
15) Music and the few talents I have involved.
16) Cowboy boots.
17) Burt's Bees Chapstick, especially in the winter.
18) Seasons and the variety of activities we can do outdoors.
19) My DSLR camera.
20) Stars and the many wonders I have when looking up at them.
My Latest Adventure
So I have been dating this guy who really keeps me on my toes. Last night we decided to go on a night hike. I love night hikes. This boy, we'll call him "G", wanted to go where the snow was pretty packed down already, so we wouldn't have a hard time hiking through deep powdery snow that we get here in Utah. So where else has packed down snow right now than a ski slope?!
We had a good rest, and as we were getting up, noticed the snowmobilers were out... Which means..... BUSTED!!! Pretty sure we were trespassing.... They were coming straight for us and stopped about 30 yards away from us, with their lights shining bright near us, and got off. They walked over to some contraption, messed with it for a few seconds, and were off! They didn't even notice us! Their lights must have been too bright, that their eyes were adjusted to it, and it was pitch black everywhere else around them. We were standing right there, and the dogs were with us too, haha. So we got off ok and after they left (up the mountain) we continued to hike up as well, to see just how high we could get. Along the way we passed moose tracks... pretty large ones at that, but no moose.... yet...
We hiked another half-hour or so up the mountain, and arrived at a chair lift. At this point we had hiked maybe 1500 feet elevation gain, straight up, so the thought of a dry comfy chair was quite inviting. It was closed of course, but we opted to take a chance and sit on the chair! Convenient, yes? We sat there and talked for a good half hour, and again the snowmobilers whizzed right by us, headed back down the mountain, not noticing us at all, or the dogs running around. We continued to sit and talk a while longer, and again, the snowmobilers whizz by us, up the mountain again! Never seeing us sitting there on the chair lift. We thought this was a good time to head back down.
We went to Snowbasin Resort, and arrived at the mountain around 6:30pm, already pretty pitch dark in the mountains at that time. We had all of our many layers on, and headlamps, as well as our "survival food": jerky, Cheetos and gatorade. We started up the mountain with the dogs running loose, and saw the massive mountain in front of us, glowing in the light of the stars. It looked a little intimidating but we sucked it up and started up the slope.
(daylight photo)
The hike was surprisingly not horrible, even though the slope was a good 45 degree angle the first 200 yards. We made it on top of the steepest part in about 20 minutes and took a break and sat down overlooking the valley below. If it was daytime it would have looked like this...
We hiked another half-hour or so up the mountain, and arrived at a chair lift. At this point we had hiked maybe 1500 feet elevation gain, straight up, so the thought of a dry comfy chair was quite inviting. It was closed of course, but we opted to take a chance and sit on the chair! Convenient, yes? We sat there and talked for a good half hour, and again the snowmobilers whizzed right by us, headed back down the mountain, not noticing us at all, or the dogs running around. We continued to sit and talk a while longer, and again, the snowmobilers whizz by us, up the mountain again! Never seeing us sitting there on the chair lift. We thought this was a good time to head back down.So of course being down-hill the whole way down, we ran down the first half, and when we got to the steepest part of the slope at the beginning of the hike, the only way we could really get down was so slide on our butts! So we did. A good 200 yards at least. And it was awesome. And the dogs were hilarious chasing and jumping on us.
On the drive down the mountain after the hike, a moose ran right across the road in front of us, and 'G' yelled "deer!".... but then by the time I looked ahead and noticed, we were like "that was a moose!" It was a large juvinile, and it dodged into the woods where by the time he pulled over to see it, it was long gone. It was pretty cool though.
We later found out that opening day for the season was today, so we were the first ones on the slope! I wondered why it was so clean and perfect... no ski marks in the snow or anything. Haha hopefully we didn't mess it up too bad with our walking all over it and sledding down on our butts! Haha good times.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Hapa - Ka Uluwehi O Ke Kai
My mom used to play this song on her guitar all the time when I was growing up, and I just found it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!
Friday, November 4, 2011
My First Cruise (Hawaii!!!!)
My mom is quite wonderful. Both my parents have been my whole life... I seriously have been so spoiled it's ridiculous. Every so often my mom and I like to go on a trip of some sort. Last spring we went to the Bay Area to visit family we haven't seen in years and wander the streets of San Francisco, and hit the beach in Santa Cruz, but this time... it was a cruise around the Hawaiian Islands!! It was pretty surreal being on a ship... or... floating hotel.
We started in Oahu, and made our way down to Maui where we stayed for 2 days. In Maui we spent the first day on the beach... you know, get a little tan started ;) Or.... at least even out mine!!
The next day (day 2) we took a submarine 130ft into the ocean to look at the amazing reef. I love the reef. It has always fascinated me, but more so when I got to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is really a whole different world down there, and so amazing to not see for yourself. We saw so many different species of fish, a sunken ship, and awesome corals.
That day we also walked around the little town of Lehaina, shopped in the little shops, and of COURSE ate at Bubba Gump's. The shrimp tacos were to die for. This little town reminded me a lot of Santa Cruz, CA.
We also visited the second-largest banyan tree in the world in Lehaina. This tree is amazing. The branches grow outward, and produce these long vines that, when they reach the ground, grow roots of their own and make their own tree! Amazing.
That night we sailed into Hilo, on the Big Island, and the next day (day 3) we took a helicopter ride to Mt. Kileuea where we got to fly over the huge Pu'u o'o Crater and the flowing lava. It was incredible to see that in real life! We flew over the massive flow from the 80's that covered a whole town, leaving one house ("Jack's house") standing. Also quite incredible.
(Jack's house is the little red dot):
The next day (day 4) my mom lounged on the ship drinking her pina coladas (out of a real pineapple of course) basking in the sun, while I took one of the lifeboats to shore where I went SCUBA DIVING!! My favorite thing in the world. I went out of Kona, which is an absolute beautiful place on the Big Island. The water was so clear and GREEN, looking at it from the shore. I went with only 3 other people, so it was very nice indeed. I would love to get certified and be able to go out every time I go to the ocean. I didn't get any pictures under water, but my mom and I hit up the town of Kona and went shopping later that afternoon, where I got some pictures of the area.
That night we sailed into Kauai, my favorite island. This place is a paradise. The whole island is mountainous and one huge rainforest... my kind of place :). Day 5 we soaked up the sun on the beach, and checked out the amazing gardens on the Marriott grounds. It's crazy because first minute it can be warm and sunny, and the next, a downpour! But the downpour never seemed to last more than 5 minutes.
That night we hit up a luau where we watched one of the best shows ever. The music was amazing, and so were the dancers. The food of course was good, but I still don't care for 'poi' much :p.
The next day (day 6) was our last full day, and we ended it with a "bang" and went zip-lining over the rainforest. This is something that's so fun to watch my mom do, because it's something adventurous she enjoys doing! She got a thrill out of it. I must add that this is the same zip-line that Johnny Depp did when he was filming "Pirates" ;). I love him.
Of course we went to many fancy dinners on the ship, and I even tried escargot! It wasn't bad. The ship is full of things I didn't know would be on a ship (I mean I was still picturing the Titanic when I thought of the inside of the ship before I got on...), like huge party rooms, theaters, so many bars I couldn't count, all with their own theme, pools, hottubs, a huge gym, you name it, they had it. Even "cute boys" like the one that called my mom and me "lovely ladies!" every time he saw us. I think his name was Ryan?
As we were leaving Kauai, the captain was kind enough to "swing by" the Na Pali coast on the North side of the island before making our way back to Oahu, which is South of Kauai. The sight was incredible. This is why this island is such a paradise:
All in all the trip was amazing, and I love everything about Hawaii. The natives are the friendliest people you will ever meet, and I just love the smells of plumeria and hibiscus everywhere you go, and the damp air on your skin. I would go back and live there in a heartbeat... if I were rich. Thank you, mom, for such a great trip! Sorry I P.M.S.'d for a lot of it, but I really did have so much fun ;)
We started in Oahu, and made our way down to Maui where we stayed for 2 days. In Maui we spent the first day on the beach... you know, get a little tan started ;) Or.... at least even out mine!!
The next day (day 2) we took a submarine 130ft into the ocean to look at the amazing reef. I love the reef. It has always fascinated me, but more so when I got to go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. It is really a whole different world down there, and so amazing to not see for yourself. We saw so many different species of fish, a sunken ship, and awesome corals.
That day we also walked around the little town of Lehaina, shopped in the little shops, and of COURSE ate at Bubba Gump's. The shrimp tacos were to die for. This little town reminded me a lot of Santa Cruz, CA.
We also visited the second-largest banyan tree in the world in Lehaina. This tree is amazing. The branches grow outward, and produce these long vines that, when they reach the ground, grow roots of their own and make their own tree! Amazing.
That night we sailed into Hilo, on the Big Island, and the next day (day 3) we took a helicopter ride to Mt. Kileuea where we got to fly over the huge Pu'u o'o Crater and the flowing lava. It was incredible to see that in real life! We flew over the massive flow from the 80's that covered a whole town, leaving one house ("Jack's house") standing. Also quite incredible.
(Jack's house is the little red dot):
The next day (day 4) my mom lounged on the ship drinking her pina coladas (out of a real pineapple of course) basking in the sun, while I took one of the lifeboats to shore where I went SCUBA DIVING!! My favorite thing in the world. I went out of Kona, which is an absolute beautiful place on the Big Island. The water was so clear and GREEN, looking at it from the shore. I went with only 3 other people, so it was very nice indeed. I would love to get certified and be able to go out every time I go to the ocean. I didn't get any pictures under water, but my mom and I hit up the town of Kona and went shopping later that afternoon, where I got some pictures of the area.
That night we sailed into Kauai, my favorite island. This place is a paradise. The whole island is mountainous and one huge rainforest... my kind of place :). Day 5 we soaked up the sun on the beach, and checked out the amazing gardens on the Marriott grounds. It's crazy because first minute it can be warm and sunny, and the next, a downpour! But the downpour never seemed to last more than 5 minutes.
That night we hit up a luau where we watched one of the best shows ever. The music was amazing, and so were the dancers. The food of course was good, but I still don't care for 'poi' much :p.
The next day (day 6) was our last full day, and we ended it with a "bang" and went zip-lining over the rainforest. This is something that's so fun to watch my mom do, because it's something adventurous she enjoys doing! She got a thrill out of it. I must add that this is the same zip-line that Johnny Depp did when he was filming "Pirates" ;). I love him.
Of course we went to many fancy dinners on the ship, and I even tried escargot! It wasn't bad. The ship is full of things I didn't know would be on a ship (I mean I was still picturing the Titanic when I thought of the inside of the ship before I got on...), like huge party rooms, theaters, so many bars I couldn't count, all with their own theme, pools, hottubs, a huge gym, you name it, they had it. Even "cute boys" like the one that called my mom and me "lovely ladies!" every time he saw us. I think his name was Ryan?
As we were leaving Kauai, the captain was kind enough to "swing by" the Na Pali coast on the North side of the island before making our way back to Oahu, which is South of Kauai. The sight was incredible. This is why this island is such a paradise:
All in all the trip was amazing, and I love everything about Hawaii. The natives are the friendliest people you will ever meet, and I just love the smells of plumeria and hibiscus everywhere you go, and the damp air on your skin. I would go back and live there in a heartbeat... if I were rich. Thank you, mom, for such a great trip! Sorry I P.M.S.'d for a lot of it, but I really did have so much fun ;)
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
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