Tea and Yosemite

Today I woke up feeling like I'm fighting a head cold, so i decided to skip swimming and come to Steady Eddy's instead for lunch and green tea.  It's much warmer than I thought it would be, so I'm sitting outside right now on their front porch drinking from my large green pot of Chinese green tea (refer to large green pot in picture :-) ). 

I cannot believe it's been THREE months since I left my job to become a "travel wife"! Time really flies by.  Sometimes I have moments of wondering if I should be contributing more to the world than just: eating, swimming, napping, planning meal, sleeping, repeat. But mainly I'm just really enjoying the sunshine and sharing my evenings with Todd everyday.  

This past weekend Todd and I stayed in California and drove four hours to Yosemite National Park.  We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge just outside the south entrance to the park. Entering the park was beyond awe inspiring.  I had heard so many people say how beautiful it is, but had no idea until I was there in person. One of Todd's colleagues from Spain even said that Yosemite is worth the whole trip to come to America.  

You drive into the Yosemite Valley which is surrounded by the glacier cut mountains.  The words that come to mind are: immense, majestic, grand.  The initial view through of the valley with all of its mountains is called the Tunnel View, a must see.  We spent one day hiking around the various sites: Lower Yosemite Falls, El Capitan, and then horseback riding through the Sierra National Forest.  The second day it had snowed 5 inches, so we hiked up the closed road to the Mariposa Grove of Sequoia Trees. Gorgeous.  So impossible to believe that the sequoia trees can range from 1,000 to 3,000 years old!! I really recommend anyone to take the trip to see Yosemite. You won't be disappointed!