SPRING BREAK WITH DEBBIE & SLADE!

Tunnel view...we were blessed with wonderful weather. Debbie was so excited to see Bridal Veil Falls from the view. Slade couldn't believe people actually climbed El Capitan.

Vernal Falls...isn't this precious. Debbie with her boys looking at a waterfall....I am sure she is one happy mother right now!

These are the roots to the "Leaning Tower" Giant Sequioa tree. We hiked down to the grove in the snow, the snow was so high that it covered up picnic tables, and we had to brush snow off the signs that told us about the giant Sequoias!

CHINATOWN in the USA...this is the biggest Chinatown in the United States. It had great shopping, Debbie went to the local market and bought some incredible strawberries. I was getting a little grossed out by all the hanging chickens and ducks...with their heads still on! We ended our day with Gelato...Seth was memorized by the delicious taste of it! Sue was so sweet to us, we had so much fun spending the night and hanging out!

We are on the Santa Cruz Pier, where we saw Sea Lions and Seals! We ate at a good restaurant and then walked on the beach a little bit...the boys didn't like getting their feet wet...it was too cold for them...poor boys!

This is some brotherly love in the Golden State at the Golden Gate Bridge! The Golden Gate Bridge was named after all the golden flowers on the hillside...not the gold rush. Sweet moves boys!

This is at Alcatraz, we took the night tour. We heard all these doors open and slam shut...it was an erie feeling.

This is on our hike to Vernal and Nevada Falls, we had to hike through snow, hills, and water sprays to get to our destination!!! It was the most beautiful hike...Debbie got her waterfall fix I would have to say! :)

Here we are at Half Moon Bay. We climbed all over the rocks and watched the spray from the big waves!

HALF MOON BAY DAY...SURFS UP

We had a relaxing day at Half Moon Bay, it was about a 35 minute drive from our place and it was a beautiful day! Shorts and a T-shirt would have been perfect where we live, but once we got on the beach the waves were blowing in some strong winds. We cuddled under a blanket and listened to the sounds of the waves and took a nap on the beach. The waves were beautiful to watch because they were huge and made tons of white foam. We could tell that there were some gnarly currents going on due to the angles of the waves...this is a place where only expert surfers get to ride the waves. We played some Frisbee on the beach and then our tummy's told us we were hungry. We went to this seafood shack that was really well known, and the food was marvelous! The crab cheesy bread and the fish taco were the highlight of our meal....so good...I am a changed lady because of Seth...I really enjoy seafood now! We then went exploring all the different beaches and ended up sitting on some huge rocks watching a surf meet for kids. We had fun watching them show off, and set in amazement of how young some of them were! We feel blessed to have lazy days like these where we really just get to enjoy one another and the relationship that we have!

Seth's One Minute of Fame

YO-YO-YOSEMITE!

We are on our hike to the base of El Capitan, I believe that these are the Cathedral rocks behind us. When we were at the base and looking straight up the biggest slab of granite in the world, and camera case fell from one of the rock climbers. We yelled and yelled and finally got their attention to let them know where we put it, but then it started getting a little scary because rocks were falling...pretty big rocks. We got out of there in a hurry!

Here we are at the bottom of the lower falls.

This is Yosemite Lower Falls, it is flowing really good because there was lots of snow melt...so guess how cold that water was. We hiked to the bottom of the falls and got completely wet just from the mist, but we had our waterproof jackets thanks to Seth...so we didn't get cold.

Seth is in awe of how big the waterfalls are....and creating ideas about how he can hike up to the top of one...sounds like him doesn't it?

This is Half Dome in the background, our camp ground was right under Half Dome...so when we looked up through the Redwoods we would see the face of Half Dome. Also, the bears have been getting a little more tricky, so the camp ground rangers made us sign a contract about our food and use a Bear Box. On our first night I hadn't yet figured out how to lock it completely and I look over and a Coon is already trying to get my Oreos....So it is a coon and bear box.



I was looking everywhere for this rock, because this is where my Dad always takes a picture of us when we go. It is really neat to see us grow in the timeline of pictures, but the background stays the same. Seth and I are going to start the same tradition, and watch us grow through our visits to Yosemite!

This picture is from Tunnel View, where you can see the whole valley. When my parents took me to Yosemite, this would be our first stop. One time I saw a wedding party taking their wedding pictures at this spot...wouldn't that just be amazing!

What a Wonderful Day It Was...

Cousin Sue had Us Over for a Wonderful Dinner!

Last night we went over to our cousin Sue's house for dinner. She made us such a wonderful meal, and Aunt Billie had canned some peaches and put them over ice cream for dessert for us (fabulous)! We talked all night long about Snowden family memories (Sue and Ed are cousins), our lives, and I think we might have convinced Sue to go rock climbing in an indoor gym!!! (No pressure Sue...haha) Sue and Aunt Billie have a cat (which is beautiful), so once it gets comfortable with me...I can start getting my pet fix in! I miss my Indy so much!
Dad, guess what kind of plums Sue has growing in her backyard...SANTA ROSA PLUMS! She said they were her favorite as well!

Seth and I were talking on our way home last night about how nice it is to have family here, and how excited we are to get to spend more time with them!

Silicon Valley...Free tour here we come!

This is where we went to church on Wednesday night, it was small, but the message was good. The preacher was very nice and came to talk to us as soon as the service was over.We went to the Intel museum in Silicon Valley ( this is the valley where huge technology corporations are....much of the latest technology begins from this valley, or so I hear). Seth and I have been trying to watch the last couple episodes of LOST season 6 on the Internet, so maybe we could start watching it on real TV, however it loads and buffers really slow. Seth said before we got here that he wants to know why it takes soooooo loooonnnggg to watch an episode....well...well...he found his answers here. It is because the balls are too big for the circle...or in other words the broadband was being over used with other users and video files are the biggest files to try to transfer so it is harder to fit through especially when others are using the Internet trying to fit different size balls through as well...at least that is what we got from it.

Which one is my hot husband??? This was Seth's favorite part, dressing up like he was getting ready to go into a cleanroom.

Seth and I spelled "MISSISSIPPI" using a binary code using 1's and 0's opening and closing transistors to send a code for the specific letter.

BIG SUR

The rocks were so smooth, and I was testing to see what water was warmer...I think the fresh water was. This was a neat spot because you saw where freshwater meets with the ocean...all rivers lead to the ocean! We walked through a mini rainforest to get to the beach...it is an important ecological part of this area. Look at Seth's big muscles!

This is where we washed the sand off our feet before we left. Do you see how green it is behind me? It was a huge contrast to the beach and dark rocks. The temperature was in the high 50's, but the wind off the ocean was chili.

We watched this huge water logged log get pushed around by the big waves, but when I went to examine how big it was I realized how heavy it really was! I couldn't budge it, that just goes to show how strong the water was coming in.

This should be the cover to the book "Wild at Heart", Seth was in his element here (except for the cold water), there was so much to explore with just enough risk to make it interesting from the big waves.

I know Seth wanted to get closer and let the wave coming through that open gratto to push him to shore...I know if Slade was there with him they both would have been all over it!

We had so much fun just hanging out together at Big Sur. We really just enjoyed our time living...we played, cuddled, explored, and flirted all day long! What a wonderful day!

We took about 15 shots trying to get the wave crashing behind us, however it was hard because we had to listen to the wave to time the crash...not watch it b/c we had to be smiling for the camera!

This was my humpback whale watching spot...we saw many blowholes, the whales breaching coming up for air...and Seth saw them do their humpback splash thing....I just saw the splash of it :( That is on my Bucket List...to see a Humpback whale jump, Seth gets to cross it off, but I am still looking! They were migrating back up to Alaska with their babies!

SEA LIONS and TOURIST and TROLLEYS...OH MY

San Francisco Treat

We wandered into the city yesterday. We started by getting breakfast at a bakery, and Seth introduced me to a cream cheese danish...can't believe I never have had one before! We drove to the BART station, which is like the tram going in and out of the city....( Thanks for the pointer Uncle Wayne)! Once we got into the city we knew we had to get on Trolley "F", we found trolley "F" it was old school looking, really cute. However, once we had been one the trolley for about an hour, we figured out we got on the Trolley "F" going the opposite direction... we were on our way to "The Fisherman's Wharf". So what was supposed to take us a few minutes...lets just say we took the scenic route: :) It really worked out though we got to see the city; we really just took the advice of Terrie Sexton...she told us to just ride the trolley all day! Once we got to Peir 39, we just started sight seeing. We both got our first look at the Golden Gate Bridge, it was a little foggy but that is to be expected in the foggy city. We got to look at Alcatraz from Peir 39, I was astonished...I thought that it would be out in the middle of the ocean. I thought that there would be no possible way to swim to land, but it looked possible to me which freaked me out a bit!

My favorite part was getting to see the Sea Lions, I didn't realized that they would be there. I heard on the news that they missed their celebration that they city was going to through for them being there for so long...but now they are back. They were barking and chest bumping, very entertaining. The babies we adorable!

Seth enjoyed interpreting what the Sea Lions were barking about...so we entertained ourselves for a while. We walked around the Peir and read about the history of it all. We saw all the little crab shacks that were the original shack there. We saw Treasure Island, which was called the "Ellis Island" of the west.

We ate at a restaurant that overlooked the San Francisco Bay...looking directly at Alcatraz. It was very very nice and beautiful, and we were the only ones really there ( It was more of a dinner restaurant). Seth picked our waiter's mind, because he didn't want to order anything that wasn't local...he was so proud of me for wanting to order fish! OH MY GOSH...the food was amazing! Seth said "Brooke, we don't even know...we don't even know...how good food can be" Needless to say he is totally stoked about all the San Francisco treats offered!

We went to the chocolate square, and got two cupcakes from a cupcake shop?!?! Seth said someone told him he had to try the cupcakes out...we are going to have them tonight for dessert! He told me that this is what Grandma Sally really liked this area of the Fisherman's Wharf! Then we had to walk back to where our trolley let us off...and my feet were beginning to hurt. You know I had to dress cute, because I knew Seth would want to eat at a nice restaurant, so I wore boots (They really are comfortable, but not so much after I put a few miles on in them)...well we got a little confused and through that confusion Seth lost his trolley ticket...so we walked! We walked and walked and walked...my feet were like tingling and burning...not aching! They were wiggin' out...my feet were doing some funky stuff...so this morning I looked at my feet this morning I wore away like the balls of my feet. On the side of my feet you see my footprint lines, but then on the ball of my foot there is not footprint lines...it is as smooth as a baby's bottom...and still very sensitive. I think the inside of my socks + sole of boot + miles of walking = Layers of skin getting worn away...:) WE HAD SO MUCH FUN! WE ARE EXCITED TO GO BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN....we want to transform from tourist to regular!