Highlights from End of May & June

Once again, we find ourselves behind, so time to get up to speed! Here are a few things that kept us tied up during early summer.

Patrick is in our church's Men's "Summer Stretch" program again this year. Not everyone is an experienced hiker/camper, so one thing they did differently this year was work in a preparatory day hike to give people a small taste of what they can expect on the climatic several-day trek in September. 

Patrick has now seen the Yosemite Valley floor from a handful of different angles/depths than I have.

Just a few guys are pictured, but there are more than twice the bunch of last year, at about 30-40 men. That will be quite the coordination effort for the large hike later! They are concerned about obtaining enough permits.

Patrick and I spent 24 hours in LA to rendezvous with our family friend, Evander, during the screening of his thesis film at the UCLA Prom Animation Festival. Unfortunately his flight out of the country was just the next day so we didn't get much time with him, but we decided to check out a few sights before our return trip. We wandered the Farmer's Market building, where I saw this stunning tiled wall I thought my mom would like.

We also explored the LA Zoo, where we paid the additional $10 each to go on the Indian Rhinoceros tour. Our money earned us a close-up photo, and the chance to pet and feed half an apple to Rhonda; definitely worth the expense! It's not very noticeable in this photo, but her horn was lost due to cancer. However, she is in remission and leads the life of a princess, her attendants informed us!

Seeing the elephants was another high point, especially with it's full tusks!

I am not sure I've seen a koala bear in person before, but they reminded me of teddy bears for sure.

This giraffe family was fun to watch. The little tyke spritzed about, the mom followed after, and the dad trailed behind. They didn't have far to walk but they always took every step in any direction together.

On the way back to Merced, we were stuck in traffic due to a fire. We saw the plume of smoke from quite far off. As we crept/waited, about 15 emergency vehicles passed us in the shoulder of the highway, and helicopters would periodically fly by, headed in the same direction. Eventually we were close enough to see flames still alight at the top of the hill and a group of firefighters hiking up to it. If you glance through the car window in the bottom right corner, you'll notice a glimpse of the completely charred truck we suspect caught the hillside on fire.

I turned 29 this year, and celebrated by making a double batch of confetti cupcakes in ice cream cones, decorated with pink frosting and 7 sprinkle varieties. It took me 3-4 hours to do so, with help from a friend, but they were completely delicious and cute as a button!

July review is headed your way in the near future!