So my Mom and Step-Dad are moving and are in the final stages of packing up. The furniture and stuff is gone already, but some last minute things need to be packed up. So I had to go over there last week to go through about 8 boxes of my stuff that had been in their basement since I moved out after high school. There were some stuffed animals and stuff that mice got into and had to be tossed, but for the most part, everything was in good shape. I just had to sort through it and re-pack what I was keeping.
I found...
- Pics from my early trips to D.C., VA and MD (from '89-'92) my trip to Florida back in '87, pics of friends and I in middle school, and stuff from when I was little (camping, etc)
- Yearbooks from pre-school (Peter Pan) through Middle School
- T-shirts my Mom brought me back from their travels through Europe, Mexico, Africa and the Orient
- Baby clothes
- Newspapers/Mags. I collect them from major events and I found the 1989 earthquake, Berlin Wall coming down, the Challenger disaster, Lucile Ball and Bette Davis passing, a mag with Krissy Taylor on the cover before passing, a mag with an interview with River Phoenix before passing, and a bunch of others that I left folded up.
- Letters from the German and Japanese exchange students we had briefly when I was in high school, letters from friends when they moved away, and a few from a friend when she spent time in Iran one summer, etc.
- 6 or so diaries/journals dating from around '86 through'94
- Many other letters, notes passed in school, etc.
- Childhood books, including some signed Zilpha Keatley Snyder books like The Egypt Game, and others.
- Ceramics I made in high school
- Art projects from Middle School and High School
- A ton of school papers from Middle School book reports to High School term papers
- Souvenirs from trips
- And much more
I was in consolidate and pack mode, so I didn't really get to take the time to sit down and read through a lot of the stuff. So that will be really fun to do one of these days. The diaries for sure are going to be a trip. I wrote about everything, and usually daily (at least in my Middle School days) about boys, dances, everything. It'll be a crack up to go back and read.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Yosemite 2010
About 2 weeks ago, Claire, Bobby and I decided to head to their family cabin in Foresta (Yosemite) for Easter weekend. I headed to their place on Thursday so we could finalize the menu, etc. Which basically means that they plan yummy food to cook, and I agree to eat it ;-) Then we hung out and played Wii for a while. My first time ever touching the thing, now I want one. We played bowling, archery, wakeboarding and frisbee. Fun stuff. Anyway...
So on Friday, we headed out early'ish and were on our way. Once we hit the entrance to the park, there was snow all around on the side of the road and in the trees. We stopped so I could take a picture. But then there was more snow to see from then on. Snow banks on the side of the road, then through the forest to the left and right. It was beautiful. The last time I recall seeing snow was at the far end of Horseshoe Lake, outside Mammoth Lakes, the last time I was there in 2008 I think. Once we hit Crane Flat, it was actually snowing, so I took some video. Then we got to the cabin and unpacked. There was no snow down in Foresta, but the weather was overcast. We decided to head down to the Valley since it was early in the day still. So we stopped at Bridalveil first. The last time I was there, the water was whisping off the top like some water through a fan. This time it was gushing down, which was great to see. We walked up to the viewing spot, in the rain, then continued on. We headed to the store in the valley and bought some last min food and stuff. I kept looking at the souvenirs and was inclined to buy something. I collect magnets, but have about 5 from Yosemite, so that was pointless. Plus, I figure that I am there every one or 2 years, so I can get stuff next time.
Back at the cabin, we settled in and they made a nice fire in the wood burning stove. Played some Scattergories, Skip-Bo, etc. And they prepped the most amazing looking Enchiladas Verde, with homemade pinto beans and Mexican rice. All made from scratch, starting with the salsa verde for the enchiladas. And me even shucking some fresh peas from their pods for the rice dish. Although my main contribution was continually reading the recipes during the process :-) Unfortunately, I started to not feel well, so headed to bed without eating dinner. It was warm up in the loft with the wood stove shooting all the heat up there. But I adjusted to it.
Saturday (late) morning we headed out to the Ahwanee to check it out (not the first time of course), just because it's beautiful. Then headed to the Valley and had a chicken/mushroom/cheese pizza down there that was pretty good. Then wandered the Native American museum and village. After we went down to check out the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, which were gushing. So we walked the path to the Lower Falls. There was a ton of snow of the ground around the path which was beautiful. Then took a few customary pictures and headed on our way. We drove around the Valley just because. And in doing so, we saw a coyote in a field, so we pulled over and watched it for a while. Then saw a few deer laying down in the distance. Claire and Bobby decided to rent bikes for an hour (which we all did several years ago together) but I opted out this time. So they did that, and in the meantime I wandered a few shops at the Yosemite Lodge, got a snack and sat and watched the ever changing Upper Yosemite Falls, Beautiful!! We headed back to the cabin after that.
Instead of another elaborate dinner, we had a recap of dinner the night before. Luckily, because I missed out. So the enchiladas, beans and rice were amazing. We had the fire stocked again, and very warm, to counter balance the supposed 25-30 degree weather outside. We enjoyed many bottles of wine and sparkling wine this trip, which was a nice change from beer and liquor. Nothing wrong with either. It was just a change :-) After keeping the loft window open for a while to cool me down as I tried to sleep, I closed it and went to bed.
Then it was the ritual of getting up to clean what you had dirtied before leaving the place. So we tidied up for an hour or 2 and headed on our way. Hours later we were back at their place watching the Sharks lose in OT, and eating an awesome spaghetti with homemade meatball and salad dinner :-) A very nice weekend!
So on Friday, we headed out early'ish and were on our way. Once we hit the entrance to the park, there was snow all around on the side of the road and in the trees. We stopped so I could take a picture. But then there was more snow to see from then on. Snow banks on the side of the road, then through the forest to the left and right. It was beautiful. The last time I recall seeing snow was at the far end of Horseshoe Lake, outside Mammoth Lakes, the last time I was there in 2008 I think. Once we hit Crane Flat, it was actually snowing, so I took some video. Then we got to the cabin and unpacked. There was no snow down in Foresta, but the weather was overcast. We decided to head down to the Valley since it was early in the day still. So we stopped at Bridalveil first. The last time I was there, the water was whisping off the top like some water through a fan. This time it was gushing down, which was great to see. We walked up to the viewing spot, in the rain, then continued on. We headed to the store in the valley and bought some last min food and stuff. I kept looking at the souvenirs and was inclined to buy something. I collect magnets, but have about 5 from Yosemite, so that was pointless. Plus, I figure that I am there every one or 2 years, so I can get stuff next time.
Back at the cabin, we settled in and they made a nice fire in the wood burning stove. Played some Scattergories, Skip-Bo, etc. And they prepped the most amazing looking Enchiladas Verde, with homemade pinto beans and Mexican rice. All made from scratch, starting with the salsa verde for the enchiladas. And me even shucking some fresh peas from their pods for the rice dish. Although my main contribution was continually reading the recipes during the process :-) Unfortunately, I started to not feel well, so headed to bed without eating dinner. It was warm up in the loft with the wood stove shooting all the heat up there. But I adjusted to it.
Saturday (late) morning we headed out to the Ahwanee to check it out (not the first time of course), just because it's beautiful. Then headed to the Valley and had a chicken/mushroom/cheese pizza down there that was pretty good. Then wandered the Native American museum and village. After we went down to check out the Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, which were gushing. So we walked the path to the Lower Falls. There was a ton of snow of the ground around the path which was beautiful. Then took a few customary pictures and headed on our way. We drove around the Valley just because. And in doing so, we saw a coyote in a field, so we pulled over and watched it for a while. Then saw a few deer laying down in the distance. Claire and Bobby decided to rent bikes for an hour (which we all did several years ago together) but I opted out this time. So they did that, and in the meantime I wandered a few shops at the Yosemite Lodge, got a snack and sat and watched the ever changing Upper Yosemite Falls, Beautiful!! We headed back to the cabin after that.
Instead of another elaborate dinner, we had a recap of dinner the night before. Luckily, because I missed out. So the enchiladas, beans and rice were amazing. We had the fire stocked again, and very warm, to counter balance the supposed 25-30 degree weather outside. We enjoyed many bottles of wine and sparkling wine this trip, which was a nice change from beer and liquor. Nothing wrong with either. It was just a change :-) After keeping the loft window open for a while to cool me down as I tried to sleep, I closed it and went to bed.
Then it was the ritual of getting up to clean what you had dirtied before leaving the place. So we tidied up for an hour or 2 and headed on our way. Hours later we were back at their place watching the Sharks lose in OT, and eating an awesome spaghetti with homemade meatball and salad dinner :-) A very nice weekend!
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