Yosemite National Park

Wow, it was great to be back in the park after fourteen years! The winding road to the park takes about an hour to get to the valley. As you drive along this road you see miles and miles of pine trees and snow on the mountain tops. The air is crisp and clean as it passes through your lungs. Once you drive through the tunnel, there is a fabulous view of the valley, which was created by glaciers. That is amazing in itself once you see the depth of the valley.


Saturday we hiked Bridalveil Falls and Vernal Falls and it was quite crowded. We didn't realize it was National Park week (entrance is free) and many from all around were doing the same thing we were doing....enjoying Mother Nature at its finest! After the two hikes we were pretty pooped and enjoyed a hot pizza and cold beer at Curry Village. Curry Village is where I used to work many years ago and the memories were flowing. We were very relaxed and had a wonderful day.



Sunday we went back to the park and enjoyed another hike, Upper Yosemite Falls. We hiked about 4 hours and the views from above the pine trees were amazing. There were many switchbacks and the elevation gain was rather steep but challenging. Yosemite Falls is beautiful and breath taking all at once. The feeling you get from Yosemite is so peaceful and the spiritual feeling I feel here is like no other place!


Our hotel was very cozy and "in the woods" kind of feel. It was definitely a new place to run and enjoy the crisp clean air. I ran about 10 miles and enjoyed every mile looking at the mountain tops with snow and the smell of the pines. The picture enclosed is one of the streets I ran along. It doesn't get much better than this!

Back on the Mainland

We boarded our flight Wed. April 21, and the five hour flight went smoothly. Mo was settled in and did awesome for a cat on a plane. A few meows here and there but once he realized he wasn't getting out of his carrier he slept. They had movies available so we watched Avatar. It was a pretty good movie and glad I finally got to see it. The drive from LA to Delano was quite nice. We saw snow on top of a few mountains and the temp dropped to 41 degrees. Mo was content and slept well in the jeep. The picture proves it! :) Once we arrived in LA we waited patiently for our luggage. We hopped on the shuttle and headed to our room at the La Quinta Inn.


We woke up bright and early the next day so Brian could pick up the jeep from the LA port. The jeep is in great condition with no scratches or dings. Brian was sad because his Tom Tom (GPS) broke so he found a Target and bought a new one, a Garmin this time. I said we had a map but he insisted we would "need" the GPS. I have to admit they are pretty useful! Finally we arrive at The Best Western in Delano, CA. Once we settled in Brian and I went for a run, well we didn't run together because he ran 1.5 miles and I ran 4. After the run we hit the pool and I swam a few laps, yes laps which the pool was 25 feet long which made it about 7 yards. Yeah try and get some decent swimming in that. Then we jumped into the hot tub and relaxed for a few and finally got showered and had some dinner at the local diner which reminded me of a "fancy" Denny's! Here we planned to stay two nights and explore Sequoia Nat Park but called and the road conditions up there are not looking good due to snow. We have decided to stay only one night and head to Yosemite today which is Friday. We will stay there for three nights and see as much as we can and hopefully hike around if not too much snow.

Next post will be about Yosemite hopefully with beautiful pictures!

First Stop Navy Lodge

The movers came last Thursday to start packing us out. They finished by Friday and Brian and I are now homeless with no street address. We are currently staying at the Navy Lodge on Ford Island in Hawaii of course and have 4 more days left. Wow, can't believe it is coming to an end so soon.

Moe, the cat has adjusted pretty well. He had a vet appointment yesterday morning and his health certificate reads a clean bit of health! After his appointment I had to kill several hours before hotel check-in. I had lunch with a friend, picked up my race packet for my sprint triathlon on Sunday, and then finally tried to check in the hotel a bit early. No can do said the receptionist! So Moe and I sat in the truck with a nice breeze blowing through overlooking Pearl Harbor for an hour. It was kind of nice to just sit and relax for once. I did talk to my Mom for almost that full hour as well. I'm looking forward to seeing her and my family!

We finally get checking in, taking almost 35 minutes just to get my room. I had four huge suitcases one being a sea bag weighing sixty something pounds. As I wheel my cart past the front desk I ask where is my elevator to my room, her response was "oh there is no elevator for your room"! I then begin lugging the suitcases and not too long after Brian shows up to the hotel and helps me out! NO elevator! What kind of crap was that!

We unloaded and got organized and Moe finally got to check out the room. Cats are very curious creatures and must seek out all ends of the room. The hotel has nice big window sills for him to view the outdoors. He now sleeps soundly knowing one, he is not going anywhere and two he is safe with his mama and papa!


Our first night here I went out with my girlfriends for dinner and some dancing. I haven't been to a club in a long while and it was more fun people watching than it was to dance. I am so happy that I have Brian and don't have to date anymore. It seems really scary these days! Brian went out with his friend and played some darts and had a few beers. We slept in a bit and had some coffee this morning and now on day 2 here at the Navy Lodge!

Transferring

The last time I posted a blog was almost a month ago. Here it is April 1st and I have exactly 20 days left on the island. The weeks and months have flown by this year and I knew it would. We are in preparation of moving off island. Brian has sold some items that we will no longer need such as my surf board! :( We have planned our road trip from California to Houston and have even shipped my Jeep. Things are happening so fast and the worst part of it all is I am sad to leave my very close friends behind. It's great to move around, explore new cities, have new adventures but meeting great people and leaving them behind sucks! Yes, there is email and the phone but what about the coffee and lunch dates? Those are gone unless you visit that person once you have left. Good friends and good people are hard to come by these days which is sad but so true.

I have one more week of work and then it's vacation time for the Rieger's. Brian will be on leave from April 8th until we leave the island which will be April 21st. We are flying to Los Angeles, picking up our car, and staying one night there. Our first stop will be Sequoia National Park for two days and then Yosemite for three days. I'm so excited about taking Brian to Yosemite. We will then drive towards Las Cruces, NM to visit a friend of mine and then finally head to Houston.

We will enjoy the time we have left here and spend as much time with our friends that we can. They will be missed dearly and thank goodness for skype!