Sunday, August 10, 2008

Yosemite National Park















I have not taken an actual vacation in such a long time due to school and work. So, when the opportunity came up to go camping, I was on it! My parents kept reminding me that when they first took me to Yosemite, there was a fire and had to turn back. I apparently cried the entire 4 hour drive home. I was 3 and it doesn't quite make sense to me why you would want to go camping with a 3-year-old.

This time around, I went with my uncle, aunt, their two young kids (9 and 6) and my 19-year-old socially awkward cousin. It was a fun couple of days of hiking, swimming in the river and eating simple sodium-packed foods like hot dogs and spam. With rice. To think that my aunt almost forgot the rice cooker... that would've been a tragedy.
Along the hike were many foreign tourists, especially Europeans. This one hiker waved and said hi to me like I was the first Asian he's ever met, which was pretty funny. I didn't reply "Hi" back, but rather a smile and a "HAAAAAAAAAAAAhhhh" because I was catching my breath. LOL. I thought I looked friendly though. I climbed to the near top of Vernal Falls and wanted to go to Tuolumne Meadows but because it was another 30 miles and due to the fact that my younger cousins were taking breaks every 3 minutes, it wasn't going to happen. I've always wanted to see what an actual meadow looks like. I picture knolls, hills, flowers and Bambi and friends. Oh well... next time I go, I will climb the Half Dome and see Tuolumne Meadow.





...and these last two pictures basically sum up my summer. Laying around and dealing with the kids.