Shuttle Endeavour

We knew it was happening when we set off this morning for Simone's school field trip to the zoo.  We saw the people lining over passes in our town and all along the freeway, we hoped just maybe if we got to the zoo in time we might catch a glimpse as it flew by.  Especially since the park is near the state capitol and that's where it was headed.

We got to the zoo around 9:15am, it was clearly field trip day because there were tons of people.  It wasn't just Simone's class it was all the classes from our preschool system plus students from other elementary schools nearby.  There had to be at least 100 people standing around in the park outside the zoo.  There are also a lot of trees in the park so we had pretty much assumed there was no way we were going to see it.  I felt so bad for Larry, I knew he really wanted to see it but just didn't think it was going to happen.

I don't know what time it was but I heard a bunch of people cheering and looked over and there it was, it flew right over our heads, super slow and super low.  I ran, trying to dig my camera out of my bag as fast as I could, by the time I got there, this is what I got as it flew away.  Everyone in the crowd was cheering, I had goose bumps and tears in my eyes.  Who would have thought.  A once in a lifetime chance to see a space shuttle fly by.  I was so happy I saw it I just wished I had a chance to catch a better shot.

Luck would have it I was given a chance, after the plane flew over the Capital it came by again right over our heads, super slow and super low.  This time I was ready and managed a few better shots.

What an amazing day, everyone at the zoo was talking about it even the guy who operated the train ride mentioned it.  I'm so happy I had a chance to see it.  Simone was just amazed, I think it surprised her but at the end of the field trip the train ride and the space shuttle were at the top of her list of cool things she saw today.

Yosemite

Warning: Photo Heavy Post

It's always nice when your kid has a day off from school and you can take impromptu trips to amazing places like Yosemite.  We are lucky to have such and amazing place so very close to home and no school this past Tuesday.

The morning started off like most do; coffee and emails for us and cartoons for Simone.  Thankfully Larry was feeling antsy that day and decided to look up a place he has been dying for us to visit.  The Evergreen Lodge is located just outside of Yosemite and he has been lucky enough to stay on two separate occasions while on his annual motorcycle trip.  He has raved about this place for two years and on a lark they happened to be offering a discount on rooms.  Having secured a room we kicked it into high gear; ate, showered, packed, packed a picnic lunch and were on our way by 10:00am.

I had no idea what to expect, other than this place had indoor plumbing so I knew I would be okay.  I'm not the "lets rough it" type like he is, this lady requires indoor plumbing!

This lady on the other hand requires on board entertainment and thankfully our ride comes equipped with a DVD player.

We got the the lodge early around 1:00pm and our room wasn't ready yet so we drove down a few miles to the Hetch Hetchy reservoir, had our picnic and checked out the scenery.  It was my first time seeing it and I loved it.  Simone loved it too, especially when she and Larry walked through the tunnel you can see in the photo below.  She saw a frog so to her that was awesome!

We drove back to the lodge when we were done but it still wasn't check in time (3:30pm) and our room wasn't ready so we walked around and hung out for awhile.  This place was AMAZING!  Larry was right when he said we would love it.  It's a large resort, all individual sleeping cabins and they even have a camping area all set up with tents and cots if you want to go that route.

This is the back side of the Activity Center and the fireplace was amazing.  At night they do s'mores for anyone that wants to help themselves.

We enjoyed some libations on the patio while Simone played in one of the near by play areas.

There are also ping pong tables set up and a complete rec center with even more activities.

In the kids play area they had these super cute tee-pees.

This cabin comes with a lovely hammock to enjoy.

Our cabin was a family cabin (the one on the left, L13).  It had a queen size bed, bunkbeds, a nice sitting area, satelitte radio (no TV's at this joint) and a Keurig coffee pot.  Oh and yes the beloved indoor plumbing.

I bet you'll never guess who loved the buckbeds...



I love that there were no TV's in the rooms I just wish I had planned better and brought a book or some magazines for the evening.  I did bring my ipad so Simone happily watched a movie up in her bunkbed that night.  There were also a few games in the room which was nice.  There is also no cell service at the resort but they have phones for you to use as needed and there is Wifi in the Activity Center so I was able to get connected that way.

There is a restaurant on site and we ate dinner and breakfast there.  The food is top notch and the service is fantastic.  They also just added a pool and hot tub which was amazing as well.  I'm bummed we didn't know about this the weather was perfect for swimming.  It had just opened the week before we arrived so it wasn't there the last time Larry stayed.  I definately want to go back for a longer visit very soon.  This girl was very impressed!  Indoor plumbing and all!

Wednesday morning after breakfast we packed up the car and drove into Yosemite.  We stopped at a vista point to take in the view and say hi to Half Dome.

I tried my best not to have a heart-attack watching her climb.  Momma has a mean fear of heights and this just about sent me into a full blown panic.

She is just like Dad.

We stopped again by a stream, if you look really closely you can see gold.  Man o man, it was just begging to be panned!

Oh and the smells....so good.

Our first stop in the Valley was at Bridalveil Falls.  The best pictures were found in the parking lot. The viewing area at the base was way to misty to get a good shot.

Yep, a climber just like Dad!

As we drove on we got to see El Capitan.  The weather was perfect, so blue and clear.  We didn't see any climbers though.

Yosemite Falls

I snapped most of the shots but Ansel Larry wanted to try this angle, he was right, it's amazing!

Yosemite Falls through the trees.

We drove over to the Ahwahnee Hotel for a look around.  I hadn't been there in years so it was nice to see it again.  I want to come back some day and stay in that room right there with the green awning.  Instead of staying, we had a lovely over-priced beverage on the patio and enjoyed the sun and the amazing view.

I just love how they have kept it so homey without being too pretentious.

We did stop on our way out of the park, Simone as hungry so we sat on a bench and had a little picnic.  She cried the whole way out of the park, she wanted to stay, and by stay I mean at the Ahwahnee Hotel.  Sister's no dummy, she likes indoor plumbing too, especially the fancy kind.

Photo A Day via Instagram

While I hadn't planned on sticking to the whole photo a day approach this year I still find that its a very hard habit to break especially with the really awesome photo a day challenge that got started over on Instagram.  It's been a blast following along with this challenge and I've had just as much fun seeing everyone else's take on the prompts too.

One of the best things about it is how you interpret the prompts, sometimes I take it literally and sometimes I don't.  It's also caused me to really open my eyes and look for things that will work for the prompt that I may not have thought about.  It's easy to get stuck in a rut with photo a day and this makes it fun, like a scavenger hunt each day.  Instead of a bunch of photos of what you had for breakfast everyday which can get repetitive it gives you something to focus on each day and I can certainly benefit from a bit of focus every now and again.

Here were the prompts for February

And here are some of my favorites from this past month

 02.04 A Stranger

 02.10 A Self Portrait

02.12 Inside your closet 

02.15 Phone 

02.20 Handwriting

02.21 A Fave photo of You

 02.22 Where you work

02.24 Inside your bathroom cabinet 

02.25 Green

02.29 Something you are listening too 

Here is the lists of prompts for March, a lot of good ones coming up.  I have my Instagram feed showing on the blog so if you don't have the app on your iPhone you can always follow along with what I'm uploading.  My last 6 shots are always on the feed on the right side. 

If you have an iPhone I strongly suggest you download the app and play along.  It's a ton of fun and I've met some really great people along the way that follow me and that I follow too.  If nothing else, expand your horizons and put yourself out there.  The love and friendship you receive back is really heartwarming and so very appreciated at least for me it is.

There have been a lot of people jumping on the bandwagon and sadly stealing @fatmumslim's ideas, graphics, lists and hashtag.  She did a really great blog post recently about people not being able to come up with their own ideas and I applaud her for standing up for her idea and concept.  I especially like at the end how she says "If you're going to steal, make a hot-diggity, brand spankin' new version with your flavour on it. Make it better. Make it bigger. Be proud of what you create."

That being said this new take on a photo a day challenge just started this month and I really like it.  I'm familiar with the company Paper Coterie and have ordered products from them in the past.  I applaud them for coming up with their own list, their own name, and their own hastag.  Their prompts are super fun and I may jump on this one too, we shall see.

If you do join Instagram, please follow me I'm listed as @Babz510.

Now go take some photos!