Getting Old!

Two things happened recently that really drove home the fact that I'll be 30 soon. First is that I have to renew my passport. I can't believe it's already been nine years since my study abroad semester in Rome! Where has the time gone? I've thought about going back multiple times but I haven't gotten around to it, which makes me a little sad. There have been other fantastic trips though, so I can't beat myself up about it too much. But seriously... nine years. Yikes.

Second is that songs from my undergrad years qualify for "old-school jams" weekend on the radio. I am officially "old-school."

Back to School

I've mostly moved back in, classes have started, and I officially have no life again. That's not completely accurate. More accurate is: I officially have no life outside of the MBA program again. I'm a little nervous for this semester - I think it's going to be brutal time-wise. I estimate 4 weeks before the "I hate scheduling team meetings" post arrives. This semester there are 4 required classes and one elective. Originally I'd signed up for 2 electives but the professor doesn't allow absences (not ideal for interview season), has a firm Dec 22 exam date (a Saturday? No thank you), and worst of all a seating chart. I'm well past the age tolerance for seating charts unless it's my cubicle or office. So I dropped it. Too bad too, I the content would have been interesting.

Monterey

The second half of Big Sur day was Monterey - specifically the aquarium. It was really great! Definitely worth it, even if I did feel like I was in a school tour group :) Shoot, there were probably a few times where I got as excited as the kids. Especially when the sea turtle showed up!

They had a number of interactive exhibits, mostly geared towards kids of course, but still interesting for adults. They were set up as either specific to the animal like the jellyfish and seahorse exhibits, or to the habitat of the ocean like the rocky shore or deep sea.

Jellys!

The "deep sea" was neat. There was a sea turtle! And sharks:

Coral Reef section

Cuttlefish section

Jewelry inspection section

"Get off mah lawn!" section

Seahorse ornament section

Seaweed seahorse section

Humans searching for sea creatures section

Big Sur

According to my co-workers, summer is the worst time to visit the coast of Northern California. Apparently it's foggy all the time and doesn't get very warm. I can confirm this is true.

I spent a Saturday driving to Big Sur and Monterey. I left early to avoid traffic, which was good in that I avoided traffic, but bad because the fog didn't clear up for a while.

Boats In The Mist

Highway 1 - partly foggy

I was bummed about the fog, but in the end it made for two different drive experiences along the same stretch of road so that was nice. The first stop was Julia Pfieffer Burns Beach which had been recommended to me by my co-worker Mauricio. It was very cool! There were rocks and water and waves through rocks! It's probably really amazing when you can see everything :)

View from the entrance

Getting to the beach requires driving 2 miles down a one lane road that is only sort-of marked off of Hwy 1. Mauricio's theory is that the residents take down the sign to keep people from finding it. If that's true, it's very sneaky.

Waving hello?

I stayed there for a bit, met some new dog friends, watched some people fish, then continued back north where it was getting sunnier. There are a ton of lookouts and stop offs along Highway 1. I stopped at a couple of the beaches before continuing on to Monterey.

One roadside beach

Fake Instagram filter photo

Local Bits

Just a small post on daily life. My internship is going well. The people I work with are great and the atmosphere is very relaxed. Even better, one of my coworkers has an insane rose garden and brings in flowers that sit on my shared desk! The flowers and landscaping out here are exceptional.

It's gotten a little better, but not much. This was our apartment the first week. You can see the school we overlook out of the sliding door (or as they say in Detroit, the doorwall.) Just take this photo, replace the frog chair with a normal sized one, add a coffee table and this is our main room :) Hello back to college.

Last one is a view from the path behind the apartment complex. There's a great bike path/trail that goes... I don't even know how many miles... From somewhere in San Jose to at least midway on Peninsula I think. You can see the golden hills back there!

Hetch Hetchy and the Poopenaut Valley

Sunday we decided to go to see Hetch Hetchy which is Yosemites sister valley that was flooded in 1923 to make a water reservoir for San Francisco and surrounding counties as well as generate electricity. Its existence is apparently still a bit controversial, and debate over its removal still occurs.

There's a giant lake and you can't swim in it. So sad. (Especially since it was over 90 degrees that day)

View of the valley plus dam spray... should I be making an inappropriate joke here?

There was also a fun tunnel which we totally made creepy gargoyle statues in. I need to get those photos from Hannah.

Overall Hetch Hetchy was interesting, but not a must-see. Unless you count taking a picture with the Poopenaut Valley sign. That was pretty great. (again, need to get the photo. Will update once obtained!)

The not 4 mile 4 mile trail

I made it to Yosemite National Park! It was so beautiful. I would come back here to spend a week, even if it is crazy busy. Having not booked a campsite earlier in the year we weren't in Yosemite Valley itself, we were in the northeastern part of the park at Tuolumne Meadows. The campground was really nice and, being across from a meadow, you could see sooo many stars. The bath house was even a cute 1940s cabin style.

Hannah, her brother Andy, and I only had one weekend (ugh, work.) so we couldn't go on too many trails. We elected to start with 4-Mile trail which goes from Yosemite Valley to Glacier Point, a major lookout over the park. The plan was to potentially then take Panorama Trail back because it would cover a different area.

I probably should have done a better research job because 1) 4 Mile trail is actually about 5 miles and 2) it was the steepest trail in the park. It was named 4 Mile trail after the original distance; they elongated the trail to make it less steep. Ugh.

But, it was a incredible hike so I'm not too upset that my legs hurt the next day. Aside from my being a bit out of shape, the elevation was a little tricky. The trail switchbacked along the mountainside overlooking Yosemite Falls. It went from this height:

To this height:

Ok they look pretty similar. Whatever, it was great!

You then swiched to the other side of the mountain to overlook Half Dome (which we did not go up as you need a permit and it probably would have killed me.)

Once at the top the view was amazing! It seriously didn't look real. Like it was a painted backdrop behind the overlook wall.

And there were squirrels trying to get our snacks.

The slightly depressing part was that you can drive to Glacier Point as well as hike so we were quite sweaty and gross while most people were all nice and neat. Including the wedding party. But it's ok, we had a nice sense of accomplishment and didn't have to be in the car anymore!

By the time we were done at Glacier Point it was too late in the day to attempt Panoramic Trail in case we were slow, so we just went back down 4 Mile. AND WE SAW BEARS! There was a mom and two cubs visible but still far enough back on the trail that I didn't think I'd get attacked. The cubs were playing around on a log then the three of them started digging at a tree stump. Seriously cute little buggers. This fulfilled one of my top 5 in-the-wild must see animals. (The others are whales, sea turtles, a wild cat of some type, and African. I'm lumping a safari as one... much easier that way)

I of course decided to leave my zoom lens at the campsite.

Yosemite Valley

4 Mile trail

Yikes.

Gettin bridgey with it!

My parents visited last weekend which meant I finally got in some San Francisco tourist time! I'd gone up for the museum of course, and dim sum a previous weekend but hadn't gotten to any of the "must see" items in the city. Here are some of them:

Myself with Lombard St. the worlds twistiest street. I would not be a fan of living on this street... Basically, I would become a mirror serial killer. Plus all the people throwing tennis balls down your road would get old.

Love the windows that slant with the staircase!

The pier next to pier 39 (whichever that was) in Fisherman's Wharf

The sea lion invasion on the pier. I imagine that guy being all like "Say now, I'm in charge here. Fish for a photo." He needs a monocle.

So tie tie... 

Cable Car Frenzy! 

So. Much. Effort. To. Go. Anywhere. Ahhhhh legs.

Yay!

This last one by the way... The parking area in the Presidio by the point overlook is a logistical NIGHTMARE! (Soooo muuuuch honking. Seriously people, calm it down.) It's got to be one of those places that the parks department hasn't updated since 1960 despite a few hundred thousand extra annual visitors. Highly recommend anyone considering driving up there to just take the shuttles. Also, there are only 4 female bathroom stalls so time your line waiting wisely.

Tasty eating spots:

Delicious! And very attentive staff. And free tiramisu.

Nice lounge music and city views along with tasty cocktails. No problems here!

Top Chef desserts? Yes please.

I vote seafoam.

Jean Paul Gaultier

Saturday Hannah and I went to the De Young Museum of Art for their Jean Paul Gaultier exhibit. An extra bonus, the museum is in Golden Gate Park so that's another thing checked off of the list! (an additional item - squealing the tires when the light turned green because the hill you're on is so large)

The exhibit had a hundred or so outfits that JPG had created throughout the past 4 decades. While pieces were selected to highlight different aspects of his career it was fascinating to see how he has returned to a similar theme throughout. Some pieces I was not all that into, but I respect the message. As always with these shows the execution was flawless. I can’t imagine the training involved to get the skill of hand sewing complex garments and making it look like a machine did it.

Some of my favorite or the more interesting (that did not involve beaded lady parts attached to the dress... gotta keep things PG here):

The mannequins had faces projected onto them which was seriously creepy. Some of them would talk to you or sing, like the ladies below. JPG had a whole speech welcoming you to the show too (he's cut off on the right hand of the pic above.) So. Weird.

Best cultural highlight - Madonna's cone bra!

Iconic, no?

Body inspiration

Seriously fun colors in the traditional dress inspiration section

I want a sweater dress like this. Maybe without so much tulle though.

Obligatory punk phase

They had a mini runway within the show!

I'm going to get this look for the office. Head to toe houndstooth and no need to do your hair!

Flipper slippers! Transition from the runway to the pool.

Though the JPG show was the draw, the De Young has a wonderfully eclectic permanent gallery. I really enjoyed the masks and shields from the Africa and Oceania exhibits, as well as the murals surviving since the 6^th century from the ancient Mexican city of Teotihuacan. There is also some modern art, art of the Americas, textiles, and photography. Overall worth the $10 entry fee (special exhibits are extra.) Extra bonus, the 9^th floor has an overlook of the city. Definitely take the elevator up to see that (I’m not sure, but you might not even need an entry ticket.)

The Frida Kahlo audition booth

(Lady in white is in the way, but their were girls with fruit basket hair EVERYWHERE)