We headed out to the base of Mammoth, then took a shuttle to the ranger station where we began our hike to Rainbow Falls. We didn't actually make it to Rainbow Falls because a) I'm slow as molasses and b) we had dinner reservations at the Lodge in just a few hours. We did however make it to Devil's Post Pile and it is amazing. Nature's rendering of cubism. The fact is you don't fuck with Mother Nature - because everything we know and glorify within ourselves she created long ago. Devil's Post Pile is proof of this. Anywho we headed [View Full Entry]

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We intended to hike to Sky Meadow and instead ended up on top of the world (not really). We did however lose our way to Sky Meadow, climbed to the top of some crags for lunch (veggie bacon/avocado sandwiches prepared by yours truly), found another trail that led us to Skeleton Lake where we took a nap, then back onto our original trail. Aside from the spectacular view from the tops of those crags I don't really have much to report. Later in the afternoon Eric twisted my arm to visit Mono Lake with him. I didn't want to go, and [View Full Entry]

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We're going hiking. Um, yay. Anywho, again I'm proven wrong. We hit the Mosquito Flats trail in the morning and I'm trying to figure why I feel so drowsy. A mile in and it hits me: the nausea wristbands I've been wearing (for the long car ride - I get carsick easily) aren't reducing my nausea, they're making me sleeeeepy. So I take the fuggers off and begin to fully appreciate the scenery. ITS SPECTACULAR. There's jagged peaks jutting out of mounds of green forest, trickling streams flowing into turqoise alpine lakes and then there's my dog: THE CUTEST FREAKING HIKING [View Full Entry]

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Leslie, Eric, Mulan and I arrived at our beautiful cabin at the Tamarak Lodge & Resort after a SEVEN HOUR drive down from Berkeley. We drove through Yosemite NP, grabbed lunch at the Meadow Grill (recommended) in Tuolume Meadows and then hit the road onward through the Tioga Pass (pretty neat and scary) before reaching our cabin. Took a nap, and started makin dinner! (Burgers baby!) I had some pretty low expectations before our arrival and am SO GLAD I was proven wrong. From the moment we stepped into our cabin, I knew I would survive the next 5 days. It [View Full Entry]

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Mikey and I had known eachother since the 7th grade, and honestly I never thought he'd ever settle down because he was always a) way too picky and b) well, he's just too picky. Anywho, another great quality about Michael is he's super smart, which is very nicely reflected in his decision to settle down with Solange. Anywho, as my wedding gift to them, I offered to take their wedding photos. I promised Mikey I wouldn't share is precious moments on the web, so these ones have been specially selected for this post (and facebook's LOL). Hope you enjoy. [View Full Entry]

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We hadn't seen Aunt Norma since our wedding, when she traveled all the way to San Francisco to celebrate with us. I'm ashamed to say that it had been nearly 2.5 yrs by the time we finally went up to visit - to attend my childhood friend Mike's wedding (next entry) no less. So we made the 7 hr drive up from Berkeley (with a nice dinner stop in Shasta - love that town) and finally paid Aunt Norma a long over-due visit. Eric doesn't have much of an interest in his family history - or maybe he does but just [View Full Entry]

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To be fair, I only visited for a few hours and had a really horrible day. My Mom and I had one of our mother-daughter blow-ups and I decided to go to Zermatt alone. I really wish we both weren't so stubborn sometimes:( Anywho, my Mom and I had the Flexi-Saver Swiss rail pass, which required that both travelers travel together at all times. Since I was taking the 3hr (each way) train ride alone, I thought I had to purchase a separate RT ticket for myself. I knew it would be expensive (as everything in Switzerland is expensive) and was [View Full Entry]

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Mom and I took the train to Arau, then transferred by bus #3 to the village of Gretzenbach to visit the Thai Buddhist temple, Wat Srinagarin. (Switzerland and Thailand share a century long friendship. Many Thais, including our Queen Mother and King, made Switzerland not only their childhood home, but also home away from Thailand.) My Mom and I weren't sure which bus stop to take, but the bus driver knew exactly where our temple was and gave us pretty thoughtful directions (complete with hand gestures) from our stop. Basically you walk along the road until BOOM! a Thai temple in [View Full Entry]

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Zurich baby! We took a 2.5 hour train from Lausanne and arrived in Zurich in the early afternoon, then took a cab to our hotel (the Continental, highly recommended). Our hotel was actually only a 5 minute's walk from the train station but I was weighed down by the 10,000lbs of souvenir magnets my Mom had amassed during our trip so far. We used Zurich as our base for getting around eastern Switzerland for the next 5 days. It worked out perfectly for my Mom and I (no repacking!). Anywho, it began to rain really hard so we just chilled in [View Full Entry]

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Mom and I took the 2 hr train from Lausanne to Berne. It was a Monday however, which meant that all of the museums were closed. The good news was everything else was open (yay! we can eat!!) and the Swiss Parliament was in session. We grabbed lunch, started walking down the Markgasse (basically an outdoor mall) did some shopping, I grabbed the obligatory photo of the Zytglogge, and we headed towards parliament. Witnessing Swiss Parliament in action was awesome! The entrance is behind the building overlooking this gorgeous valley and the futuristic security entrance complete with passpo [View Full Entry]

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