Four Years

Last week, Ryan and I celebrated an amazing four years together. I decorated the backyard with lights and surprised him with a candlelit dinner. The framed hearts (below) are cut-up maps we brought back from Europe. Each heart represents a city we stayed in. It reminds me of all our adventures together and how many more we are going to go on.



Lights!



Dinner menu: Filet mignon with baked potato, grilled zucchini, corn on the cob, and garlic bread. Homemade sangria to wash it down. And crepes for dessert.

Under the Night Sky - Travel

This past weekend, Ryan took me to his childhood camping spot at Trinity Lake. We set up camp on a cliff overlooking the lake. It was the most beautiful view to wake up and fall asleep to. The first night, we all laid under the star-blanketed sky and counted the shooting stars. I've never seen anything like it in my life. I wasn't planning on photographing the stars, but the sky was clear and there was no moon (and I had Internet on my phone to read a tutorial). It was perfect.

Paris, France (day 1 cont.) - Travel

Montmartre

After lunch and a shower, my uncle gave us a quick tour of Paris. Our first stop: the Sacré-Cœur Basilica on Montmartre; the dome-shaped church on top of Paris' highest hill. Walking into the gates, we were caught off guard by men trying to tie "friendship" bracelets around our wrists. We read about the many, MANY scams tourists fall for - but I was actually kind of excited to have it happen to me. I politely brushed him off and watched in amusement as they worked their magic on other tourists.

Montmartre is a busy tourist attraction, but also a popular hang out spot for the locals. People lounge around the steps and street performers entertain the crowd. It's quite a flight of stairs to reach the top, but when you're there, you are taken away by the view. You get an amazing panoramic picture of Paris that stretches for miles. I came during mid-afternoon, but I hear it's beautiful right before sunset and during the night when the city lights up.

Lassen Volcanic National Park - Travel

Bumpass Hell

Bumpass Hell trail is a 1.5 mile hike to Lassen's sulfur works. Elevated at 8,000 feet you get a view like no other. There are perfect spots you can plop on a rock and enjoy the scenery.



Sulfur Works

About a mile into the hike, you begin to smell the stench of the sulfur holes. You get to enjoy this for another 20 minutes until you actually reach them. The sulfur holes are big pits in the ground spewing out clouds of sulfur gas. There are also a bunch of pools and small creeks of water that are boiling hot. Many pools are literally bubbling from the heat.

Lake Helen - Travel

Standing above Lake Helen, you are blown away by the crystal clear, aqua blue water and the mountains and trees that surround it. There was still some snow left over from the winter and boys being boys, Ryan and his brother felt the need to swim in the icy cold water. Probably the coldest water they've ever swam in, they didn't stay in long. While they stood there feeling proud of conquering the lake, a German woman who must have been at least in her 70's came down and asked us how the water was. After telling her it was super cold, she got in and said "Oh, this is nice!" as she slowly paddled around. Pro.