Road Trip!

Hubby and I just took a wonderful road trip to California and the Grand Canyon. :)

The vacation itself was an interesting story. I had requested the time off for my brother's wedding, but my Grandmother passed away three months ago and my brother postponed the wedding out of respect to the deceased (a Chinese tradition). I was going to cancel the time off, but Hubby wanted to go to an air show near where my sister-in-law lived in California the weekend before my scheduled time off. So we made it into a vacation. Hubby would drive out to California first for his air show and time with sister, before I finished up the semester at work and joined in for the rest of the trip.

So 6,000 miles, five states, 8,000-feet elevation, over 40-degree difference in temperatures, 1,000+ photos, about a dozen patches (Hubby collects those) and 50 postcards (I collect those) later, we have had a fantastic time exploring places between the Pacific coast and the heart of Texas. As we go through the photos, here are some of the many wonderful memories from the trip, chronologically:

Coming in sister-in-law's place to Hubby's hello message made of coke cans

Visiting with family and friends (and their children and pets), sleeping on their floor/couch/air mattress and getting fed by their wonderful cooking

Having dinner at the Santa Monica Pier

Cruising along the Pacific Coast Highway and looking out to the gorgeous Pacific Ocean

Eating authentic Chinese food in the San Francisco Chinatown

Enjoying ice-cream while strolling along small-town Sausalito (just outside of San Francisco)

Straddling the Nevada and Arizona state lines at the Hoover Dam

Seeing the rainbow at the Yosemite National Park

Hiking on a sea of snow at Yosemite

Watching the sun set at the Grand Canyon

Looking up to a clear sky full of stars at the Grand Canyon

Camping at Yosemite and the Grand Canyon

Pictures to come!