Yes! Yes! Yes! Yosemite!

     It's hard for me to even wrap my mind around the fact that I was born and raised in California, yet I have never been to Yosemite. How is that possible? I keep forgetting to ask my mom if we ever visited as kids, but if we did ... I was too young to remember. Let me just say, it is absolutely breathtakingly beautiful.

     Kathy and I were chatting on the way to Yosemite about how long we have been friends. We figured it's been around 18 years! After being a stay-at-home mom for 8 years, I started working again and Kathy was my manager. I had always wanted to learn how to country line dance. One Monday morning, Kathy came into work and was telling me about a line dance she had learned over the weekend. I was the receptionist and I asked her to show me the dance (in the lobby). Since it was early, we were pretty sure there would be no visitors - so while keeping one eye on the front door - she showed me the line dance she learned!! I was overjoyed. LOL. We have been friends ever since! 

     Kathy and I worked together again many years later at Yahoo! We were both laid off and Kathy had recently finished a temp assignment at Skype. In less than a week, she landed a full-time permanent gig at Facebook (Sr. Facilities Manager) and starts her new job next week!! I'm so happy for her. She and I have talked about going to Yosemite for years, it just never happened. After finishing Tai Chi on the beach last week, Kathy got the call from the recruiter letting her know she had the job. It was then we both decided, "Yosemite! This week! Before the new job starts!"

     Since I am trying to be very cautious about spending money while partially unemployed, Kathy and I worked out a "trade" for the Yosemite trip. She would pay for the hotel room and I would give her my card table and chairs (currently in storage). We each brought snacks and stopped on the way to get sandwich fixins so the trip would be as inexpensive as possible! We were proud of ourselves for being oh-so-creative-and-frugal! The Yosemite Bug Lodge was about a half hour outside Yosemite National Park and I would describe it as "rustic-chic". Their cafe' had a huge fireplace that we enjoyed after dinner while we played a game and shared a slice of cheesecake. So fun! 

     We did a short hike in Yosemite on the first day and a MONSTER hike on the second day. There was snow on ground and as you can see in the photos, we were bundled up. The Day 2 hike was uphill 95% of the way (John Muir Trail) for two hours and I thought I was gonna die! LOL. It took just over an hour to come back. Kathy was a good sport about stopping for photos! We were both exhausted on the way home but it was SO worth it. Enjoy a few of my fav pics below. 

     Job Update? Yes, I have some news. However, I have run out of time this morning to blog about it. So, I will keep you in suspense a little longer. I will write more this weekend! Stay tuned. ;-) (Teaser)

TTFN!