A Flexible Valentines

This Valentines/President's Day Weekend we put together

a fun and romantic getaway (since we had so much fun on

last years trip.) Little did we know that the trip wouldn't be

as simple as we had planned. Our original plan was to rent

a heated canvas tent in curry village in the Yosemite valley.

We were going to relax, photograph, hike, eat dinner at the

Ahwahnee, and introduce me to the area... Until now, I hadn't

seen yosemite before.

We packed up and hauled it to California, the landscapes

were simply gorgeous. We knew when we had hit CA when

we started to see blossoming trees popping out on the side of

the freeway. I had to stop and smell the blooms (as at the time

it was still snowy February back in UT where we were coming

from and the little taste of spring was delightful) Then back on

the road. The pass that we were planning on going through to

get to Yosemite was closed off due to snow so we called curry

village to let them know we would be late as we had to go around

to another pass, they assured us all was fine and that they would

see us whenever we were able to get there. After re-routing we

finally entered the park right at sunset. Ahhh! El Capitian, Bridal

Veil Falls, and Half Dome (although from far away) were stunning!

I was soo excited thinking about all the photographs that I was

going to get in the next few days. Then the sunlight faded and so

did our happy moods. The park was insanely crowded and it took

forever to get to the check-in desk. When we gave the concierge

our name he became awkward, always telling us to hold on

while he ran into the back and never looking at us in the eye.

He finally told us that our reservation was given away and

they were all full the entire weekend. We were shocked. We

pointed out that we were told that all would be fine, that we

had called ahead to let them know we were going to be late.

He said he had no record of that and there was nothing he

could do. It was so frustrating to see how rudely were were

being treated and spoken to. On about the concierge's 4th run

to the back, I told Reece I was done with it all and that we

should leave. We walked out and got on our iphones in the

car. In 20 min we had planned a new trip to Monteray and

Carmel, 3 1/2 hrs. later we were curled up in fluffy comforters

in the Hyatt hotel eating pizza and watching movies. Im

going to try to not be bitter towards Yosemite, I told Reece

that we will come back to camp in the summer and see

what fun we can have then.

Our first day on our "New" trip we went to breakfast

at the Tuck box in Carmel, an english tea house known

for their scones. I gave Reece a possibilities book that

I had been working on for weeks, 50 pgs of places and

things we have talked about wanting to do together, I

thought it was the perfect gift for my partner in dreaming.

We then strolled though galleries and

antique shops.

We drove down Highway 1, stopped off at a beautiful

Spanish Mission, a few fields of wildflowers, and a few

ocean lookouts to take pictures. So beautiful. Reece gave

me that beautiful gold necklace and matching earrings, there

was also an awesome chunky gold bracelet too. I love em.

Little did we know that there was a celebrity golf tour at

Pebble Beach that had just let out, so when we drove to

visit the Monterey aquarium the streets were jammed and

it took us 2 hrs just to park. Trying to keep in good spirits

we talked and planned about more things to put in Reece's

possibility book. When we finally entered the aquarium we

were just in time the Sea Otter feeding time. Sweet. They

are probably one of my favorite animals. I love aquariums

they are magical to me. I like to visit them where ever I

go...see here....& here.

Then we raced to the 17 mile drive so we could eat a picnic

dinner while watching the sunset. It was enchanting. After,

we had dessert in bed while watching more movies.

The next morning, before we left to go home, we walked on

the beach, ate valentines shortbread cookies and clementines

for breakfast.

We drove through San Francisco to snap some shots of the

Golden Gate Bridge. The fog was rolling in and was limiting our

photo opportunities fast. We couldn't shoot from the beach view as

you couldn't even see the bridge and we only got a few in of us

together before the bridge faded completely out of sight.

We crossed the bridge and was glad to find that the fog was only

one that one side so we continued exploring the views of the

bridge for a little longer.

The rest of the drive was beautiful, and I especially loved

when Reece pulled off in Reno to get me my favorite flavor

of icecream....cake batter with brownie chunks. We both got

super tired and had to spend the night in Winnamucca, but

that then allowed us to see the Salt Flats in the daylight the

next day.

Found this message on the shore and loved imagining

the story behind it. I then created a message for Reece

to stumble on a little later.

Goodness, there was a lot of stress and disappointment

included in our weekend trip but I am incredibly grateful to

have someone that helps me look at all the options and solve the

problems. We always balance each other's bad days out. We DID have

some amazing fun and got to see so many beautiful things too.

Thanks Babe for being flexible and for creating all these

memories with me. I will love you forever.