Aug 21, 2013

Sequoia Getaway

My parents and I went up the mountains for a few days.  Once a year, we detox from city life and the rat race we're in and wind down.  So we head up for the woods and rejuvenate our senses by hiking. The weather was warm, cooler where the big trees are, and with thunder storms in the late afternoon.  It's kind of interesting to hear and feel the rain in the humid mountain weather.
Making our way up on Moro Rock.
Almost at the top.
Yay, we made it.  I gotta jump, of course.
I'll always be daddy's little girl (yeah, whatever).
Crescent Meadow.
The beauty is amazing.
Gigantic tree that we always stop by when we come here.  Hello tree.  
Gotta get on top of every rock I encounter.
Do you see the dragon breathing out a puff of smoke?  Cool huh?
Yeah, I know.  Another rock.
Fluffy guy I found at the Lodgepole gift shop.  Has the same facial expression my daddy makes.
Mountain man and mountain child.
Yeah, yeah...it's a rock.  And it's cool.
Sun setting as we drive down the mountains.
Baby sequoia.
Every turn is like a postcard.
Mountain mommy shadow.
Squatter's cabin.  In the 1980's, a guy built this hoping to make a claim to the land.  He didn't know the land is already owned by the State.  He had to leave this cabin behind.  A nice respite from the heat though for hikers.  Thanks, guy-whose-name-I-don't-know.
 Walking with my mama.
 Another shot from the inside of this dead sequoia.  I think my mom was about the say something to my dad.
Always watching, that mama.  She wants to make sure no mountain lion takes me.  We did see 2 bears from a distance in our hikes.  They were just munching on stuff.  We also saw deer and some fuzzy little dudes that popped up from logs.  Looked like they were squirrels, but they weren't.  They looked like chinchillas or something.
 Yeah! Swimming!  I like getting thrown in the water.
 
 Begging my mom for us to have pizza for dinner. Pweeze!!!  Oh yeah, while swimming we heard a loud squeak over the bushes.  Daddy checked it out and it was a snake. It caught a mountain rat thing, wrapped it up to choke it, and proceeded to stuff it in it's mouth.  Poor rat.  Hey, that's the way it goes here.  So how about that pizza, mom?
Thunder clouds rolling in.
 Someone stacked up a cairn.  It's usually a marker or landmark for hikers.
 Very nice shot daddy.
 ROCKS!!!! OMG!!! Joking aside, drought is very apparent.  It sucks.  Usually this has water flowing up to the large rocks. 
 I wish I had this in our backyard.
Hiking on rocks. It's my thing.  It's like solving a puzzle (where to step next, calculating drops, and jumps; decisions, decisions, decisions..)
 Here's our little cabin called Blossom tucked away behind some trees.
 Mommy eating some kind of bird food for breakfast with her gigantic September issue of Vogue Magazine.
 Home away from home.
 As we left, we got a flat tire.  Good thing daddy is an expert.  He changed that thing effortlessly with the spare tire and we were back on the road in a jiffy.
 Time to go home and see what's up with Charlie.
'Til next time, big trees!  Slurp that carbon dioxide up and keep growing for me.  Mwah!

Aug 11, 2013

Crow Pose

Practicing my crow pose during play.  Yoga anytime.  Namaste!

Nisei Week Grand Parade

My friend Sussy and our families went to Little Tokyo today to check out the festivities of Nisei Week.
 It was crowded. People were checking out the food, the music, sights, and getting to know the Japanese culture.
 I think that's a wishing or prayer tree behind me, but I'm not gonna tell you what I wished for.
 Man, I'm short.  Sussy's a head taller than me!
 The parade started on 2nd Street in Downtown L.A. These taiko drummers are awesome.
 I like the dance routines these ladies performed.
 Then there's this gigantic thing.  Not sure what it is, but it's depicting some samurai fight or something.
 More taiko drummers.  Did I tell you they are awesome?
 Oh and yep, we got prime seats on the sidewalk.
 Then there's this jelly-fish thinga-ma-bob.  Very interesting.
 They have pink porta-potties.  Pink.  I'm sure my cousin Kayla would like it.
 Since Sussy and her family are vegans, we went to this restaurant called My Vegan in Pasadena.
I got a Vegan Basil Pho with tofu.  Yummo.  Sussy got some veggie wrap and I also shared my soup with her. Everything was delicious, but I think everyone unanimously agreed that my mom's Yellow Curry Noodle soup was the yummiest out of what we all ordered.  Sussy's mom is going to attempt to cook it.  I'm sure she can do it.
We had a wonderful afternoon. 'Til next time. Sayonara!