Visiting the Ol' San Franny

It was so foggy driving in to San Francisco that we could barely see 20 feet in front of us. Luckily on our way out of town, we were able to snap this shot of the bottom half of the Golden Gate Bridge. What an amazing sight!

Phil had last Friday and Monday off for Labor Day so we took the opportunity to go visit Maya (sister) who lives just north of San Fran. I hadn't ever spent a lot of time exploring the city so she graciously took us to all of the major tourist spots that we hadn't been to.

 Before we even got to the city, we stopped at an old military fort that now left in ruins. The dense fog made the foresty ruins spooky and entrancing. There were tons of tunnels, bunkers, pits where HUGE guns used to go, and graffiti to explore. Phil, being the man he is, found a ladder leading underground that you aren't supposed to use (indicated by the thick slab of concrete that used to cover the entrance until it cracked) and of course explored the inside. He found a room full of water and mold, fortunately no vipers or ghosts or whatever else...This was a fun pit stop that unfortunately soiled Phil's only pair of shorts with mud before we even made it into the city. So first stop in the actually city was the shopping center!

 After some successful shopping, we set out for Chinatown. This was super cool for me because I have always heard so much about it and to see it up close was really fun. After Chinatown, we took a TRILLION steps up to Coit Tower which gave us a breathtaking view of the city. From there, we wander and explored, had some tasty pizza, then walked back to the car to go home. It was a wonderful trip!

Gate of Chinatown

Everywhere I turned in this store I saw something I wanted to get for someone back home...particularly my sister. A trip back will be in order before Christmas, birthdays and weddings :-)

HA! We almost got in trouble for this picture. So worth it though.

Back from a dry spell...

This last month has been up and down. Both the ups and the downs made blogging less appealing but here I am hopefully renewed! I miss everyone in Tucson but I am learning to enjoy and appreciate Monterey. Here's a quick summary of the more exciting activities that I have found to keep myself busy and engaged:

• I have continued running with new vigor. Today I ran 3 miles straight for the first time and finished in 28 minutes! I already have my 4 mile route planned for tomorrow. God is calling me to make working out a worshipful experience instead of purely competitive or for weight loss. I am enjoying exploring this new form of worship...even when I can't breath. I've also got a running buddy on Sundays who motivates me to keep going throughout the week...though she doesn't know that yet.
• I am involved in a Beth Moore study, "The Beloved Disciple," with mostly other military wives. It is a study on the Disciple John and we're only on week 1 but I am already totally digging it :-) Already God is showing me images of Jesus through John's eyes that make him more real. She asked us to describe how Jesus might have appeared to the disciples after the first few days with him and the word that came to me that was most meaningful was "touchable." It has been a while since I have really been able to think of Jesus as a real man and someone that isn't far away. 
• This Thursday will be my first day as a volunteer at Compassion Pregnancy Center . It is a faith based organization that provides counseling and clinical services to women that are pregnant or that have had abortions. There are a number of possibilities for me here including office lacky, counselor, and speaker at the local high schools. I may not be able to actually counsel or speak while I'm here but I'm hoping to get the training. I am unsure of God's plan here but I am really excited about being involved!

And to finish it off, I have some more pictures to showcase the beauty of Monterey...from the only sunny day in weeks! Just kidding but only sort of.

And the most beautiful of all.....

 

ME IN A WETSUIT! hahahaha

I miss you friends!

Another wonderful weekend expedition

Even though my weeks are a little slow, Phil makes it up to me on the weekends with some really fun adventures! It seems that every weekend there is something brand new and mind blowing to explore. We visited the national reserve Point Lobos, which for me was like a mystical, enchanted forest. We only scratched the surface this weekend on this gorgeous reserve but what we saw made us want to come back for more! 


This little spot is very famous. It is the inspiration for various artists and, before it became a reserve, over 50 movies were shot here. Beside the beautiful scenery, there are is a wide variety of wildlife. We didn't make it to the sea lion cove or the pool where the otters play but you can bet we will next time! 

                                                                      

This program is so difficult to put pictures up in any kind of interesting looking way. 

If you get the chance to visit before we have to leave here, it wouldn't be a hard sell to get us to take you exploring through this beautiful mixture of forest and ocean. 

As soon as Phil and I can get signed up, we are going to learn how to scuba dive! This reserve has one of the best spots for diving around. We were able to see just some of the cool sea life just in pictures around the reserve and I am SOOO excited to get in that water! Learning to scuba dive will be a lifelong dream come true. 

I am trying to prolong finishing this blog so I don't have to go run...but I'm running out of other pertinent information :-) I would love to hear from you!

Good luck teachers with your back to school craziness! I wish I were in it with you...and at the same time I am jubilant that I'm not!