Reflection/Happy 4th of July

Hola mis amigos!

I apologize for not posting sooner. Last week was quite the week and it took every ounce of me to get through it sanely. Thankfully, I made it and despite my exhaustion, I feel much better now than I did! As we all know, everything can be going really well and suddenly things start happening that you don't expect, and then those things get worse (much, much worse), and other things pile on top, and then you just need to break down, find a way to pick yourself back up, fix the problem(s), and get on with life. Whew! Despite all the craziness of the week, a few good things did happen, so I am thankful for that!
 
And now, with much delay, a fourth of july recap:

I would just like to say that I forgot how great it feels to have a long weekend when you are a student. Those last 15 minutes before freedom take foooooorrrreeeevveerrr. They really do. I had been eagerly awaiting four days off to celebrate the 4^th of July, and while I thought it was going to be a really low-key weekend, it ended up being full of adventure and quality time spent outdoors. Here’s a little replay:

The night of the 3^rd, Drew and I went to a bonfire on the beach with some people from MIIS. We were in Seaside so we could look toward Monterey. The fog slowly crept in and was beautiful, but I was hoping to catch the sunset. When it got too cold and there wasn’t enough room by the fire, we headed back. I had the apartment to myself so I spent the rest of the night watching movies and getting some much needed sleep!

On the 4^th, I spent the morning watching guilty pleasure tv shows on Netflix and drinking coffee. I hadn't felt that relaxed in a while – it was glorious. Lunchtime rolled around and I got a text from Drew asking me about my plans for the rest of the day. About half an hour later, I was dressed and out the door! Drew had rented a car for the weekend to get out of Monterey for a while, but his own plans changed and he ended up staying here. So, we had a car – oh how great it is to have a car! After stopping to get sandwiches for lunch, we drove to the outskirts of town, and up a mountain – we were headed to Jack’s Peak County Park. We spent the next couple of hours hiking around, enjoying the beautiful weather and views of the bay, and happily picnicking on a bench overlooking nearby mountains and Point Lobos in the distance. The fresh air felt fantastic and I loved hanging out with Drew – I swear, all we do is laugh. It’s good to have friends that you can laugh about anything with. Later that night, we headed down to Cannery Row in New Monterey, had some clam chowder (Drew ate creepy crawly seafood creatures – I tried one and it freaked me out), toured the area, and got dessert. It was a great day!

Monterey Bay in the background!

On Friday, we headed toward Highway One! It was ridiculously gloomy out – chilly, windy, cloudy, grey – the kind of weather that makes you want to curl up on a couch and read. Not us! We were off to see Big Sur with a few stops on the way. The coast is beautiful, just like everyone says. I can’t even really explain it, but I was happy when the sun finally did come out. Gray water is not appealing! I got some obligatory tourist photos by Bixby Bridge, the keyhole arch at Pfeiffer Beach, as well as the gorgeous beach and waterfall at Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park. Walking around Pfeiffer Beach was an utter disaster – besides being cold, it was also windy and we were constantly being plastered with sand. I found some creatures, I tried to slide down a sand dune (didn’t work), and we hid in a sandstorm free zone to eat lunch (also did not work – I chewed sand with my pb&j and my carrots.) By the end of the day, we were exhausted and it felt good to climb into bed!

I love the wildflowers here, especially when it's gloomy weather because the color stands out more. Also, that brown stuff in the water is kelp.

 The ole Bixby Bridge.

 

This wouldn't be a "Quinn on a beach" post without a creature picture.

 



We were being pelted by sand and wind in this picture. Pfeiffer Beach is not for the weak.

 



This looks a lot like I'm awesomely sliding down this sand dune. This is not the case. I couldn't slide, I couldn't push myself down it, I couldn't glide down it sideways. Eventually I just went the easy way out: I rolled.

Saturday morning was spent bumming around, doing some Spanish (I had to remind myself that homework is still something you have to do on the weekend!), and waiting for it to warm up (never did). That afternoon, Drew and I drove up to Santa Cruz to check out the boardwalk and the wharf. The traffic was CRAZY! It took us almost 45 minutes to go 2 miles. Sheesh. It was worth it though – we had dinner next to the water, rode the rollercoaster, and people watched. Santa Cruz is also much cheaper than Monterey so we were psyched to eat a cheap dinner that tasted delicious! On our way back, we stopped at the store to pick up a few things, and then we were back and it was time to go to bed because…

 

We screamed like little girls. Here's proof. (Photo by Drew).



We survived! (Photo by Drew). 

Sunday popped up. Booo. Sunday means homework, cleaning, laundry, etc. It felt good to get it all done though, and I felt productive.

I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend and that you were able to spend time with friends and family!