This past weekend, Molly and I got to take a trip to visit the guys in Nevada and California! We were able to pack in so many incredible adventures in just 5 days; from Thursday night to Monday afternoon. We had so much fun experiencing what they have been doing all summer long first-hand, and getting to spend good quality time with our guys who we've missed so much!
Thursday, June 30th-
Destination: VEGAS
This morning Molly and I began the trip to see the guys!! During the day of waiting, Jonathan and Leo tried to waste a little time by going to Zion National Park! Not that Zion is boring by any means, but they had to fill in the day with something! They enjoyed that, but still had a long time to wait afterwards. After a delay, our plane finally arrived in Las Vegas around midnight. We saw the giant school bus pull up in the midst of taxis and airport vans, and we ran across the street as fast as we could with our luggage in tow and DOVE into the bus! We were a little bit embarrassed but realized, hey, we're never gonna see any of these people again and we're about to see our guys!
The trip had begun!! The guys were both decked out in dashing tuxes for a little extra Vegas-flare. We all changed into more comfortable clothing and hit the town. We went out looking at beautiful buildings like the Venetian and the Bellagio, wasted about $15 total at the casinos, and strolled along the streets. The city is different that I thought. Instead of being dirty, overcrowded, and scary, it was quite nice! We stayed out and about until 4:00 a.m. Molly and I had been awake for nearly 24 hours! So back to the bus we walked as the sun was beginning to rise but I actually slept like a rock. Those beds the guys built are pretty dang comfortable! So we got about 3 hours of sleep in a WalMart parking lot.
Friday, July 1st-
Destination: Death Valley and Inyo
Today was a day of rest for the 4 of us. Lots of driving, but great company! We woke up to some delightful French toast that Leo made in the WalMart lot! Then we began driving into California toward Death Valley. It was a really neat drive! I can see where the valley got it's name; it's huge, desertous, and very dusty. We had to close all the windows at one point after spotting an upcoming area that was so dusty you could hardly see through it! The guys take shifts in driving, and the good thing is, when Leo was driving, I could pull up this lawn chair right next to him up front so we could still talk and be hanging out! And vise-versa for Jonathan and Molly! So that was a nice thing or else I would have to say bye to Leo for a few hours and hang out in the back until his shift was up! After driving all day, and all through Death Valley, we arrived at Inyo National
Forest campgrounds. We pulled up around 3 or 4 and scoped out the campsite. We came across a nearby stream -might I add- this stream is all snow-melt and fast-moving from the mountains above. Which basically means it was FREEZING! The second you put a foot in, it gets tingly and numb! Leo brought his lovely 3-in-1 shampoo/conditioner/body wash down to this stream. So we each put on our swimsuits and took a quick full body dip into the stream, scrubbed this so called 3-in-1 in our hair, and did another as fast as possible dip into the stream to rinse! That whole experience was filled with chill bumps and lots of laughter and became a joke of the trip. Shamefully I admit, that was our first and last bath of the trip. My dry shampoo really came in handy!
That night we grilled hamburgers and had macaroni and cheese, caramelized onions, and watermelon on the side. The weather and the sky were absolutely perfect! The sun was setting just over the mountain top nearby, the breeze was blowing, and it was a comfortable temperature (and no humidity like here in the south). It was a highlight of the trip for me. We stayed up late talking and enjoying some ice cream cones! We got back in our separate beds and got some rest for tomorrow's hike.
Saturday, July 2nd-
Destination: Inyo National Forest
In whose national forest? In YO National Forest! This morning we woke up and had "egg-in-bread" and sausage for breakfast. We had to fuel up for the hike we were about to undergo. The four of us geared up and drove to the trailhead. We found a spot for the bus to fit and began our ascent into Inyo. All of the recent changes in altitude, including this mountain that started around 9,000ft, unfortunately affected Molly and I a little on this hike and we weren't feeling very well. So we had to take it pretty slow, and ended up only hiking a little less than 2 miles up. That's when we decided to stop at Gilbert Lake. Tall mountains, lovely trees, and huge rocks surrounded this massive lake. The temperature was incredible and we started to feel better after resting there for a couple of hours. It was amazing that God provided a spot like that without us having to hike up so far, for our bodies' sake. The four of us hung out at this lake fishing, reading the Word, and chatting. We descended back down to the bus and drove to Mammoth Lakes, California. All of us went on a double dinner date in that cute little town! That night we stayed at another nearby campsite we happened to find, and watched Baby Mama. The guys needed some girliness in their lives! They can watch action or scary movies all they want when we're not around! Then we called it a night to hit Mammoth Mountain in the morning.
Sunday, July 3rd-
Destination: Mammoth and Yosemite
Today was chock-full of adventure and I loved it!! This morning, the four of us went to a cute bakery in town for breakfast. Even though we went to the same place, we sat apart to have extra 1-on-1 time with our "significant other." It was sort of funny actually, but good quality time! We got a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant and a huge glazed doughnut to split. First stop: Mammoth Mountain. The guys had been planning to take us girls on a gondola ride up to the very top! They made a big sacrifice for us because Mammoth is like one of the biking capitals of the U.S. and I know they would have absolutely loved to ride here. But they decided to hold off and just spend time doing what Molly and I would want to do. They were so sweet and conscientious of us the whole trip. So we took the gondola up and it overlooked all the bikers and snowboarders going down the mountain. It was so beautiful! We got to walk around once at the top and saw all the mountains and lakes nearby. Absolutely breathtaking. The four of us got to observe and hang out there for a couple of hours, then back down the gondola we rode and hopped back on the bus.
And off we drove to our second stop: Yosemite National Park! I didn't know a whole lot about this park. I know people go there and say it's beautiful but that's about it! I was completely blown away by the size and beauty of everything. I think all four of us were that way. The trees, rocks, mountains, everything was so upscaled! We were fascinated by it all. We had an incredible time exploring this park. We got to see Half Dome, El Capitan, Tunnel View, and so much more. Today was my favorite day, but it's hard to say because everything was so great. Tonight we drove for a while to put us closer to tomorrow's destinations..
Monday, July 4th-
Destination: South Yuba River State Park and another airport /:
Happy 4th of July from Cali4nia! Today we went to swim in these natural pools near the border of Cali and Nevada. It was so cool and the perfect way to celebrate the 4th. We found a spot for the bus, walked down a hilariously treacherous trail, and lowered into the cold clear water! I had never seen anything like this. It was shallow enough to touch in most places, and there were these huge smooth rocks in the water to swim over. There were also some mini rapids and water falls all around. It looked like we were at some fancy resort in the islands! We swam, tried to steer the inflatable boat, sun-bathed, laughed, and jumped off tall rocks into the water for about 3 hours. Then we looked at the clock and realized it was time to go. Time to go to the airport. We sadly hiked our way across the rocks back to the bus. The moment we caught sight of the bus, we immediately knew something was wrong. One car had parked right IN FRONT OF the bus, and another car had parked right BEHIND the bus. We were trapped! We were afraid we would miss our flight (but would also be happy for another day together). Once we got closer, we realized the back car had left about 3 feet of room, while the front car had left almost no room. Despite the tight space, we were able to get out without much trouble, praise the Lord!
So on we drove to.. the Reno, Nevada airport. We didn't say a whole lot on the drive there. I wanted to stay the rest of the summer, and we were sad to part ways. We got to the airport and the guys were able to come in with us this time. They walked us all the way to security and after we prolonged our goodbyes as far as possible, the time came for Molly and I to be at the terminal. We said some painful goodbyes but are thankful that in a month, we will see our guys again! Molly and I had a lot of traveling to do over the next day. We boarded our plane and upon takeoff, I received a picture from Leo of him pointing to our plane up in the air above him! It was pretty funny and perfectly timed, so that helped lighten the mood a little bit right before I had to turn off my phone. Our plane landed in LA an hour later, then off to Atlanta we flew.
Tuesday, July 5th-
Destination: home for the girls, Tahoe for the guys
Molly and I finally landed in Atlanta around 5:00 a.m. We were exhausted, but had to keep going. I got a large coffee and drove us to Auburn to drop off Molly. I stayed at her apartment while she had to go to CLASS (poor thing) and I napped for almost 3 hours. Then I got back in the car and pulled into my driveway at noon. The trip was officially over, and we were officially exhausted! Meanwhile, the guys made their way to Lake Tahoe! They spent several hours here and had a nice time catching up and hanging out. Since they had spent the past 5 days with us girls, they had hardly talked just them two.
Though the girls' trip has ended, the guys' trip has not! Within this coming month, the guys will be visiting one of our best friends, Michael, in Washington state for 1 week. They also hope to go into Canada to bike, hike, and see another country for a bit. After Canada, they plan to trickle down through those NW states, making their way back down to Birmingham, AL! Their plan is to be back home some time between July 27th and August 6th. We can hardly wait to see them again, but we are so excited for their incredible upcoming adventures on Adventure Bus 2016!
Today, the guys were still in Bellingham with Michael and would be there for another 2 days. Another backpacking adventure would fill this day! The three traveled out to Winchester Mountain. They embarked on this hiking and camping trip and would continue embarking these next two days. On their hike up to Winchester Lookout, there was so much fog that it totally cut off the view from the lookout! They reached the top but didn't get the reward of an amazing 360 view. But they still had a lot of fun and found this little shelter building up at the top and even raised the American flag on the flagpole by the shelter! They had a good time goofing off and hanging out on their hike today! 
