01/13/17 - 01/15/17
Day 1
This will officially be my first trip with the DCF family that i've come to know and love :). It was by the favor of God that our weekend would be free of storms. I had set out for Davis from home, which took 3 hours because of traffic. After picking up the people who I would take with me, we set out for our AirBnb. After some misdirections by Apple maps and some detours caused by construction on a bridge, we finally arrived safe and sound to the smells of Korean delicacies prepared by two awesome couples. What better dinner can you ask for than a dinner prepared with love? This was my first time having homemade kimchi fried rice with an omelette on top.
After the meal, there was an impromptu future yogi training session by the IG famous yoga instructor, Monmonmelon. They learned many different poses like child's pose, crows pose, head stands, hand stands, and many others. It seems like she's going to have some competition in the near future haha.
Day 2
On our first day out we divided ourselves into two cars to travel to Yosemite so we could cross country ski. 1 group rode in the "sus bus" with Wei, while the other rode in "Pastor Preston's" car. We got separated during our drive to Yosemite so we stopped a beautiful waterfall to kill some time.
After a couple semi successful initial D moves and an hour more of driving we safely arrived at badger pass. We rented our skis and slid towards a winter wonderland. Cross country skiing was breath taking. The trees were mostly covered with snow, fresh powder on either side of the carved path, clear skies above us. After some time of skiing and falling in every way possible we stopped for a lunch break. During our lunch break I set up a mini photoshoot and shot some photos.
We continued to ski a bit more before we had to turn back and return our equipment before the store closed. During our drive back, we got to stop at the famous Yosemite Tunnel View which will give you a breath taking view of the whole park. This time around, I would have to say that this is the most beautiful i've seen Yosemite. The waterfall was clearly overflowing with water, and the trees offered a contrast of color thanks to the snow, and changing leaves. This is my pride and joy from the trip to Yosemite.
We stopped by a local convenience store to buy some snacks as well as two white wines for consumption later. When we arrived home, my group had begun to prepare the ramen dinner. Although it was my first time ever preparing ramen from scratch, I would have to say it is fairly easy to do. The hardest part I felt like was attempting to perfectly make a runny soft boil egg. Thanks to my team for making it all happen! (Isabel, Irona, Amy). :D
We drank the first of two wines after eating our fill of ramen as well as a plum wine I had bought before the trip. The night ended with an attempt to play the game "Watch Ya Mouth", but failed miserably because we could still understand each other, even with the opener in our mouths. We think that it may be because our mouth is so stretchy.
Day 3
For our last day in Yosemite, we decided to go on a hike over at the lower Yosemite falls. Before we left, we had a short, but intimate worship session. It was led by the famous singer Irona Lee and Bryan Zhao.
Before we left for Yosemite we took Polaroids and pictures in front of the van and our house that we stayed at this weekend. The scene was picturesque. If the picture was a bit more vintage and grainy, I would say that it could be out of my parent's picture album.
We had gotten lost when we were inside the park, because a street we needed to get into was blocked off with snow. Which led us to stopping at this spot where you can see El Capitan very clearly.
Our group got the ideal parking spots after having wait and prayed for it. We walked across a snow covered field and when I looked up I could see a perfect alignment of mountains, trees and skies. Right next to it was another beautiful arrangement of cabin, trees, sky and snow. Walking in the forest towards the lower Yosemite falls we came across sections that opened for the sky to come through
After hiking for a bit, we reached the closest view for the lower Yosemite falls, so we decided to take come pictures as a group and also some as couples. The area where the pictures were taken was full of ice on the floor, so many of us were slipping around as if we were on an ice rink. I even fell once when i was just standing around.
We continued on the trail and decided to go off the paved path and explore a bit. We came upon an area of a small river that froze over with a thin layer of ice on top. Walking upon this area made many of us feel like the hulk. With every step the ice would crack when we put our full weight on each step.
After a bit of enjoying the spot that we found, we slowly trekked back towards our car. During the trek i accidentally found myself in the river trying to get a shot of the half dome peaking from in between the trees. Unfortunately, I didn't get the shot, plus my right leg was completely soaked. After a bit of walking in the dark, we arrived at our cars, and quickly set out for home. Preston, David and I had the pleasure of getting to know each other more. Talking about our paths that we are on, aspirations, how God had brought us to where we are now, and what we were expectant to happen in this upcoming year. It's awesome to be able to chat with them on a one to one to one level.
When we arrived home the third and final dinner group to cook. They made spaghetti and meatballs. We had our last and final dinner together in the AirBnb we rented together before some of the folks had to leave early because of someones birthday was the next day. After having our last white wine that I had bought. After the group left, we play a game of resistance with cards. It's a game that was very similar to Avalon. Of course, the bad guys won and good guys lost >.>. After one game, we cleaned up a lot of the house, and spent the rest of the night watching Series of Unfortunate Events. After what seemed to be a busy and packed weekend, it was nice to be able to just sit back and relax for a night, before our drive back to civilization.
"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."
Lamentations 3:22-23
--A+