At the beginning of August, one of my very good friends got engaged. Being the matron of honor, Cory and I made Vegas our first stop with out vacation. The wedding was amazing, I hadn't seen her or her family in years and it was fantastic seeing them. She was such a beautiful bride.
We spent a couple of days there. One of the nights we went down to the strip and explored Caesar's Palace. We wanted to go to more, but sadly, after driving 20 hours without any breaks or naps, we were dead tired.
After the wedding, we headed down to Oceanside, CA (near San Diego) to see another good friend of mine. While staying at her place we went to the San Diego Zoo which was absolutely amazing! I can't even describe to you how much I love animals. I was like a 5 year old in a candy store.
The animals were hams that day, so we were able to get a lot of nice pictures. There are more on my facebook page.
The next day, we went to the beach. It was not as pretty as Destin's beaches, but it was still the ocean, and I love the ocean! If you took away all the seaweed, it would have been a lot more prettier. The water wasn't as clear as Destin, but it looked like there were gold fakes in the water, which was very pretty. Heather was our photographer.
After the beach, Cory and I went to my very first baseball game. It was in San Diego, but we were there for the Giants! They lost, but no worries, because we were going to more games in San Francisco.
On our way up to San Francisco, we stopped by the Sequoia National Forest. This was right before the government shut it down. It was amazing. I wish I could live up there. It was so quiet and the air was so crisp and clear. I climbed Moro Rock, and I was a little scared, but I did it and at the top, I hardly held on to the railing. This is us in front of the largest tree in the world.
We went to San Francisco, and although the air wasn't crisp and it was far from quiet, it was still amazing. The first night we went to a Giants game. They lost that game too, but no worries, we had one more game to go to.
I have discovered that I love baseball! It is so exciting. I am so glad that Cory introduced it to me. Anyway, that night we stayed at my uncle Mark's beautiful home, and spent the next day exploring San Fran. We took an hour boat tour that took us under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Angel Island and Alcatraz's. It was amazing. We then found out way to Pier 39 and ate Delicious food and just wandered around.
We got stuck in downtown for about an hour and a half trying to just go 5 blocks. That was the most ridiculous thing ever! But we made it to the game in time. Our 3rd game. They did win this one. In fact is was almost a perfect game. Top of the 9th, 2 outs when the lame batter got a hit. But they didn't score. And I saw my fist homerun. Hunter Pence, or as I like to call him, Crazy Eyes. We sat next to my cousin and his friend. I didn't even know we were cousins till about 10 minutes after we were talking. It was pretty funny, and it was great to meat a family member. (I didn't grow up with my mom's side of the family. We always lived so far away.) That night, we stayed at my Uncle Forrest's beautiful home and spend all day with him the next day. It was amazing catching up and meeting my new and gorgeous Aunt Jenny.
After saying goodbye to Forrest, Jenny and their daughter Sarah, Cory and I headed down to LA. Well, Not exactly. We went to Magic Mountain. I am quite new with liking roller coasters, so I freaked out a lot, but there was only one ride that I refused to ride. Lex Luthar's drop of doom. It's just a free fall, and I hate those. It was super high too. There was a ride, though, that I started crying when they were strapping me in because I was so scared, but that ended up being my favorite ride. We had so much fun, and wish we could have stayed longer, but not only was it closing, but we didn't eat at all that day (didn't want to puke) and we were starving.
After Magic Mountain, we went back down to Oceanside and stayed with Heather again before we left for our journey home. Heather and I had a glow stick party, and we went to the beach at night. So beautiful!
On our way to Tucson, AZ we stopped by the San Diego Temple. It was my first time seeing it. Excuse out street clothes, we were on our way out of time.
Cory served his mission in Tucson, AZ mission. I fell in love with the place and loved the saguaros! Cory showed me where he lived, and where terrible stuff happened like getting egged and almost stabbed by a sward! (How horrible is that?!) He showed me his favorite places to eat and dang, I love Mexican food! He also introduced me to a family he taught. I loved it there!
Mexican hot dogs baby!!
Cory's old mail box
You have to watch where you step, the plants try to kill you!
Saguaros!!
They only grow in this small area of the country!
Us right next to a perfect saguaro.
I don't recommend doing this.
Me, right at the corner of Frick n' Mormon. Haha!
A family that Cory taught on his mission.
Yummy breakfast burritos!
We then drove to El Paso. We spent some time with another family that Cory taught and again, ate some delicious food! And I saw Mexico!! My very first time seeing another country
Mexico!!
Us with Lylia. Cory and other missionaries would have breakfast at her house every Saturday at her house.
Horchata. Yum
A 13 inch burrito!
Just over the bridge is Mexico.
One last stop before we headed home. The White Sands of New Mexico. Pretty much, out in the middle of no where, there are white sand dunes. So pretty.
Sadly, after that, our vacation came to an end. We had a blast! Thanks to all those who let us stay at their house, it was amazing to catch up/meet you!!
Hope you enjoyed. Most of the pictures are on facebook. The pictures of Cory's mission area is not yet on there, but we will get them up there soon. Stay tuned and remember God loves you!
