Just a few photos I took of some flowers. :)

Hello everyone,

During Labor Day weekend, which also happened to fall on my birthday, my family (including my sister and her fiance who came through) went on a weekend road trip to Yosemite.

We left Friday night and drove a couple hours, staying in a hotel in a city along the way. The traffic was not that bad on the way there, but we could see on the other side of the road, hundreds of cars stuck in traffic for some reason. So grateful we weren't in that position!

The next day we picked up my sister and her fiance from a Bart station and continued on our way to Yosemite. When we neared the park entrance, the traffic was absolutely terrible. We were stuck waiting in line for over 2 hours over a distance that should have taken 20 minutes. From what I've heard, Labor Day weekend is the second most crowded time, first being Memorial Day weekend.

After finally getting through the line, we walked over to a nearby waterfall, but unfortunately it was dry. x) That night we ate dinner at South Gate Brewing Company, and I ordered the Portobello mushroom burger without cheese, which was really delicious. After dinner we checked into a hotel and called it a night.

The next day, which was also my birthday, we got up earlier to avoid the traffic (a park ranger told us to come before 9:00 am and leave after 7:00 pm). We went to Glacier Point which my sister's fiance called "the Mona Lisa of Yosemite". After admiring the view, we picked a shady area to sit down and eat our lunch. I imagined us having a nice and peaceful lunch, but instead, we were attacked by bees. I guess it was the honey mustard in their sandwiches. My dad actually had a bee fly into his mouth, sting him, and fly out alive. Poor dad...

After lunch, we went on a hike that was about 7 miles, but we (mainly my dad and I) got tired really quickly, so we headed back. I did bump into a classmate on the hiking trail which was really cool.

Finally for dinner we ate at the Crab Cakes Restaurant where I ordered the Garden Pasta. The waiter was really nice and helped me order vegan friendly options.

At the end of dinner, my sister said she needed to use the restroom. Soon after she came back, the waiter asked me my favorite type of fruit. Turns out, my sister had told him it was my birthday, and he had made a smoothie for me. That moment was really memorable for me because it was such a nice gesture. :^) Shout out to that awesome waiter!

So, we went back to the hotel, slept, and the next day, headed back home. I had so much fun on this trip, and I'm so thankful I had this opportunity to spend time with my family and nature, two of my favorite things. :)

Thanks for reading!

mel

Hi everyone!

A couple weeks ago my family and I took a day trip to Laguna Beach. We ate sushi for lunch (I got some veggie rolls), and we headed to this gorgeous park nearby, the Treasure Island park.

I was wearing a jacket because I thought it would be cold, but it ended up being a sunny day—the weather was amazing. We walked around for a bit but finding parking was difficult—there were a lot of people out and about that day.

On our way home we got some groceries, and I caught a Dragonite in Pokemon Go. :^)

Thanks for reading!

mel

Hi everyone!

This post draws an end to my summer travels. I meant to put up this post much earlier, but there were other posts that I wanted to publish first.

A couple days before our departure from Hangzhou, my grandpa wanted to take my dad and me to Xixi National Wetland Park. My grandpa had never been, so he wanted to check it out. Several buses later (and getting lost along the way), we arrived at the park. Located in the west part of Hangzhou, the park features a variety of vegetation and plants as well as many oriental buildings. Along the river, there are several villages we stopped at. In these villages, there are places to eat and also learn more about ancient Chinese culture.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing the various stops we stopped at during my time in Taiwan and Hangzhou—this was an extremely memorable trip, and I'm so thankful I had this opportunity to see more of Asia.

Thanks for reading!

mel