Everything's Bigger in Texas...Except for the Trees

After a few days in San Francisco, Chris and I were back in the car. Our next destination was a campsite in the heart of the California Coastal Redwoods. Our first taste of these giant trees was via car. More specifically, we drove through Chandelier Tree and then through the Avenue of giants. First, a couple pictures from Chandelier tree:




Our next detour was the Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt State Park. The Avenue of the Giants is a 30-mile drive that wanders in and out of patchy old-growth redwood groves. Whereas Chandelier tree was one lone giant, we now found ourselves looking at big clusters of giant trees and it was even more amazing.

Our campsite was further up the coast, almost in Oregon. I had read that the coastal redwood forests are better the farther North you go, but I had no idea what this meant until Chris and I took a 13 mile hike through the heart of an old-growth forest near our campsite. Within a mile of hiking we were surrounded by huge, ancient trees for as far as the eye could see. The forest floor was covered with dense, green ferns. The sunlight, when it wasn't shrouded by fog, would dapple the dark forest in scattered bright spots. Now we were seeing the real coastal redwoods! To stand among these ancient trees, these giant structures of nature, and listen to the silence of the forest was the most amazing and indescribable thing I experienced on our trip.

See if you can spot Chris in this next picture!

I also enjoyed looking at the remains of fallen trees that littered the forest floor. I could only imagine what it would be like to see one of these giant trees fall.


Our hike led us to a remote and secluded beach that was just as indescribable as the giant trees we walked through to get there. Behind us were forest covered bluffs lining a strip of low lying land covered in little hills and golden grasses.

The grasses and hills slowly faded out, giving way to a smooth beach of dark, coarse sand.

As we sat on the sand and ate our lunch, we watched a couple of seals play in the big waves crashing on the shore. If that wasn't enough, we were privileged to have this time to ourselves. No longer were we sharing the beach with hundreds of beach-goers like we did in Santa Monica or San Diego. We were completely alone!

The return trip on the hike took us through Fern Canyon, which is exactly what the name implies. On the return trip we also spotted a few Banana Slugs and a wild elk.

We almost ran out of daylight before we got back to our campsite. The threat of bears motivated me to set a leg burning pace during the final miles. The hike was exhausting. The hike was also an amazing change of scenery. Gone were the busy, crowded cities. We were now enjoying the quietness and solitude of God's greatest creations.

As a side note, we did make it to Oregon. Driving from Lubbock to San Diego and then up the entire California coast was about 2,500 miles of scenery. Wow!

We also saw this large replica of Paul Bunyan and his blue ox Babe while in the redwoods. I suppose this giant legend would have come from giant trees like the California Coastal Redwoods.

Paul Bunyan also moved his head and talked, kind of like Big Tex, only his voice was kind of high-pitched. Chris made a joke about expecting Paul Bunyan to sound a bit manlier and I said that maybe this was pre-pubescent Paul Bunyan. Then we set up for our picture and afterwards Paul Bunyan said, "Did you see that I winked for your picture." That's when we realized that the voice was "live" and that he probably heard our jokes about his voice. Opps!

As I was driving out of the redwoods toward our next destination, Chris looked at our pictures on our camera. I heard him say "That's amazing." I said something like, " Yea, those trees were amazing." And although he would agree that the trees were amazing, he was actually looking at this "amazing cantilever" that he spotted one day while we were driving.

He's a true architect.

Getting to and Getting Around San Francisco

Getting to San Francisco:

We spent two days driving up the Big Sur coast between Los Angeles and San Francisco. We went to the the beach,

We saw lots of scenery fit for a postcard,

We visited the Hearst Castle,

And We ended at the Monterey Bay Aquirium.

Getting around in San Francisco:

Our apartment in San Francisco was in an awesome, swanky location. The building even had a fancy roof top terrace.

However, the apartment, like the rest of the city, did not come with parking. We paid a steep $84 to park the car for three days and opted for other forms of transportation. First, we took the train to Oakland to see this magnificent church:

The inside was equally amazing. I found humor in the church's statue of the Virgin Mary with a small bear at her feet, that is until I learned that the bear represented the state of California.

Second, we walked to a Giants game.

The last baseball game I went to was a Rangers game a couple years before Chris and I got married. I had a terrible case of the sneezes while at that game and one annoyed fan actually yelled out "If you're allergic to baseball, why don't you go home." Luckily, no one yelled at me this time.

Third, we rented bikes and biked by the seals at Pier 39 and then across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Biking in San Francisco is a lot of work, especially when you are out of shape because you spent the last three years reading law books and because are riding on the steep roads alongside motorized vehicles.

Finally, we rented this little car to see the rest of the city:

Interestingly, I found myself in a helmit yet again.

The car topped out at 40 miles per hour, but only when going down hills. I let Chris do most of the driving because it was a bit scary being on the road in this tiny car, especially with my tendency to focus more on the scenery than on driving.

Ironically, we didn't ride a trolley. And much to my disappointment, there was no room on the ferry to Alcatraz Island. I suppose this means we have to go back someday.

Creative Bums in San Francisco

While in San Francisco I saw bums holding the following signs:

1) "Starvin like Marvin." I instantly thought of my mom's cousin we used to call Starvin Marvin as well as the politically incorrect character from South Park.

2) "My wife has been kidnapped. I need 99 cents for her ransom." Really, you're going to make up a wife that's only worth 99 cents?

3) "I'm too ugly to get laid. I need money to pay for a prostitute." Ironically, I was so distracted by his sign that I did not give him a one-over to verify if he really was ugly. I guess I'll take his word for it.

A Few Pictures Before We Leave L.A.

At the Hollywood sign.

The Walt Disney Concert Hall.


Chris and Jesse learned how to use a parking meter.


Lookin' good at the Getty.

I won this award...

...and earned a spot on the walk of fame!

Not bad for just three days.

Funny Eggs

While in L.A. Chris and Jesse went to the grocery store to get milk and cereal for breakfast. An hour later they returned with multiple bags of food, including this carton of 8 good eggs, one cracked egg, and three missing eggs. Despite this setback, we managed to whip up a pretty tasty breakfast. Don't be fooled by the silly faces the boys are making.

Oh, that is so L.A.

The following pictures were taken in Los Angeles. First, below is a street sign that I saw more than once, including on the highway. I've never seen such signs in Texas, although they might exist in Austin...

While in L.A. we rented a condo with Jesse and Vanessa (Chris' brother and his brother's wife). The condo was advertised as "centrally located." The advertisement failed to note, however, that centrally located really means nothing when traffic looks like this on a regular basis:


While sitting in the particular traffic jam that is pictured above, I had plenty of time to ponder the following message, which was stickered to a rail on a highway overpass:



Even after 40 minutes of pondering (because we were moving that slowly), I still couldn't figure out what it meant. Perhaps someone could help me out.

The lady who rented our condo to us was also a true L.A. character. Two days before we were set to arrive, she called me to let me know that the UFC fight would be on pay-per-view. Nope, I did not ask for that information - that was a freebie! When she met us at the condo upon our arrival, she said that she couldn't remember what price she had quoted us and asked us to tell her. I was tempted to lie and give a low ball answer, but then I remembered the Ninth Comandment,which reads "Thou shalt not bear false witness." She gave a $50 break for being honest. Anyhoo, all four of us came to the conclusion that she was on speed or some similarly addictive and illegal upper. Chris and I coined our residence the crack condo. Good times!

But in the midst of all the craziness that is L.A., I found this sign that seemed out of place. Struck by the irony, I zoomed in for a picture and that's when I noticed that it's not from L.A. at all.
While L.A. was a lot of fun and I had a great time vacationing with family, I don't think L.A. is my kind of city. And I know that based on the traffic alone, Lubbock beats L.A. any day.

Architecture Porn

Earlier this week Chris and I visited the Salk Institute in La Jolla, Califonria. It only confirmed what I already knew - not only does Louis Kahn have an awesome name, but he was also an amazing architect.

Below are some pictures of the main courtyard at the Salk Institute. These are the product of patience, as we had to wait 40 minutes for the courtyard to be free of other people.

While at the Salk Institute we took an architectural tour of the buildings. Also on the tour was a group of older ladies who exuded "old money." I found humor in the irony of seeing these pretentious ladies in such an unpretentious place. On the one hand were these ladies: decked out in bright lipsticks, large gold jewelry, sweaters draped around their necks, and most likely a bit of collagen; making statements like "Oh, that is fabulous," or "Oh, that is so very fabulous." On the other hand the Salk: unfinished concrete and teak wood, purposefully rusted steel, and simple, understated landscaping. At one point one of the ladies asked if the weathered teak wood would ever be painted . Yep, Chris was right. If these ladies had stumbled upon the Salk Institute not realizing what it was, they would have been making statements like, "Oh, that is dreary," or "Oh, that is so very dreary."

Chris and I spent four hours enjoying the Salk Institute. We left with a ton of pictures that don't really capture the beauty of the place. As we left, Chris called it architecture porn. If that's the worst he looks at, I suppose I can't complain.

Chris Gets Bored With Ferraris

Chris and I have been in California for almost a week now. In that time Chris has seen a number of cars that cause him to make various grunting noises and excited exclamations. One day he saw a Viper, a Corvette, and a Lamborghini within a couples miles of each other. You can imagine the combination of grunts and exclamations that followed.

Yesterday Chris spotted yet another Ferrari. Instead of the usual response that follows such a spotting, he said that he had seen so many Ferraris that he was now bored with them. Hmmm...if only we could see a lot of BMW M-5's. Then maybe Chris would get bored with those too and decide that we no longer need to buy one.

Visiting Family

Over the weekend, Chris and I visited my cousin James who lives in Del Mar. Although he may or may not have introduced Chris to a new vice, we will ignore that part and focus on the lovely beach walk to dinner that evening:

On Monday night we stayed on the Camp Pendleton Base with my cousin Sara, her Marine Sargeant husband Ed, and their sweet two-month-old baby Elayna. Within an hour of arriving at their house I had the baby in my lap and Chris had asked if he could shoot Ed's guns. I suppose Chris and I had different priorities during this leg of our trip.

On Tuesday we drove to Los Angeles. Not only did we pick-up Chris's brother Jesse and his wife Vanessa at the airport, but we also went to dinner with Chris's Tia Flor and cousins Madalyn, Carlos, and Sylvia. It was a nice way to end a long day of sitting in traffic.

Zoo and Balboa Park

Went to the San Diego Zoo today. I especially enjoyed the hippos who were sleeping with their giant faces smushed against the viewing glass.

I also enjoyed watching one exhibit of very small monkeys who were eating the stuffing out of a small stuffed animal. Now that I think about it, I'm not sure if they were supposed to have a stuffed animal or if the synthetic stuffing was all that healthy....but it was sure entertaining to watch.

The polar bears and the panda bears were a bit of let down. I know that zoo animals should be allowed to nap, but I sure wish they wouldn't choose to do so on the day that I pay $32 to see them. Chris suggested that we throw a coca-cola into the polar bear pool so that the bears would jump into the water to get it. Obviously we did not act on this suggestion, but I think that if tiny monkeys can handle a little stuffing, large polar bears could handle a little soda. Anyhoo, the polar bear below was the most cooperative one we saw.

About half way through the day I started paying attention to the vast variety of strollers that people at the zoo were pushing around. I came to the conclusion that picking out a stroller must be like buying a car and like cars, I prefer compact models.

After leaving the zoo, Chris and I wandered around Balboa Park. It was absolutely lovely. We ended up buying dinner and eating on one of the many lawns. Althouh pictures cannot capture the beauty of the park, here are a couple of pictures I took.

We're in San Diego!

Chris and I left Lubbock yesterday at 7:45 p.m. The excitement of the start of vacation clearly won-out over thinking about the 1,000 mile drive ahead of us.


We drove through the night and at approximately 7:53 Texas time, or 5:53 California Time, we made it to California.


In fact, we made it just in time for a lovely sunrise.


In between Lubbock and California, we passed through Roswell, New Mexico. Due to the late hour, nothing much was out...EXCEPT FOR THE OCCASIONAL ALIEN!

This morning we drove through a stretch of highway teeming with little yellow butterflies. This would have been pretty if the butterflies had been fluttering around next to the highway. Instead, the butterflies were flying around on the highway. For over a mile I grimaced as an unending stream of butterfly guts were spread across the front of our car, sometimes two or three at a time. After a while, butterfly wings littered the pavement and blew around in the windstreams created by passing cars, making the scene that much worse.

After fourteen hours in the car, we checked into our hotel around noon. In the process we learned that the hotel will comp the internet bill if a random sick child vomits on your feet in the hotel lobby. While it was a pretty disgusting lesson, it has enabled me to post this blog. And on the upside, we were not the customer who later wondered by, slipped on the mess, and soaked her dress and legs. Noticing that everyone was staring at her in disbeleif, the customer asked,"Oh, is the floor wet?" After an akward silence during which the hotel staff failed to respond, I decided it was time to get out of there. I did not want to be the one to explain that she was sitting in vomit.

It's vacation time!

Tomorrow Chris and I will leave Lubbock and head to California for 24 days. The plan is to drive straight through to San Diego, make our way up the coast to the Oregon border, and then travel south via the interior national and state parks.

In all honesty, this is more than just a vacation. It is a celebration: law school and the bar exam, IDP and ARE. For two years Chris and I have been meticulously calculating and saving Chris' vacation time so that this celebration could happen. And if Chris I still love each other after 24 days in a compact car and a suitcase, then nothing can come between us.

Yep, this trip is ambitious, awesome, and promises loads of amusing stories and blog-worthy pictures.

Meet Gilso and George...and then say "tchau!"

This summer Gina, a friend who is currently studying music at Texas Tech and is from Brazil, brought her Brother Gilso and his friend George all the way from Belem, Brazil to Lubbock, Texas. We taught them English words like "barge." They taught us that cashew nuts grow like a stem on an edible fruit.

Gilso and George used their exotic origins to gain access to the Bruno house, a privately owned architectural wonder just outside Lubbock. Here we are on one of the house balconies overlooking Ransom Canyon. Oooooo!

But like most other good things, Gilso and George's visit came to an end. Awwww :(

Thankfully they didn't take Gina with them.

Bye-Bye Bar, Bye-Bye BarBri

Last week I took the Texas Bar Exam. As expected, it was a humbling beast of an exam. For those who are curious about what exactly the bar exam consists of, here is the schedule as it appeared on my admission ticket:

On the first two days of the exam, the exam proctors were really strict about collecting all exam materials before we left, but on the third day they told us to take the exam booklets with us as a "souvenir." Huh? I already have plenty of mental souvenirs I can't seem to get rid of; I do not need physical evidence that will pop-up unexpectedly and frighten me. In fact, I finished the last day feeling pretty confident. I do not want to review the exam only to realize my errors, thereby destroying my ignorant state of bliss. Despite all of this, for days I could not bring myself to throw away these stupid exam books. Thus, I convinced myself that taking a picture would make it okay to throw them away. Since I have a picture, why not add it to this otherwise boring post.

And since I'm posting random pictures, I might as well add this rather artistic photo of all the earplugs I found while cleaning out my study materials. I promise I only have two ears....

What the bar exam really consists of is weeks upon weeks of studying a ton of material and then taking the exam only to realize that 1) your nerves really get in the way, 2) there is some stuff you didn't study at all but should have, and 3) making up a rule of law is unexpectedly easy when under pressure. I also learned a lot of life lessons about property: Don't sell the same piece of land more than once, don't forget to record your deed, don't keep loose wild animals on your land, etc.

During the week leading up to the bar exam, I had a minor panic moment that resulted in frantic packing of books and food and moving my study location to the library. I blame it on consumer law essays. Luckily, I didn't cry. Everyone seemed to have a crying story: "I ran out of shampoo in the shower and I started crying," or "I locked myself out of my study room and started crying." I don't have a crying story, but I do have this picture from the break room on the third floor of the law library to which I contributed the flames:

At first someone drew a picture a rainbow and wrote "heaven" on they days directly after hell, but then some pessimistic soul bashed that dream by erasing the rainbow and reminding everyone of the waiting game, referring to the fact that we must wait until Nov. 5 for the exam results. I chose to focus on "675: Do it." That's the minimum passing score.

The day after the exam, I happily returned my study books to BarBrti, the company from whom I took a preparation course. The fate of my books was the back of a pick-up truck with everyone else's books:

What a fitting ending. All that knowledge and all those books seemed so important before the exam, but now....hmmm. What's a contract again?

Kim Takes a Study Break With Ghostland

A couple weeks before the bar exam, Chris and I went to see Ghostland Observatory in concert with some of his co-workers. Aside from the ridiculous two hour line and even more ridiculous two hour wait once inside the venue, it was an awesome night out. Check out the crazy lasers!

It was a sweaty mess at the front of the stage. I chose to enjoy the show from a less sticky location. But those at the front had fun playing with the lasers.

Below is a picture of the drummer/DJ for Ghostland. He always wears a cape when he performs. The awkward placement of his hand, however, was just pure camera luck...

Good music + good people + insane lasers = an excellent study break.