Fourth of July Weekend

Happy Fourth of July! A couple weeks late, but still a happy holiday none the less. Our Fourth of July weekend was fantastic except the fact we did not get to see any fireworks. (No room in the budget for the county we live in.) However, J* and I made the most of it anyways.
J* had a four day weekend, which was great because I was really tired of doing things by myself since I don’t know anyone yet.

The Saturday before the holiday we took a hike in the mountains at a local state park. We left the house with Gus, a backpack holding our water and lunch, and our layers of clothing. It was in the 50’s when we left our house, and by the time we drove the 17 miles inland it was around 75 degrees or more! We couldn’t believe how much the winds from the sea cool the temperature of the air.

As we hiked, I quickly realized just how out of shape I am, and pawned the backpack off on J*(He is a little more fit after the past few months!). I don’t know how far we hiked because we ended up taking several paths on the way up the mountain, but all three of us were tired by the time we got home that afternoon. We spent a good 4 hours out there, stopping for a picnic, a short swim for Gus in a hidden lake, and a run in with a rattle snake that had slithered across our path. (Don’t worry, we already decided we should buy a snakebite kit before we go out again!)

Sunday was great because we found the church that we are going to call home while we are living here! It is a church that I had researched before we moved here, and when we went to check it out on Sunday it was a great fit. The worship style is similar to what we are used to, and the sermon was informative as well as challenging. It is a fair bit larger than the church we were going to back home, but it didn’t feel too big and we were not bombarded the moment we walked through the door. We are both really excited to get involved here and meet some people.

We hit the beach with some friends after church, J* went swimming and I sun bathed. We tried having a fire on the beach that evening, but by the time we were ready to start it the fog had rolled in and everything was too wet and cold. All the guys tried their hand at starting it until they were satisfied that they couldn’t beat the elements, then we headed back to our house for dinner and games.

Monday, the 4^th, Josh and I took a drive down to Big Sur and back to check out what it was all about. I snapped a ton of pictures along the way, but we were not prepared for the freezing cold winds on the cliffs, so we stayed inside the car. We will go again so we can stop along the way and take in the views next time.