A Walk in the Clouds

Wow...it seems like forever since I last blogged! Please forgive me yet again. And I will stop excusing myself because at this point it should be obvious that I am not going to be very consistent for the remaining month.

Wow...a month left to go! Yay and yet boo. Yay because I get to see all my friends and family again yet boo because I leave all the friends I made here and all the loveliness of this city.

Wow...will I leave, will I stay? I spoke with dad earlier on the phone and I believe I was quite accurate in telling him that I felt my mind felt like it was in a state of ping pong. One day the ball's on one side of the table, the next it's on the other side. Huckleberry Finn. Sometimes it seems decisions are impossible to make but then again it always seems exciting to make them whatever they may end up being. They bring new possibilities, new adventures, new triumphs, new struggles...sometimes even old battles but nonetheless they bring something.

God is good all the time so I am not afraid of the serious decision-making that will be made in the course of this month. I trust all will go well and whatever decisions I prayerfully make, He'll make the best of them. I will of course keep you updated...

Anyhoo, family visited and now is gone. I miss you guys a lot!!! My family here though is so great in making me always feel cared for. Yay for family!!!

While my family was in, the highlight, I believe, of our trips was the one to the Olympic Mountains (besides our trip to Rainer previous to that).

Before I start the telling of the actual destination...we had a few interesting moments on the way TO our destination including, but not limited to:

- losing mum and Tia (who were driving the other car with the kids) at the very beginning of the trip and then later as we approached the ferry (yes we got to take a ferry!!!)

- tio and dad blaming the whole incident on Tia and mum and their poor navigation skills (ironically though, they had made it successfully to the line for the ferry before we did)...since we followed some poorly and scarcely placed signs to the ferry line we ended up going quite a ways AWAY from the ferry line while Tia and mum safely in line. But of course, it was the women's fault that we were separated in the first place, so they had to come back and meet us. (Secretly I believe that the guys didn't know how to get to the ferry line so they needed to follow Tia and mum...hehe)

- at this point, we'd been in the car far longer than we would've liked to be and knew that only more delay was in store for us, so I decided to start documenting the experience with my camera phone. My subjects were reluctant at first, but then agreed to take part in the documenting as they had nothing better to do.

- Fernando at this point intelligently decided to have his nifty mp3 player drown out the depressing sounds and silences of being lost and doomed to more hours in the car...

- finally....we get to the ferry line, after meeting up with the gals who had to get out of their line to come back and meet us...and the line is long...quite long...

- so we play a game of cards, I take more pics, we turn on the radio, then we check to see if we have anything worth listening to in the car since Celine Dion and Mariah Carey were the only ones singing on the radio...

and the one thing the dads found in the car that made us produce amusing reactions (amusing in their eyes mind you, and yes, we were all THAT bored) was a Veggie Tales cd...and I almost would've been okay with that had I not heard these songs numerous times before and had the adults not turned up the volume plenty and this is all beside the fact that two grown men had preferred this over the radio (well frankly I don't know what would've been better)!!! So here are pics of our expressions at the squeaky, funky sounds of Veggie Tales.

- And then....we finally get to the ferry!!! Hurrah!!! Note the sheer joy in our faces upon our arrival.

The ferry was amazing, but I don't have pics of it...you'll have to ask Fernando or I'll have to look for the camera Tio was using. Let me just say that the ferry was so fun to ride on (especially from the outside right by the railing) that I understood for once the cheesy typical Titanic pictures with Kate's outstretched arms and Leo's sappy face. Ja man...amazing breeze!!!

Okay, eh hem, you can shake the mention of the movie off right now..sorry about that.

We went to Hurricane Ridge and climbed Hurricane Hill. It was the most amazing thing ever!!! As we drove up and up, we started seeing more clouds until we got to our destination and were surrounded by wisps of clouds passing right over our heads! They blocked some of the view at first (though we got to see a lot on our way up) and then they cleared a little here and there as we made our hike up the hill (btw, hill my foot. it was quite a hike towards the end especially!). We saw a deer a little ways off the path and started to quietly, yet frantically get as many pics as we could as she wandered around by some trees. I thought that was amazing, I'd never been that close to a deer...at least not that I recall.

We keep hiking up and get more amazing and breathtaking views as we hike on the path that was breathtakingly close at times to the side of the 'hill' (I would believe it to be a mountain, but then again I don't know the definition of either so I won't play the expert). There were wildflowers of all colors on the sides...it was great! We were so happy and taking pictures...and happy...and panting...and the path kept going...and we started wondering when the path would end because we still had to hike back...and we kept going...and still somewhat happy...and out of breath...but happy...at least content...okay then we were starting to get hungry...and out of breath...and then there was the steepest climb I've ever done...it was the type that you know that for days after the hike you'll feel your every muscle ache with every move you make (like when you work your arms out a bit too much and can't even stretch your arms out to open the microwave door to make lunch the next day). Yeah. Though in retrospect, I never ended up half as achy as I expected. Huckleberry Finn. Now, in retrospect, I'm a little annoyed because pain I thought was a good indicator that you'd done a good hard day's worth of exercise and I'm wondering if I got any health and fitness points for that hike whatsoever!

Okay, back to the story...so we hike and we're all scattered in small groups of two and tired and dad and Chumi are farther up ahead than any of us and JP and Fernando are a little ways behind them and Karen and I are slightly behind them and Tio and Sara close behind and mum and Tia...well who knows where. I knew that they had taken a break and were taking pictures but well...at this point it was everyone fend for yourself and go at whatever pace you've got left in you and see to it that you don't faint instead of everyone stick together like a family. We still loved each other...but everyone at the distance they could bear to have.

As we get to the tip top...AMAZING!!! Though we were expecting a view that went for miles in several directions, we saw not much more than clouds...but it was amazing. We were covered in cloud...it was like a dream! The air was crisp and moist and everything had such a beautiful hushed light to it. Very dreamy...and rightly so for we were walking in the clouds.

At one point we could only see a few feet ahead of us, the clouds so thickly surrounded us. Also, we wasted our time frantically taking pictures of the one deer we saw (what seemed like ages ago) earlier for just before we were thickly surrounded by clouds, we saw one lovely majestic deer, antlers and all, standing right by the path as we walked on by! And after that, we saw a doe and a younger deer come by too! The whole family was there...so beautiful and so nearby!!!

So we took a bunch more pictures though we failed miserably at many of them because of the clouded lighting conditions...hehe.

And then we hiked back down...this time the whole family together. We made it...all of us to the top and in a way I think it was especially gratifying to get to the top on one's own. There's just something about successfully reaching one's destination, struggles and all. The beauty when you get can be so much more appreciated and profound. Okay...no more poetic tangents...

I've realized that if I don't take pics with my simple little camera phone, I will never get to posting pictures on this blog...this explains the semi-decent pictures in the blog.

Well, I will have tell more experiences later...for I must get some shut-eye or I will not be able to face my computer at work tomorrow!

Love you all and miss you!!!