Thursday, August 16, 2012

Delays...


As many of you know by now, our scheduled departure date of August 15th is not going to happen. Just when we started to get emotionally ready to leave and begin packing up, we received an email saying Ben's visa is not ready yet and will not be ready for at least two weeks.

We were not thrilled to say the least. All of our anticipation and excitement that we would be leaving on Wednesday was gone. Instead, we were left frustrated and wondering why the process is taking so long when we had sent in all our paperwork months ago.

Regardless, it was out of our hands, so all we could do was try to be patient and enjoy these extra few days in the States. However, it is hard to not think about what we are missing as most of the teachers fly out this week: training, meeting everyone, getting settled, recovering from jet lag, etc. In the mean time, I am trying to learn to just appreciate this extra time and not worry too much about being delayed.

Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." 
So even though my heart is a little "sick," I know that our Father's timing is perfect, and this is just another reminder that worrying and stressing instead of trusting in Him will only bring further hardships. It is still good to hope and plan, but I'm trying to keep an open and trusting attitude at the same time.

Whether in traveling or life in general, we should always expect delays. And we need to be ready to make the most of it like getting massages at a spa, going to SF and the beach, and eating lots of good food with friends and family.

...Our next scheduled departure is August 25th! Hopefully!

-Rachel

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

The Many Moons of Honeymooning


We had not even been married two months before we decided that we were due for another honeymoon. Since our camera with all of our beautiful pictures of Napa, Capitola, Santa Cruz, Guerneville, and Muir Beach vanished on the last days of our first honeymoon, we naturally felt that another trip was necessary.

Honeymoon 2.0 was decidedly different than its predecessor. Whereas the first one entailed mostly relaxing and eating in six different places along some of the most beautiful places in Northern California, the beta version involved a much more strenuous journey south to climb Mt. Whitney, conquer Disneyland and California Adventure, and survive Las Vegas.

our view hiking up
crossing a river on a natural bridge
beautiful Mirror Lake
The views on our drive down through Yosemite and into Inyo National Park were spectacular. We could have spent a week just hiking and swimming and exploring the area. Sadly, we only had one night and one day to summit the highest peak in the lower 48 states.

In retrospect, it might have been was a bit too ambitious of an attempt. Leaving at the Portal after 7:00 am (many day-trip hikers leave around 3 am or earlier) was a fatal mistake as we felt rushed to get to the top and back before nightfall. The altitude definitely made breathing (and eating and hiking and living) a struggle for most of the way up.

Nonetheless, we managed to make it to the Mt. Whitney Trail Crest at 13,777 feet above sea level before we decided to turn back. We wanted to get down before dark and arrive at Ben's sister's place in Pasadena before midnight. We managed to do both, but we promised ourselves that we would be back someday for a more successful round 2!

Pretty Sky Pilot flowers that only grow above 12,000 ft
Pretty much sums up my whole experience
At the Crest!


Stay tuned for posts on Disneyland and Vegas!