Death Valley.

The last few months have been full of new and wonderful experiences! One I didn't expect to have was to see Death Valley, in the dry, hot and desolate Mojave desert. Sara and I were invited to go one Sunday at the end of April with a couple of Spanish friends and a fellow English, and it was a great road trip! It may have been a little dangerous in the expansive wilderness with a lack of gas, but it was exciting nonetheless. The landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen!

Just before we entered Death Valley we came across an almost deserted town which seemed to be very similar to the stereotypical ones you see in horror films. We then drove into the wilderness on the road into Death Valley:

First stop, Ashford Mill Ruins:

Next stop, Badwater Basin, the lowest point in North America:

The salt flats:

We then saw the salt formations of Devil's Golf Course:

Next we drove to see the colourful rock of Artist's Palette:

Exploring in-between the rocks:

We then walked a trail which took us to see Red Cathedral:

Next stop was the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes:

And finally the Ubehebe Crater:

Trying to catch up now that I am nearly at the end of my year abroad. Until next time!

Spring Break: Earthquakes, Boat Rides, Laguna Beach and Big Bear.

Spring Break in the US has quite a reputation for being a week full of partying. My break wasn't quite like that, but it was very exciting nonetheless. On the Friday night after finishing for the week we went to see some friends who major in music perform in their concerto. Their flute performances were amazing, and the night was made even more memorable by experiencing my first earthquake. We were in the concert hall at the time and the whole building seemed to shake and it felt like it lasted for such a long time. I had thought Americans would know what to do in that situation but they all just looked confused, so looking to them to figure out what to do wasn't much help! I was surprisingly very calm throughout and I actually thought it was quite the adrenaline rush!

The next day we went on my friend Tori's boat around the Naples area of Long Beach. We had great weather and it was very relaxing cruising around the canals between the houses. I even steered for a minute!

On the Sunday we took a trip to Laguna Beach which, as one of the most upscale places I've seen here was very nice! It was a lovely day and we had lunch by the beach and explored the town a little. It'd be great to go back there and see some more!

Interesting little sign:

A mural:

A nice little passageway with some shops:

This is what it looked like from inside:

That night we watched the sunset at Huntington Beach and then went for a drive down to Newport Beach and walked around Balboa Island. The next morning, on Monday, eight of us were leaving to go to Big Bear Lake where we had rented a cabin for 3 nights. It was very cold there and snow was even forecast. When we got there we had a great lunch in the village at a restaurant called the Peppercorn Grille and then moved into the cabin. It appeared to be exactly like something out of a horror film! We decided we would all be sleeping upstairs in the attic room as no one wanted to sleep on the creepy first floor. We made pasta for dinner and then with the help of some alcohol, Trivial Pursuit and Game of Life the night turned very entertaining. We ended up dancing around the living room to 90s classics.

Big Bear:

Our cabin:

House rules:

It had snowed overnight when we woke up on Tuesday morning although it was not the deep snow that had been forecast. We had prepared to be snowed in all day drinking hot chocolate but we actually went on a hike up a mountain which had some breathtaking views.

Snow:

 Amazing views:

The lake:

We had some lunch in the freezing cold weather next to the lake and then headed back to the cabin to relax and begin the task of making a roast dinner. After months of no English food we were eager to try to recreate what we were missing. Three hours later we started eating and I was especially proud of the Yorkshire Puddings I made from scratch!

The rest of the trip consisted of playing poker next to the fire, roasting marshmallows, going to the village to look around the shops, more alcohol and packing up to go back to Long Beach. On the way home we stopped at Lake Arrowhead for breakfast which had the best waffles ever!

Before leaving the cabin (photo courtesy of Vicky):

Lake Arrowhead:

Although not the stereotypical Spring Break full of massive parties I had such a great week as I saw new places, had new experiences, good food, and a lot of laughs!

Thanks for reading!

Until next time!

Hawaii

After spending the Christmas holidays at home with my family, I was excited to head back to the USA for more exciting adventures. Before I started my second semester I still had time to explore and had trips planned to Hawaii and Seattle. Flying to the USA this time was made more interesting by having the company of Sonnee and Sara. We arrived in LA at about 7pm after a ten hour flight and then had one night in Long Beach before we left for Hawaii early the next morning. We got up at 5:15am to go to the airport once again, to take a 6 hour flight to O'ahu, Hawaii! I was unbelievably jet-lagged but so excited, not only to go to Hawaii but to see Steph and Sera again!

Flying into Hawaii the scenery was breathtaking, the island of O'ahu looked stunning from above, and the colours in the ocean were amazing! As we came into land I also saw Pearl Harbor.

After settling into our hotel, Steph and Sera came to meet us! It was strange not seeing them for so long over winter break, and they were super-tanned! We walked down to Waikiki Beach to explore a little and realised just how beautiful Hawaii was, and how hot it was for JANUARY! Sonnee, Sara and I had come from cold, rainy Europe to 30 degrees Celsius heat! We soon settled in to the relaxing lifestyle, over 7000 miles away from home!

Diamond Head Mountain:

The beach:

Beautiful ocean:

We decided to get an early dinner at Hard Rock Cafe, before heading back to the beach to watch the sunset and then the firework display put on by the Hilton hotel. The sunset was one of the best I've seen and the atmosphere so tranquil. We had fun on the beach, digging holes and throwing pebbles in the ocean before we sat down to watch the fireworks which were really good.

The Hard Rock Cafe, Hawaii-style:

Sunset:

Fireworks:

The next day we got up and headed to the beach. The weather was perfect, but this would soon change in typical Hawaiian fashion as a rainstorm rolled in. However, we did have some time to relax on the beach before the rain, and when it did come we embraced it and went back to our hotel and got in the hot tub. We definitely made the most of it!

That night after dinner we walked around Waikiki, and saw the changing of the Guards at King's Village. We also saw some Hula dancing, which was great to experience and it was good to see that the cultural heritage is still alive!

Changing of the guard:

Hula dancing:

The next day we got up early and went to visit Pearl Harbor, which I had never expected to go to in my life. It was surreal, as was even being in Hawaii, somewhere I never thought I would get the chance to go. We looked around the museum and learnt some more about that fateful day. We then went on a boat to the Arizona Memorial, which is above the sunken ship. It was hard to believe that so many people died there. There was still oil leaking from the ship, just over 72 years later, as you can see in some of my photos.

The Arizona Memorial:

The sunken wreckage:

The Memorial:

The people that survived the attack have the option of being laid to rest with their fellow shipmates in the sunken USS Arizona when they die, showing their dedication to the Navy.

The Memorial:

In the afternoon of the same day we hiked up Diamond Head Mountain, which was quite a distance and hard work but the amazing views made it worth it. I still could not believe just how beautiful the mountains are.

Mountains:

This was after our walk just to get to the bottom of the mountain; we still had to actually climb it:

View of Waikiki:

View of the crater:

On top of the world!

The next day we hired a car and drove around the island. The scenery just kept getting more stunning; more shades of blue in the ocean, more shades of green in the mountains. We stopped quite a few times to take photos and take in the views.

Kuloa Ranch:

Contemplating life:

We stopped for a relaxing lunch at Turtle Bay resort:

We then found the beach which is renowned for its Turtles and we were able to spot a few!

A turtle:

Then being the big fan of the TV series LOST that I am, I had to see a location that had been used for the show so we stopped at the first beach that was used for filming. This was where the plane wreckage was!

Here it is now and in the show:

Apart from just being the LOST beach it was actually really really beautiful. The others really liked it because the water was SO clear! So my fascination with the show actually meant that we found a great spot that we could all enjoy!

Paradise:

We went for a swim:

While we were in the water a massive rainstorm came and we had to run to the car soaking wet, not only from the sea but also from the rain, with not much hope of drying off in the sun anytime soon. However, this only made the experience more memorable, and it is Hawaii after all!

The aftermath of the rainstorm:

As we had time before arriving back in Waikiki to drop off the car we stopped to see the churches that were used for the LOST finale. They are adjacent to each other and the first, St. Patrick's Church, has been used as the exterior, and the second, The Sacred Hearts Academy was used for the interior where some of the last moments were filmed! I'm so happy I got to see where LOST began and ended, something I never thought I would experience.

The next day, our last day, we spent at the beach and did paddle boarding which was really fun! The weather was really warm and the day was a perfect end to the trip. We had dinner and then Yogurtland while we watched the sunset, before we had to be ready to leave for the airport at 7. My next stop was to be Seattle to visit family!

Paddleboarding:

Saying goodbye to Steph and Sera was hard, we thought we wouldn't be seeing them for at least six months but little did we know we'd be seeing them again very soon...

Also Happy Birthday to Sera, all the way away in Australia!!