Northern California.

Instead of recapping every day of this fast week, I've decided to touch on a few points about this trip that I especially enjoyed. 

This trip completely encouraged my love of traveling, particularly solo traveling. With my sister at work during the days, I had the freedom to explore as I pleased. I feel this allowed me to meet more people and hear about others' stories at a somewhat comical rate. Every night I ventured back into downtown San Jose and gave a quick synopsis of the day with my sister, she would say, 'Of course you met someone new'. Meeting people is probably my favorite part about traveling. Yes, seeing new cities and culture is amazing, but truly, those things start from the people in those cities showing their real life to those who wander into it. 

A certain joyful coffee barista, named Sean, working at a local coffee shop in San Francisco called Creamery started one of my days in a very positive manner. After waking at 5am to catch the train into the city, I was a bit weary and ready for a needed kick of caffeine. As soon as I entered the rustic shop, he greeted me with compliments on my outfit and a warm smile. After casually talking about what my day ahead had planned and other answers to his questions, his fellow barista joined in and spoke about his youth in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The two were so welcoming and truly inviting, reminding me of the sincerity of San Fran. While on my way out, Sean offered a pastry from the shelves as a parting gift and a thanks for meeting me. I was pretty taken a back by this, holy cow, what a nice guy. Oh and the coffee was great, too. 

Another handful of amazing people that I met are as follows: Mike, a visitor from Jerusalem who loved the relaxing waves near Santa Cruz; Nicole, a young author from New York celebrating her solo travels through California on her birthday and after publishing her book, Unadequate; Julian, a local who surfs and found that our spirits and love of the ocean called us to meet; Maureen and Jim, a lovely couple from Virginia who encouraged my nursing career, as Maureen had been practicing for 30 years; the Highway 17 Express bus driver, who I never got his name, but helped me to find the way and even handed me a free pass to allow me to catch the light-rail just in time; two hunky Chilean doctors, Nicolas and Marcelo, who encouraged me to check out their beautiful country that they call home; and all of the other beautiful and colorful people that I connected with throughout the short week. 

This may seem odd to the general population, but I have a strong love for quality public transportation. I used the local buses, trains, and shuttles for a large majority of the trip and it was awesome! It was reliable, very affordable, and the drivers were friendly and always willing to help. Roundtrip to Santa Cruz from San Jose: $10. Roundtrip to San Francisco from SJ: $18. It would cost me more in gas money to get to those destinations! I dream of living in a city with the same transportation accommodations that California has to offer.  

The views. Oh the views. I was able to see a wide range of sights on this quick trip, from family loving beaches to historic Redwoods in a national park to miles of thriving grape vines. I love the diversity in each and every city that I saw. The beauty of the trees in Muir Woods blew me away. I've never seen Redwoods or Giant Sequoias and the sight of them made me understand why William Kent and John Muir had such a strong desire to protect the lands they have resided on for so many years. The vineyards full of family history also caught my attention and love for the work that many have put into producing a fine product that has led families to succeed in the country. A site that I have seen before was the Golden Gate Bridge. I have run past it years ago during the Nike Women's Marathon, but have never see it in such an astounding view as I did this trip. The International Orange color blazed triumphantly and rose strong before the city, leading some to their first taste of America. I loved hearing the history behind the bridge and how the city of San Francisco came to be. But most of all, the view. It was a great way to end my day in the city. Santa Cruz's beach had a charm to it that seemed to playfully lear in the crowds. I enjoyed the sun and refreshingly cool waves and unending sand. The local Farmer's Market in the downtown area was just too much fun, with vendors offering their fresh fruits, vegetables, crafts, and nuts. It was plain beautiful to see all of their hard work come to fruition and see their smiles with every purchase from an equally happy customer. The mountains surrounding the views near San Jose reminded me that this is a view I do not get to enjoy back home and encouraged me to sit outside and gaze as long as possible. Be it at a bus stop, while sipping on an In N Out shake, or walking to my next destination. 

I was so thankful that my sister, Melissa, allowed me to tag along on this trip with her. I know it was full of long hours, lots of meetings, and hard work for her, but just the fact that she even wanted me to come was so exciting for me. Thanks Miss, next time we will have to go on a trip somewhere when neither of us are working :)

It's Been Awhile

Okay, it's been like 10 months since my last post. Talk about being a procrastinator. Or just insanely busy with life, or the lack thereof with being in nursing school. 

A lot has happened in the past 10 months. 

A lot of checking things off the bucket list and seeing new cities. And a lot of personal, professional, and spiritual growth.  

 I guess I'll start with the beginning and fly through to now. 

Nursing School

I began Creighton's twelve month Accelerated Nursing School in August. I honestly had no idea what I was getting myself into. I just knew I needed to start working towards a fulfilling career and nursing seemed pretty natural to me. This program was pretty insane to jump into after a year off of school, but has been so very rewarding. I have met some incredible people throughout this year. My class and I have finished our first two of three semesters and it feels surreal to be 99 days away from graduation and pinning. But man, oh man, am I ready to be done! Of course, I already have plans to continue the perpetual learning that is school and have found a few DNP programs that look like great fits for me. Life is good.

Okay, so now that it's out in the air that I have been working my butt off and that is where I have been since August, I'll let you in on a secret. I've been having a ton of fun, even while in this program.  

October: LA and the surrounding areas

For Fall Break in school I was lucky enough to be able to turn in a few SkyMiles and get a flight out to LAX. It was my first time in LA and met up with two buddies, Greg and Will. For only having 4 days, we had a lot of fun. The first stop was the Getty Museum. Can you say beautiful?! The view was spectacular. Next things next, Hollywood Boulevard. It was fun thing to see, but to be honest, not too impressed. It probably doesn't help that I'm not the biggest fan of stars or fame. The weekend continued on with celebrating Greg's birthday and spending the evening at the Red Lion Tavern. The next morning we hit the waves at Huntington Beach and I was able to check Learning how to surf off of my list. It was a blast. And I'm pretty terrible. After the morning of sun we hit the road and drove to Ventura to go camping on the beach. The next morning we all hiked up to the Hollywood Sign which was a bit anticlimactic, but neat to see the city so high up. Then enjoyed a delicious meal at Greg's favorite restaurant, which I incidentally do not remember the name of.  The last day Greg took me to the Santa Monica Pier where we rode the Ferris Wheel and walked around in the warm rays of the sun. I know I left a ton out, but it was a blast of a weekend and so nice to see old friends. 

December: Jamaica 

Summing up this extraordinary trip in this blog post would make this entry way too long. Backpacking around a whole country with your best friend, hiking a beautiful mountain, checking cliff diving off of your bucket list, and hanging with the locals in hostels and on the beach made this trip one of those you could never forget. 

December: Shooting with my papi

My pops and I went to an indoor shooting range in Bellevue called Take Aim. He taught me how to properly hold and fire a gun. It was exciting and a little frightening with larger guns being fired right near us. I was so happy to have checked off another item, especially with my dad. 

January: Oklahoma City

Drew, my very best travel companion, and I took the fastest down and back trip to OKC to visit our friend Brandon. Those eight hours each way gave us plenty of much needed catch up time since our nine day backpacking adventure around Jamaica. When we finally got to the great state of Oklahoma we met Cha, Brando's roommate. That next day, and the only full day we actually spent there, was an absolute blast. We rented bikes and rode all around the Bricktown district. The guys rented Segways and we had our share of tasty margs throughout the area. We also spent some time at the golf course that Brandon and Cha work at. Cha, you need to come visit us in Nebraska! 

March: Scottsdale, Sedona, and the Grand Canyons 

Spring break brings more travel. And more travel brings more amazing moments with friends. Drew and I flew to Arizona to stay with his very close family friend, Casey. We had too much fun in Scottsdale at 'real' bars and clubs and spending some quality time with Case and her friends. Drew and I left for Sedona early Sunday morning and hiked the Devil's Bridge. I had never seen such beautiful landscapes. After the morning of hiking we drove through Flagstaff and stayed the afternoon. We ate at Criollo, and oh my Lord, they had the most amazing margaritas of all time. I'm not much of a drinker, but I have had my fair share of margs. Drew, the aficionado of margaritas, still talks about the Jalapeno drink and how we wish we could recreate it. After walking around downtown Flagstaff to walk off our dinners we headed up to the Grand Canyons. We booked a lodge right on the rim of the Canyons and was that an experience. We woke up at 4:30am to catch the sunrise while hiking in the Canyons on the South Rim. Seeing the Grand Canyon for the first time was breath taking. It challenged the beauty of the many oceans I have seen. And that is saying a lot, especially since I live for the beach. After hiking a total of 6 miles and an elevation change of 2,040 feet we headed back to the top and shared one last view before heading back to Sedona. I was so fortunate to have such a wonderful friend like Drew to check another item off the list! We decided to stop at Slide Rock State Park and I am so glad that we did! There is a natural limestone 'water slide' that had been carved out by the water flowing from the mountains that people from all over come to experience. When we drove up to the park the sign said that the current water temperature was 42 degree Fahrenheit. That did not deter us from the rush of trying something new and may perhaps be once in a lifetime! It certainly was a rush! After our fun at the park we headed back to Scottsdale and enjoyed our last night in the downtown area. The next morning, before we had to leave, Casey treated us to breakfast and drinks at the W pool. Getting that much needed sun before our trip back to Nebraska definitely ended the trip off right. 

Well that was quite the sum up for the last 10 months. I have such a beautiful, blessed life and am beyond thankful for the journeys I have experienced and all of those to come.  

 

Side note: excuse the weird font and highlighting. My lack of tech savviness has led me to post this the only way I could without it appearing invisible. Sorry.