Laura, Zephyr and I decided to go to Yosemite Valley on a whim last weekend to check out the waterfalls that were booming for the first time in nearly five years of drought (which we're still in, BTW). Now, having been to Yosemite well over 100 times and owning a annual National Parks Pass, one would think we'd have better sense than to go on Free Day Saturday that was honoring the National Park Service's centennial.  But we *needed* to get out of the house and have an adventure.  And the webcams were so persuasive. And we hadn't been to the park without students in over a year.  And... let's just say we learned our lesson to never, ever, ever go to Yosemite again on a free entrance day. It was a ZOO! But a pretty zoo magnificent views from a huge traffic jams.  The National Park Rangers directing traffic really went above and beyond to stay nice to everyone, so yay them.   Check out the full photo album here.

Every even numbered year's Spring brings not only wildflower blooms and abundant greenery to California, but also our German teacher/friend Ellen and her gaggle of German exchange students.  This year we took Ellen, her colleague Tea and our mutual friends Julie and Jill (and their dog Zoe) to Fort Bragg for five days.  Below are several photos from that trip, the rest of which can be viewed in the full photo album here: