Laura’s Guest Post: San Mateo and Yosemite

by Heidi Obermeyer

Laura, my younger sister, is a great photographer and fun travel buddy. She wrote a guest post about our trip that I thought I would share before I start in with all my photos. Happy Friday! And thank you Laura 🙂

I have always disliked staycations, and California was the perfect place to seize my week off of school. Throughout the winter, I was occupied most of the time by skiing, and Spring Break acted as an inaugural passage into warm weather adventures.

After a  few chilly, foggy days in in the city, we made our way in the direction of San Mateo. I haven’t experienced many beaches that I would gladly stay at for extended periods of time, and the pleasantly secluded beach we visited was a exception. I guess one could call it a postcard beach, as it had a flawless appearance. I typically would find the urge to sprint down the sand strip, because I always found some indescribable joy in pretending I was galloping horse in a gorgeous seascape, however, my maturity found the best of me and I hunted for sea glass instead. For the first time, I felt very relaxed near the water. I was always borderline terrified of the ocean when I was little, but the time spent in the sand on this trip changed my mind.

Yosemite was the absolute highlight of our California adventure. As grand of a statement as that may be, it is completely true. I have a huge soft spot for the National Parks, and even have a pile of Junior Ranger badges and patches. Although I left Yosemite without another one for the collection, I still fell in love with what the park had to offer. After paying a visit to the glorious Sequoias, we made our way back to the inn in which we were staying for cards and cocktail hour. I had nearly forgotten how heated a card game can get! Anyway, we debated seeing the sunset for a good half hour, since we thought that being tired and worn out possibly outweighed seeing the sun and the valley part ways. Luckily, we came to our senses and raced out to Tunnel View Point, blasting Whitney Houston jams along the way. Even the light through the trees during the drive was magical, and the brief glimpses I caught facing West into the sun were breathtaking. Little did I know what was in store for us. The tunnel we finally drove through opened up into a stunning view, as the name of the point implies. No photograph could do justice, but we still made our way through a barrier of DSLRs and iPhones held up to see Half Dome and Bridal Veil falls. We watched the alpine glow in awe, and I did my best to equal out what I saw through my camera’s viewfinder and what we witnessed in the raw.