Let's go on a hike!!!!

I LOVE HIKING!!!!  I really do, it is my favorite form of exercise.   Those of you who have gone with me know that I am usually huffing and puffing the entire time, but nothing beats being out in nature!  I think Gera would prefer to be on his bike instead of walking, but he's such a trooper (and I think it's growing on him).  These months are the best to hike  in California because everything is so green.

Here are some pictures of Gera and I hiking at two of my favorite places.

Waterfall hike in Marin County

 Here is Gera at the bottom.  This is the road that we cross over the damn that collects the water from the waterfalls.  There are about 6 waterfalls along the hike.

Here I am at the booty burners...although the ones on the Stinson Beach hike are worse, these ones are an unfriendly reminder of just how much weight I'm carrying around.

I think this is a super cheesy picture because Gera made me grab his hand like that while the guy took our picture.

The water is so still.  I like the reflection it make on the hill (it even got the fog that was lifting).

 One of the few pictures of us that didn't turn out blurry.  We kept trying to take pictures of us but we soon found out that neither one of us have very still hands.  I took this one..you can tell because all the ones Gera took have his tongue sticking out from focusing so much!

So, funny about this picture.  Gera always has to go the the bathroom when we are nowhere close to a restroom.  We were almost halfway up the hike and he said he couldn't hold it anymore.  He hiked of the trail down by the water where there were some big rocks so that he could relieve himself and the other  people passing by could tell what he was doing.  We took a picture before he did his deed because he thought that way the people walking by wouldn't get suspicious.

Little Yosemite/Sunol Park

Monday was a holiday and the first day that the sun came out in a week so we got up early and went on a hike!!!!  We went to Sunol Park and hiked around the Little Yosemite and view trails.  It really was the perfect day to hike!

 Gera and I hiked down and went climbing on the rocks.  They were a little slippery from the rain and moss, but it was beautiful!

 Gera was a little stuck for awhile because he couldn't figure out how to get back over the water that was behind that mossy rock in front.

 Have you ever started a hike off with other people who you don't know but who just happened to be there the same time you were?  And then off and on you would catch up with each other at different points during the hike? Well that happened to us with this Chinese family of 4 (a boy, a girl and their parents).   They didn't speak very much English, and the girl is about 6 years old.  Gera is a super friendly person and he always thinks that just because you smile at somebody your are instant friends.  Well this little girl did not share the same belief as Gera.  The poor thing was really happy in this little cave she thought she discovered when Gera thought it would be fun to go around and crawl inside too.  He kind of snuck up behind the girl and popped up.  Needless to say it freaked the girl out...and she had nowhere to go.  She didn't want to crawl back down where Gera was and she was afraid to jump down.  She finally decided to risk her life and take the leap while yelling at her dad something in Chinese, which I think was "Dad come quick and save me from this scary Mexican!"  Ha.  What I thought was the funniest part was that Gera was clueless of the girls reaction (I'd say it was a language barrier) and he just kept smiling and talking to the girl in Spanglish while she was trying to get away, screaming for her dad in Chinese.

Look, it's snow!!!  Thanks to the cold weather and rain the tops of some of the hills were covered in snow.  

 This has always been my favorite view since the first time I hiked Sunol a few years ago.  It always reminded me of pictures I had seen of the Andean Mountains.  It wasn't until I went on my trip with Kari and Andrea did I realize just how much it was true.  Seeing it again last Monday took me back to Manchu Pichu....that was such a great trip!