I traveled to Northern California in August 2023. This trip is a little different than the previous two…instead of traveling for a half marathon race, I was traveling to celebrate my cousin’s wedding! Perhaps a little more relatable for most of my readers…

We were/are at a really cool time economically where everything is really, really expensive, so once I decided I was going to fly all the way across the country to my cousin’s wedding in California, I also decided I was going to make a whole trip out of it to make the flight cost more worth it 😊 (the wedding was absolutely beautiful, and Julie & Alex are one of the sweetest couples I have ever known, so they were worth the flight cost regardless)

I am also lucky because I have a few friends in California, so I knew I’d have some free places to stay 😉 I got even more lucky because the few days I was in San Francisco happened to be the same few days that the American Chemical Society (ACS) Conference was happening (also in SF), so I got to see more friends than expected!! Some that I worked with at the National Cancer Institute who are now in graduate programs at UCSF and UC-Davis, and another friend from Rochester who I had not seen in months since she spent the summer doing an internship in Seattle! So fun having unexpected meet-ups with people you haven’t seen in a while 😊

I feel bad…because I don’t really feel like I have a ton to say about this trip…when I went on this trip, I was feeling really burnt out. I got a concussion at the start of April and really didn’t start feeling “good” again until almost June (“good” is in quotation marks because I think it’s all relative…it’s taken nearly 6 months to really feel like myself again, though I still struggle), I was cranking out big experiments and long days, and, to be completely honest, I was really struggling in my personal life too. I really needed to get away, and so I’m glad I had this trip planned. Usually when I go on solo adventures I have a lot of insight and think a lot about my life, but this time, I feel like I didn’t think at all…I just vibed and took each day as it was. Which don’t get me wrong, the trip was nice, and I did have an amazing time, it was just a lot different than what I had experienced before and expected for myself. I was so burnt out that I couldn’t really process my life, I just kind of floated through it. And no better place to just vibe and float than Yosemite National Park????

Yosemite NP is the most awestriking place I have ever been. (I have a different adjective to describe each of the nine national parks I’ve visited…ask me about it some time 🤪). Everything is massive. The mountains, the trees, the waterfalls. It’s stunning. When I did my first hike in Yosemite, through the Mariposa Grove, I kept thinking to myself, “How lucky am I to exist at the same time as all of this? How lucky am I to get to experience Earth and all of its beauty?” – nature is so fucking cool, man. And rocks. I really like rocks. Especially the big ones. Oh, and my favorite part about exploring Yosemite NP was finally being able to go on a real hike for the first time in soooo long. I absolutely love hiking. And the mountains just feel like home to me. No matter where those mountains are, they still feel like home. I’ve missed hiking so much (Rochester has hikes, but not really mountains, unless you want to drive a long distance).

If you ever find yourself in Yosemite, I highly recommend the hike up to Upper Yosemite Falls – it has so many switchbacks, but the views of the Valley and of the Falls are absolutely stunning. And you make buddies with the people near you who are also struggling up the trail. I think I befriended every dude bro on this trail. And, let me just say, these guys went all out to take my photo. They were kneeling down, getting up on rocks, telling me to shift my angle a bit, all so I could have the perfect photo…their future partners are very lucky.

Also, I know I seem like a really adventurous person, and I am…but I’m also terrified of a lot of things. One of those things being heights. Which makes some of the things I do alone kind of funny (funny weird). One of my old friends used to say “be scared and do it anyway” – I’ve since learned that that describes courage. So I like to think that I’m courageous too 😊 I signed up to go ziplining so that I could have a close-up experience with the Redwood trees. On the first zipline, I had to hold onto the guide all the way up until the moment I let go. I apologized, but he just laughed. He was cute, so that helped 😂 Before I knew it, I was letting go, hanging upside down, going backwards, doing cannonballs, all sorts of crazy things. Literally less than an hour after being so afraid to make the first jump. So that was a pretty cool experience too.

Prior to leaving for this trip, I told my therapist that I was worried I planned my trip backwards, that I should have done the wedding + family time first, followed by my solo adventures. I’m glad I was wrong about those worries. I actually think I planned this trip perfectly. It was so fun to get to see my family and have so many things to share with them. It also helps that my family is so amazing. I feel so lucky to be so close to so many of my cousins. They truly are my first friends and some of my very best friends. It also helps that everyone in my family is both excited by, and a little scared of, all the things I do alone 😂 They want to hear all about it, and it makes me feel special. It makes me feel like people care about what I’m up to, care about what I have to say, and care to know who I am. (If you can’t tell, this is the thing I’d been struggling with in my personal life prior to this trip). 

California is super beautiful, with amazing national, state, and county parks!!! It is also super expensive, especially for a graduate student living off a wee stipend. I look forward to visiting again, hopefully with more money in my bank account (or with a rich partner lol) and more time to explore!! If you have any questions about suggestions for specific things to do in SF, Yosemite, or Pinnacles, feel free to reach out 😊

The Itinerary:
Day 1: Fly into San Francisco and get In-N-Out with Kamyar
Day 2: Explore San Francisco + Giants vs. Rangers Game @ Oracle Park (favorite ballpark I’ve been to ever)
Day 3: Drive to Yosemite National Park
Day 4: Explore Yosemite National Park
Day 5: Explore Yosemite National Park
Day 6: Explore Pinnacles National Park and join family in San Jose/Aptos
Day 7: Ziplining through the Redwoods and explore Santa Cruz with family
Day 8: Wedding festivities with the family
Day 9: Explore Santa Cruz and hang with family in San Jose, fly home