We snuck some more bagels and filled our thermos with hot chocolate before checking out and heading to Tehachapi via Sequoia National Park.
There were more enormous trees here! (That's me hiding behind the tree.)
The biggest tree in the world, General Sherman, is huge!
Josh thought that this cross section of a fallen tree was very cool.
The drive out of the park was beautiful... I sang the Jurassic Park theme song constantly, since it obviously fits!
Luckily, a guide at the visitor center told us about the construction on the road out of the park, and said that they were letting people through every two hours (at 10 AM, 12 PM, 2 PM, etc). We were able to time it so we arrived at the construction site just before 2 PM! Waiting for a bit gave us an opportunity to take more photos of us with the beautiful scenery.
The road down the mountain was ridiculously curvy and steep but we eventually made it down! The town we passed through was very interesting: there was a large "lake" but there was a band around all of the hills, and we started wondering if the water ever gets to that level, or if it was at that level at one point in history.
We found a visitor center to stop at and ask, but first Josh had to pee into the lake...
The guide at the visitor center in Lemon Cove told us that the lake is actually a giant reservoir with a huge dam! The reservoir fills up in the spring after the snow melts, and the water is supplied to local farmers for the summer.
We had a little dance party on our way to Tehachapi, and enjoyed a nice sunrise :)
Our hosts live out in the rural area of Tehachapi and we first went to the wrong house. When we found the correct house, we met Joy and Rich; their children, AJ and Ariel; and Joy's sister, Rebecca. Joy and Rich are both firefighters! The four of them have traveled to Norway, Hawaii, and Japan and hiked and scuba dived in each place. Ariel is 11 years old and AJ is almost 5, and they both love being outside and active... such a neat family!
Joy cooked mushroom and swiss burgers for dinner and we stayed up talking after the kids went to bed. Rich showed us photos from their many, many trips to national parks; one of his life goals is to visit each national park, national monument, and national recreation area. It's definitely a lifelong goal because there are a ton of each!!
Joy's brother, Jason, arrived in the late evening... straight from Europe! Jason is in his late 20's and has spent a lot of time in Europe through the years and went over there three months ago to propose to his Swiss girlfriend. Unfortunately, she said no... so he just stayed overseas and hung out in Europe for a while! Josh and I went to bed very late (for us)... Rich, Joy, and Jason are so interesting!
Josh and I shared the same high for today: being lazy this morning was so nice. We always tidy up wherever we stay when we're Couch Surfing, and it really was a treat to not make the bed for once :) Josh didn't have a low, but my low was interacting with Rebecca... she was like Melissa from Clovis, telling a lot of negative stories... dinner wasn't very much fun until she left. Josh's "ho" was our dance party because it was very unexpected and fun :) My "ho" was talking to the guide at the Lemon Cove: there were a few birds hanging out in the water and he personified them and provided dialogue for their journey in the water :)
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