Day 2: Exploring Sequoia National Park

Yesterday's pomelos

We woke up early on Sunday morning feeling refreshed and ready to go. After a solid breakfast that included some of our delicious citrus fruits, we drove up to Sequoia National Park. It was quite a long, steep drive! We started out in 70 degree weather and ended up in 6 feet of snow, although it was relatively warm: about 45 degrees. We hiked around the Giant Tree Trail, and then we headed to the General Sherman Tree. Somehow, it's not the tallest nor the widest tree, but it has the greatest mass of any tree in the world. It's 2,200 years old! That is pretty amazing: a tree that was around even before Jesus.

The bathroom on the trail. Thankfully, park rangers had dug out the entrance to make it accessible!

The pine cone from which the seeds come that is the beginning of this gigantic tree.

Not the General Sherman...

Still not the General Sherman...

This is it!

We left the park a bit after noon and stopped for a quick lunch on the way to Monterey. We filled up the tank for *gasp* $4.09/gallon. We saw it as high as $4.15! We stopped a few times along the way to take pictures of places that were particularly beautiful.

California's famous almond orchards were in full bloom during our drive. Apparently agriculture is a big deal in central California. :) Isn't this a perfect setting for a wedding? The white on the ground is all flower petals! Alongside the many orchards like this were boxes and boxes of bees, pollinating while making honey--a reminder of the beautiful symbiosis of creation.

I wonder if Eden looked like this. So beautiful.

Something we've been consistently impressed with is the beauty of the plants and flowers in California. Even calla lillies grow wild here! Spring has sprung, and all of the trees were in bloom.

We arrived in Monterey around 6pm. We checked in to our hotel and were pleasantly surprised at our accommodations. For dinner, we went to Pizza My Heart, a famous Santa Cruz chain, and it was delicious (and cheap!). After dinner, we decided to head to Cannery Row in search of ice frozen yogurt. Cannery Row is the namesake of a John Steinbeck book. While it is now a rather lovely tourist trap, it used to be an unsavory area for fishing and canning of sardines. With frozen yogurt found, we headed back to the hotel to rest up for another day.