Summer Vaca Part III: Bodie Ghost Town

On our way up to Tahoe, James and I made a detour to visit Bodie, CA, a ghost town literally frozen in time. The state of California maintains the buildings in a state of "arrested decay" - meaning everything is exactly as it was when the last occupant vacated the town in the 1940's after decades of decline. Bodie was established in 1861 and after the discovery of a large deposit gold-bearing ore in 1876, the town had transformed into a Wild West boomtown of over 10,000 residents. At its peak, Bodie had over 65 saloons along its mile long Main Street. A "lawless" town of miners, Bodie experienced ballroom brawls, shootouts and murders on a daily basis. After many years of profit, the town started to experience decline in the 1880's as gold towns were discovered in other states. By 1910, only 700 people remained. A devastating fire tore through the town in 1932 and the last resident left the town in 1943. The town was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1961 and a California State Historic Park in 1962. There are about 100 buildings remaining in Bodie. James and I were able to walk through what's left of the town including a church, school, general store, saloon, fire house, mortuary and many residential houses. Most of the buildings still had personal possessions in them. It was really, really interesting and also a little bit creepy. It also reminded me a little of the mining town we visited on our Vegas trip a few months ago.

The only residents left in the town of Bodie.

James thinks this would have been our house if we lived in Bodie. What do you think?

Payroll books for the Standard Mine - 1879.

Stay tuned for our last installment of our Summer Vaca Chronicles - On to Tahoe!

Summer Vaca Part II: Mono Lake and Yosemite NP

After Kendall and Javi's most awesome mountain wedding, James and I headed southeast to the small town of Lee Vining, CA. Lee Vining is located on the eastern slope of the Sierra mountains and is a gateway to Yosemite National Park. Before we made our way into the park, we went and checked out Mono Lake. Mono Lake is a large salt water lake with these tall limestone pillars called tufa surrounding the shoreline. It's also an oasis for migratory birds. Very cool place to visit if you're ever in the area.

El Mono Motel and Coffee Shop - Our abode for two nights

We chose to stay in Lee Vining because it is much quieter than towns on the western side of the park (closer to Yosemite Valley). I worked just south of Yosemite in Sequoia National Park for a summer in college and I know how crowded these parks can get in July. Both James and I don't like crowds, especially when you're supposed to be enjoying nature. I'm super happy about our decision to stay outside the busy portion of the park. We did take a full day to drive all the way across the Sierras into the park and see all the "big" attractions in Yosemite Valley. As predicted, once we got into the Valley, it was really, really crowded. Still, neither of us had been to Yosemite before so it was wonderful to get to see the Valley in person. Overall, I'd say I really enjoyed the park, but out of all the National Parks I've been to in my life, it wasn't my most favorite. Maybe it was the crowds. I also was really bummed that we didn't see any bears. Sequoia was full of bears (my JOB was to chase them - seriously...but that's a post for another day!) so I expected Yosemite to be the same. I think they were probably as weary of the crowds as we were. =) Here are a few pictures from our day.

Yosemite Valley

James with Half Dome behind him

El Capitan

Half Dome

Hiking to the base of Half Dome

2000 Year Old Giant Sequoia

For once not feeling so big in this moment...

Tuolumne Meadows

No bear but plenty of deer

Stay tuned for Part III. We're headed to a Ghost Town!

Summer Vaca Part I: A Mountain Wedding

The real reason James and I chose to spend our summer vacation in the Sierras is because our good friends, Kendall and Javier picked it as the location for their wedding. Kendall was one of my roommates and besties in college. You may remember she was a big part of our wedding. And Javier...well, he's a pretty sweet dude - a true vegan-eating, song-writing mountain man. They make a handsome couple and had a pretty amazing, picture-perfect wedding deep in the heart of the Seirra mountains. Here are a few pictures from the event. Congratulations Kennie and Javi!

 

 

 We had so much fun with Kennie, Javi and a few of my other Gettysburg friends, Molly and Greg (Molly's due on our wedding anniversary!). Love them!

Up next...Part II: On to Yosemite!

20 Weeks

Ok, one last pregnancy related post this week...I know...it has been a stretch. I promise the next post will be about our vacation recap. Here's our 20 week update. Hard to believe I'm five months pregnant and already halfway done. This babe will be here before you know it! As always, check out previous bump updates here.

A Confession, a Realization and an Understanding

I'm going to come right out and say it. I wanted a boy.

I don't know if I wanted a boy because of circumstansial reasons - for example, I happen to have an older brother myself and love being the younger (and only) sister. Or for silly reasons - as in many of my friends recently had boys and I imagined summer picnics full of boy play and hours spent gathering at Saturday afternoon T-ball games. Or for psychological reasons - it's easier raising boys, right? They seem so much less complicated. But for whatever reason, or combination of reasons, I had it in my head that I wanted a boy. And I like it when I get what I want. Who doesn't?

As you all know by now, there is no boy in our (immediate) future. We will be a family of three females (yes, Summit counts!) and one male come Christmas. And here comes the realization bit - all of the sudden (literally, it happened fast) - I am SO excited to have a girl! HOW did that happen? I don't really know. Maybe I just had to give it good hard thought. Careful consideration. And it dawned on me....I was meant to raise a girl. Now, if you know me, you know that I don't believe there is any higher power making decisions for us or influencing the pattern or path our lives take. That's not really my thing. But I do believe that things happen for a reason. And I feel in my heart that I was meant to mother and mentor a girl.

The truth is girls ARE complicated and perhaps more difficult to raise than boys. Clearly I'm not qualified to definitively say that, but maybe the underlying reason why I leaned blue instead of pink from the beginning was because I felt this way and it freaked me out a little. There is a huge responsibility that comes with raising a girl. Why? Because life can be tough on women. Women can be tough on themselves and tough on other women. For every strong, confident, independent women in this world there are twice as many that suffer severe hardships, struggle with self esteem issues, body issues, self-worth, poverty and abusive or unhealthy relationships. I'd be foolish to say "not my girl" because even the best laid plans can go astray and there is no perfect child or perfect method of raising one. I know this. But I now understand that the circumstance James and I find ourselves in today has given us the opportunity to do our best to raise a strong, confident, compassionate, creative, unafraid, independent little girl who someday might find herself in a position to influence other women to follow suit. Maybe even her own little girl someday...oh wouldn't that be something - to be a grandparent! Guess we're getting a little ahead of ourselves, eh?

Let's just say - yay! Bring on the PINK. And green, and yellow, and yes, even blue. And maybe someday, we'll have the opportunity to raise a strong, confident, healthy little boy. Who knows EXACTLY how to treat women. =)

Pink AND Blue balloons...an ode to our future son.

It's a.....

GIRL!!

Old Wives Tales - Predicting Our Bean's Gender

Boy or girl...boy or girl??? As I mentioned in our previous post, James thinks boy. I say girl. Secretly I'm hoping for a specific gender but since that puts me in the running already for worst mom of the year, I'll keep that to myself in case it turns out we're having something other than what I'm hoping for. Just for fun, let's run down the list of old wives tales for predicting gender. We find out for sure tomorrow morning (Wednesday) so stay tuned!

Gender Predictions Based on Old Wives Tales:
1) This one you can do just by looking south: if you're carrying high, break out the pink. If your bump is low, you're carrying a boy.

I personally have no idea if my bump is in the high or low category. My experienced sister-in-law Mandy (who's also preggo!) said high so we'll go with that. There's one for GIRL!

2) Next time your OB pulls out the Doppler to listen to baby's heartbeat, ask her to tell you what the heart rate is. According to legend, 140+ beats per minute indicates a girl, and below 140 a boy.

So far the bean's heart rate has been higher than 140 beats per minute. Another one for GIRL.

3) Craving ice cream every single day? Some people believe this means it's a girl. If you have to have salty or sour stuff, then it's a boy.

Definitely salty and sour. This one's going BOY!

4) This ancient method uses your age at conception and the month you did the deed to determine gender. Click here to see the chart.

Based on this crazy chart, we're having a GIRL.

5) This one's a little out there. Pee in a cup (you've been doing it at all your prenatal appointments anyway, haven't you?), mix a tablespoon of Draino in, and watch to see if it changes color. Green = girl, and blue = boy.

Ok, this was a bust for me because it didn't turn either color. Also, probably a bad idea because Draino is strong and toxic...not something pregnant women should be going near! BUST

6) Legend has it that the Mayans determined a baby's sex by looking at the mother's age at conception and the year of conception. If both are even or odd, it's a girl. If one's even and one's odd, it's a boy.

Age - 29; year - 2012. Looks like another one for BOY.

7) This is one for a friend to try. Place a key in front of your preggo friend and ask her to pick it up. If she grabs it by the narrow part, she's in for sugar and spice and all that. If she picks it up by the round part, it's snips and snails.

Since I read the rules beforehand, I had my sister-in-law Mandy do this for me. She grabbed the narrow part (I think I would have too). This one is going GIRL.

8) If you're breaking out like crazy, blame it on your girl babe. The belief goes that girls steal their mother's beauty, hence, those annoying zits.

I never had perfect skin at any point in my entire life but I wouldn't say it's gotten much worse throughout pregnancy. Giving this one to the BOY.


9) Pop off your wedding ring -- if you still can! -- and tie it to a string. Hang it over your belly. If it swings in a circle, a little guy's in your future. If it goes back and forth, you've got a girl.

Spinning circles for the BOY.

10) Sick as a dog during the first trimester -- or still? Signs indicate you're having a girl. Little or no morning sickness points to a boy.

Compared to some I had it easy. Going with BOY on this one.

11) Sleep more on right side or left? Right means girl. Left for boy.

More comfortable on my left side - Oh BOY!


Final tally - GIRL 4, BOY 6. According to legend, we're having a bouncing baby BOY. We'll find out for sure soon enough!