A Long Time Gone

Over the years I've taken innumerable trips between LA and my hometown, Oakhurst, but I only consider a few of them to be "road trips." Last weekend was one of them. 

Jenn's sisters were hosting a bridal shower in the mountain area so we; Jenn, Eric (her fiancee), Rhianna (a fellow bridesmaid), and myself decided to make a weekend out of it. Our weekend was complete with a 10k training run, an outing to the one of the local bars (dare I call it a "saloon?"), and a quick trip to Yosemite. 

Here's a quick glimpse at our weekend;

This is the view from what used to be my bedroom window. 

The (glorious) Hitching Post

Proof that kids are allowed to run amuck in mountain bars...

Even with pictures it's hard to capture the feel of the evening, there's just something special about a small town bar. We saw a handful of people we knew from earlier phases of our lives, including Jenn's first kindergarten boyfriend, and my older brother's best friend for all his life until they recently lost touch. We kept hoping we'd see an old high school teacher to complete the evening. No luck. 

We also got a taste of Christmas in Oakhurst as we witnessed the annual tree lighting. It's a big community event and Santa always makes his grand entrance in a fire truck. Each of the small trees around the big tree represent one of the mountain area schools and are decorated with ornaments made by the students at each respective school. I made many an ornament in my day, ahh,  memories. 

We ventured up to Yosemite despite predictions of snow. 

Ice Skating in Curry Village was  the main focus of the day. The rink was practically deserted, and with a dusting of snow, some hot cocoa, and half dome towering over us it make for a fabulous afternoon. 

My friends have serious skating skills.