We spent the weekend camping in Yosemite and I’m already jonesing to go back. Aside from a quick drive through with my grandparents when I was younger, this was my first time spending the night in the majestic national forrest.

Every year our friend Ben (who we went to Tahoe with in February) plans a trip with a bunch of friends; meals are divided between everyone, wine and different beers to sample are shared, there are campfires and singing, a talent show, and even a custom made T shirt for that particular trip.

On our first night there was a meteor shower, so around 12am and we headed down the river’s edge and got cozy under the stars. I saw the brightest, biggest shooting star within the first 10 minutes we were there. It was spectacular (!) but the rest of the stargazing fell short in comparison… After 45 minutes or so (and no more huge shooting star sightings) we headed back to camp and called it a night. …or so we thought.

Both Mike and I had trouble sleeping the first night. Finally – at one point when we were both awake at the same time – we decided to go back out to the beach for some more meteor searching. The best time was supposed to be around 4am so we thought we would have better luck on our second round.

Instead of making it down to the sand again, we ended up folding our towels into makeshift pillows and laying on the bridge connecting the camp grounds to the beach. This was both very romantic and terrifying at the same time. My mind kept alternating between us sharing a rom com-esce moment – sweetly laying hand in hand on a bridge underneath the stars – and a horror movie with a predator bear on a killing rampage & two star gazing lovers making for a tasty appetizer. Yikes!

When I wasn’t movie-montaging my life, I was concentrating on the sky. It ended up actually being later than we thought (around 5am – the things you don’t know when your phone isn’t attached to you!) so we didn’t see too many shooting stars but, nonetheless, there is just something about being surrounded by nature, isn’t there??

We went back to camp and were able to sleep for a few hours, waking up around 9:30am for a slow and delicious morning. I happily learned that there was coffee for sale at the general store nearby. We were staying at Housekeeping, which is almost glamping (oh hey!) with the showers, laundry facilities, a store and, most importantly, fresh brewed coffee on the premises. Mike and I took a stroll down to the store and filled up on caffeine while breakfast was being made. When we got back we had eggs, bacon, waffles, and fruit to fuel us for the day.

After breakfast we all went for a hike to lower Yosemite falls and let me just say, highlight of the trip! To get to the falls you “hike” – but really rock climb – up about a mile or so. The climb up itself was a lot of fun (especially since I’ve recently got back  into rock climbing and felt like a little ninja up there, demonstrating all of my bouldering abilities) but nothing prepared me for the gorgeous scene that was waiting at the top.

Picture a rocky nook hidden in a waterfall’s stream with big boulders lazily laying all around and water pooling, making the area a swimming hole. A little rock oasis, tucked away. When the waterfall is at full power and – well, water is falling – this place is unreachable. But this past weekend the water was more trinkling than falling (a watertrinkle!) and we took full advantage.

Word to the wise, use a Go Pro, be sure to constantly wipe the thing down so water spots don’t ruin your pix! At least half of our pictures are blurry because we forgot to…

After a few hours in the water, we hiked back down to our camp site; just in time for lunch! Ben’s dad and stepmom had an amazing spread of homemade chicken pesto salad, assorted breads, hummus, chips, Mary’s Gone Crackers (my fav!), fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and cantaloupe. Yummmmmmy!

Next we went back down to the river, armed with rum and floaties.

We left the beach after an hour or so and went back to the campsite. It mine and Mike’s turn to cook for everyone. We made a salad and fajitas, which turned out to be great for vegetarians and meat eaters!

After dinner we were transported back to college and played a few rounds of beer pong. I learned that I’m still terrible at the game and Mike quickly replaced me as a partner… We ended the night with a few rounds of a new board game Mike has been playing (with a title that isn’t very PC).

The next morning we went to brunch at The Majestic Yosemite Hotel. I didn’t even know this existed and, to be honest, it was a little off-putting to see such a grand hotel in the middle of a national forrest… Don’t get me wrong, brunch was good but I couldn’t help but think do we really need couches, a flat screen TV, and a fireplace in Yosemite!?

Fun fact: I did learn the Obama’s recently stayed there by eavesdropping on a another table’s conversation with a waiter. I think I was literally craning my neck to hear more.

After brunch and packing everything up and said goodbye. Having taken our bikes but not having a chance to ride them, Mike and I decided to bike to the hike from the day before (rhymes!). It was as amazing the second time around as it was the first and a great way to end a fun weekend!

Can’t wait to get back there next year!

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** Note this blog went through a rebrand and is now veg vibes; which aligns better with the direction I organically gravitated towards. It’s all about your vibe **