Short Nights, Long Days

The other day, Saturday to be exact, I had the pleasure of waking up at 6AM to rendezvous in front of the bio building. It was one of the field trips for my California Flora class. We need to go on a few of these little buggers to collect and press plant specimen from all over California. We're going to Yosemite in a few weeks, and there's going to be an overnight camping trip, too.

But Saturday was not an overnight trip. It was a day trip, and a long one at that. I had nobly tried to sleep early (fell asleep around 1 I think) in order to muster up the strength for the road.

And to my surprise, I had a splendid time. It wasn't one of those laugh-fests, or a trip filled with particularly extreme memories. It was just one of those days that was consistently fun, even if in small amounts.

We had 3 stops to pick plants, and we pressed them in between sheets of newspaper, for posterity I presume. Actually, for a grade primarily, but I think the idea is to save is for others to see.

Dr. McNeal told us to bring food because there would be no stops. Naturally Josh and I "packed" right before we left. Amazingly enough, he brought three apples and I had three bananas. However, after making one pit stop because someone had to go to the bathroom, we swayed Dr. McNeal. The restroom at the gas station was out of order, and we were dying of hunger.

As we walked out of the gas station convenience store, we said to the ol' professor, "Hey, Dr. Mac! Do you know where there's a bathroom? I hear Taco Bell has a bathroom. Oh, look! It's right over there!"

And like a kindly grandfather, he acquiesced, and Taco Bell was had by all.

The most memorable part of the trip, I thought, was walking up the Red Hills, by a small stream. It was as quiet as a world can be, as sunny as was allowed, and as cool as a light breeze can create. It was one of those common cases in California of idyllic, perfect weather.

It's these small moments in our lives that make us appreciate the world more.

As I've read somewhere,

"Scenery without solace is meaningless."