2010 Wrap up

Well, since I just gave my friends christmas presents, I decided that it is not too late to give an update on 2010 before I start on this year.  

In 2010 I:

• finished all the courses required for my master's degree. Yippee! (Now if only I can get my thesis done).
• was hired for an internship at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California. This was a great learning experience for me.  
• was able to tour California with a german friend (Claudiu) on my way back to Oregon.  
• sold my condo and moved into a cute studio.  

Warning: there are a lot of photos. But this is what you get when I only get around to posting about once a year :-)

Smith Rock - Spring Break 2010

Me and Lorra soaking up some sun

Yep, I totally led that climb.  

California - Summer 2010

En route to California.

Drove through hours and hours of this.

And this.  

Eazy E at Venice Beach

Muscle Beach

Where I spent the majority of my summer

DISNEYLAND

Can't go to any theme park without getting
soaked at least once.

Claudiu was really excited about meeting Pluto

Entering the happiest place on Earth

Still the best ride in Disneyland - It's a Small World

Future automotive engineer in Toon Town

HOLLYWOOD & L.A.
 

LA, baby.  Look at all that fresh air :-)

Urban sprawl at it's finest

Claudiu and I headed north on PCH and saw lots of this along the way.  

SAN FRANCISCO

My favorite city in California

Coit Tower.  Very pretty at night and has
awesome views of the city. 

Golden Gate

Being a proper tourist with my camera and thumb's
 up in front of the bridge

Delicious treats from the Saturday Market 

Captain Claudiu

Fisherman's Wharf

REDWOODS

I was the most excited about this stop on our trip as this was the only place I had not been.  And the forest did not disappoint.  The trees are truly awe-inspiring and majestic.  

This is the Deyerville Giant that recently fell down.  It was once the
tallest tree in the forest.  Apparently it registered on the seismic
scale when it fell down.  

Sunset in Orange County.
Bye Bye California!

Anyway, those are just  a few of the highlights from last year.  This year has started out exciting as well.  I was able to go to Europe for 3 weeks and had a great time.  I'm also hoping to finish my degree and get a new job.  I'll keep you posted.  Maybe....

summer, summer, summertime

Summer has been lots of fun. Mostly due to the fact that I'm not in school, so I can do whatever I want. Mom and Dale got to come out and visit in June. It was so nice to spend some time with them. We got to do quite a few fun things like......

Go on a wild jetboat ride where we all got soaking wet,

go to the coast,

and see tidepools.
We also were able to eat some good dinners at home, visit the Saturday Market, and see the Portland Rose Gardens. Thanks for coming mom!

I was also able to take a week and visit family in Idaho. Diana and her family picked me up at the airport and we were able to spend the day together floating the river and BBQing. They have a really great fire pit in the backyard where Ethan showed me that you can roast starbursts, or at least heat them up so that they are soft and chewy. I spent most of my time with Jen in Salmon, ID. We had such a fun time. You can read about my time in Salmon here. Claire is such a beautiful sweet baby.

Then it was off to Brad's for the family get-together. It was a fun day with lots of sun and laughs. I then went back to Pocatello with Lisa and was treated to lots of good food and conversation. She has a beautiful back porch that is perfect on a summer evening for chilling.

A few photos from my trip:

My camera had it's first submersion in water. I was a little nervous, even though it is supposed to be waterproof. I'm happy to say that it still works :)