July 6-8, 2018 —
Though only four years ago, 2018 feels like another lifetime. Back then, Maria and I were still sophomores at Purdue. We’d only been dating for a little more than a year. Life was simple. As a young college student, my only concerns were classes, homework, friends, and fun. I lived my life week by week, and seldom planned for my near-term or long-term future. While I possessed many of the same relationships and qualities that define me today, I was a different person. That year, Yosemite National Park sparked the transition to a new level of my relationship with Maria.
In the context of this blog, 2018 is an important year because – back then – I had never visited a national park. At that point, I possessed little experience in the outdoors: I had only hiked a couple of times, disdained camping, had never climbed a real rock, and knew nothing about safe, outdoor recreation. In July of 2018, most of this changed during one fateful trip to California.
A camp in Cupertino for adults and children with intellectual and physical disabilities had offered Maria a summer job. Since we knew we would barely see each other over the summer, we planned a trip. Before she left, I booked a flight to come visit her. We decided we would visit Yosemite, the crown jewel of America’s national park system. We had no idea what to expect, but both of us were excited for our first big adventure together.
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Table of Contents
My First Time in California
I woke up at 4 AM on July 5th, the day after Independence Day. Smoke from last night’s firework displays lingered as my mom drove me to the airport. My flight left from St. Louis at 6 AM. After a layover in Denver, I arrived in California around noon local time. Will – my fellow morphsuit dancer and good friend from Purdue – picked me up at SJC. From there, we drove to Maria’s job site in Cupertino, where we had a joyful and tear-filled reunion. We hadn’t seen each other for 6 weeks, and missed each other deeply.
Will offered us a brief tour of San Jose after my reunion with Maria. He took us to Santana Row (a ritzy shopping mall), a bubble tea shop, his house, and his old high school. By 2:30 PM, we were on the road to the Sierra Nevada Mountains, home of Yosemite. Maria and I had convinced Will to drive us to the national park, since we figured it would be difficult to visit Yosemite using public transportation. We managed to sway him with an $80 driver’s fee each direction, which he agreed to. Maria and I deemed Will the MVP of our vacation due to his willingness to help.
After three hours in the car, central California’s rolling hills had transformed into massive mountains. Pine forests rose thousands of feet on either side of the road. I’d never seen mountains so large and so steep, so I could not stop staring at the sights around us.
By 6 PM, we had reached Cedar Lodge, our home for the next several nights. The motel sat 20 miles west of Yosemite Valley’s Visitor Center, but a free bus transported visitors to the park throughout the day. So, once Will left us and continued on to Lake Tahoe, we could enter and exit Yosemite using public transportation. Maria and I bid farewell to Will and gave him instructions for when to return, then retired to our room. We had a long, taxing three days ahead of us.
