On top of Moro Rock - California

As this blog title indicates...there is some drama that happens in the everyday and some that happens in those extraordinary events. The extraordinary can emerge right out of an everyday situation, but every now and again...one just comes off the charts almost out of nowhere.



Geoff and I had an extraordinary moment during a not so everyday weekend when I flew out to visit him in Los Angeles between work-related trips. We decided to drive up to the Sequoia National Park to see, of course, the sequoia groves, particularly the General Sherman - largest living tree in the world.
They were amazing as to be expected. What was not expected was an encounter with Moro Rock--which we had never even heard of before.
Moro Rock, as seen here from the Foothills Visitor Center, is a dome-shaped piece of granite topping this peak at 6,725 feet. Pretty impressive and reminiscent of El Capitan at Yosemite.

After viewing The General Sherman and several other incredibly massive sequoias with awe and amazement, we pondered the rest of our afternoon in this incredible place. A map showed a loop road to Moro Rock nearby, so we took it.

To our delight, it lead to a trail head onto Moro Rock. Can we actually climb out onto Moro Rock? - we wondered. Let's find out!

Part of the way up, I told Geoff that I didn't think I would make it. We had just finished an hour hike on one of the sequoia trails, it was very hot, and I was rather tired and hungry.

But as we got closer, the thrill was the hook and up we climbed the steps that had been carved right out of the granite. In a very short time, we had indescribable vistas of several mountain ranges and glaciers, as well as the valleys and canyons below that mark this natural wonder.

Suddenly, I didn't feel quite so tired or hungry. And we hadn't even made the top yet.

Once we reached the peak, all that separated us from the 6,000+ below were these white rails. No ranger in site. But oh, what a moment!

Way beyond the everyday---and definitely extraordinary.

What made it somewhat spiritual for me was having another real life instance when experiencing something spectacular was made possible with just a little extra effort.

Carolina meets UCLA?

When Geoff and I visited Los Angeles early in January, we were disappointed in one thing: the weather! LA has a reputation for nearly perfect weather: mild temperatures, lots of sunshine, very little rain. In one weekend, two major storms came through SoCal, dumping snow by the foot on the nearby Sierra Nevadas and providing Hollywood and Bel Air with record rainfall.

While much of the rain came through at night allowing us to get out during the day, the skies were gray and the air misty, cool, and damp. My jacket was simply not enough. During our visit to the famous Promenade shopping district, we found a Champs store selling college logo hoodies: buy one, get one free! Our son would be thrilled to get a North Carolina Tarheel hoodie, but what else? Then Geoff confessed. He had always been a secret UCLA basketball fan. That John Wooden was one of his basketball heroes. So, why not! It was buy one, get one free!

We hunted for a medium for our son, only to have the sales clerk swap it for a large when he needed a SKU number! By the time we discovered the error, we were back at our hotel ready to take a walk on the beach. And the perfect attire was this cool, blustery evening? A hoodie!

Out we strolled, UCLA and Carolina. All the way down to Hermosa Beach, a good thirty minute walk. After buying a few postcards, we headed back...just as the rain picked up. We had no umbrella and thirty minutes of walking to go. Somewhere on the way the postcards completely blew away as we bent into the wind and rain. I was glad I had layered a rainjacket over the hoodie. Although my jeans were soaked, the/my (it was mine now, I figured) hoodie had kept the rest of me warm and dry.

It rained like cats and dogs that night, but the next morning--our last morning in LA--broke somewhat clear and dry. We decided to take one last walk down to the Redondo Beach pier, wearing our hoodies!

After a lovely, invigorating walk (everyone walks or jogs here!) with several other walker/joggers, we decided to head back to the hotel for my return to Alabama. Two ladies came up on us, on their way for their walk, and one remarked aloud as we passed: "UCLA and Carolina!?! How did you guys meet?"

We turned and looked at each other.... and just laughed out loud.