Just look at this adorable face!

Even Aunt Boo got to entertain Natalie a bit at the Luau before the events began. Of course, the luau takes place later at night, so Natalie was swaddled and coaxed to sleep by her parents.

My brother took the photos of me on the beach and with the performance artists.

The venue for Germaine's Luau is set right on the ocean, making for a spectacular view.

We were greeted by all sorts of greenery when we were approaching the aquarium. I loved these little boat planters in the window outside of the ticketing booth. I definitely think this could be a fun decorating idea for your home if you have a four season room!

You get to see animals right away in the ticketing area, which is cool. I loved this bird, even if he was keeping his back to me. PS this beautiful bird is a Shoebill Stork.
Learn more from the DWA website: ​https://dwazoo.com/animal/shoebill-stork/

DWA is gorgeous, and I highly recommend it to everyone.

This is definitely not an aquarium just for kids, it has gorgeous landscaping, wonderful exhibit set ups, and several restaurants that range from family friendly to targeted more for adults.

I absolutely loved this little waterfall they put into the landscaping, and the water it falls into is a sea life exhibit.

I also loved how most of the birds were able to fly around somewhat freely.

The little green bird below, called a green oropendola, was quite curious about me and my camera. To learn more about this cutie, check out: ​https://dwazoo.com/animal/green-oropendola/ 

PS I love how Dallas World Aquarium has informational pages on their animals. If you are stuck at home and have the desire to learn more about animals, it's a great website to check out!

I was so happy when I captured this electric eel swimming right for the glass. On second thought, maybe I shouldn't have been so excited, maybe he saw me as a snack. Who knows!

Just kidding ;)

Seriously though, I'm so glad I was able to get the reflection in the image too. And look at the little face! 

https://dwazoo.com/animal/electric-eel/
​
​The bird below reminded me of the brightly colored tropical birds you can find in your local PetCo or PetSmart. The little guy below is a hawk-headed parrot. I can confirm that I have never seen a hawk-headed parrot in stores, in case I triggered anyone with my previous statement. Just love the colors!

https://dwazoo.com/animal/hawk-headed-parrot/

Is it just me, or does the freshwater sawfish above look bloody. Uff da!

I believe the coloring is actually from a mix of its diet and dyes that get on its skin from the bottom of the exhibit. At least, I did not witness any "fish killings" while I was there!

https://dwazoo.com/animal/freshwater-sawfish/

You can also see him in the photos of Jeremy and my mama checking him out below. Props to my mom for doing a scream pose!

One of my favorite sea creatures is the sea horse. Fun fact, I actually did a project on them back in fifth grade. The one pictured here is a Longsnout Seahorse.

Monterey Bay Aquarium in California is a very popular attraction on the coast. It opened back in 1984, and was the first aquarium to have a living kelp forest. The kelp forest is pictured above and to the left, with the aquarium life swimming amongst the greenery in the tank.

A leopard shark decided to hang out for a bit fo a picture in the left image. 

One creature that you could find in several locations around the aquarium was the anchovy. The aquarium had this round tank where the fish swam around in circles, and all I could think about was that scene from Finding Nemo where the fish are playing charades by making shapes.

I did learn that when these fish are hungry, they swim forward with their mouths open. I can relate, fish. I can relate.. 

One of my favorite creatures to photograph at aquariums is the jellyfish. They are so majestic and poetic with the way they move.

I love watching their tentacles ribbon through the water. It's like watching music play. 

Also, for some reason, the lighting is usually the best in the jellyfish tanks, making for super clear shots. Maybe the glass is flatter for the jellyfish than for the rounded tanks that warp the imagery for other creatures. 

I could definitely spend a large portion of my time just watching the jellyfish move.

One of Jeremy's and my favorite animals that we could watch all day long is the otter. Especially when they are lazing around with their little paws on their face. Yes, please! I could adopt you right now, little otter, but that would be irresponsible. 

After the aquarium, we stopped at a little coffee shop and waited for mom and dad to join us. 

We ended up dining for lunch at Bubba Gump, which was sort of on its own mini pier. We had to scare away some birds several times to ensure the safety of our food. It's all good!

After lunch, we drove to Carmel-By-The-Sea for a very, very, very brief visit. My parents essentially drove us to the parking lot down by the water, said "This is the beach" and then we left.

We made our way down to Capitola, where we actually got to go to the beach.

Jeremy was so excited to walk along the shore. He changed into his flip flops when we arrived and was ready to go dip his toes in the ocean. We both discovered how cold the water was in February, but we still had a lot of fun.

I loved the sea-worn wood of the pier in Capitola, the roughness complimenting the ripples in the water as it meets the sand.

We made it to the beach just in time to watch the sun set, and it was a beautiful thing to witness, and I'm so happy I was able to watch the sun go down with my fiance. Next time we are in California, we will definitely spend more time at the beach!

Before Jeremy and I went to the beach, we ran into Jaqi and her babies who had previously planned on meeting us in Capitola.

Giovanna and Oracito were very interested in Aunty Boo's camera, and I let them take pictures for a while. Well, Oracito can't figure out the button, so he just kept telling people walking by, "PICTURE!" and they'd stop and pose for them. It was great.

Giovanna really enjoys taking photos of murals and the art around her.

Jeremiah and I decided to go on a day adventure over to the Bonnie Brae neighborhood in Denver. Bonnie Brae is Gaelic for "Pleasant Hill". I originally thought the neighborhood was named after some pioneer woman, but it turns out it's not!

The touristy part of the neighborhood is one short block, but it boasts an adorable ice cream parlor, a quaint gift shop, and a great coffee shop to hang out at.

The ice cream parlor was the first place Jeremiah and I went to, and in case you're wondering, it is fittingly named Bonnie Brae Ice Cream. We had to park around the block, this place is so busy!

It was a super nice day today in Denver, at 70 degrees, we decided to sit on the bench outside and enjoy our cones. Jeremy got chocolate with cappuccino crunch, and I got chocolate with coffee.

The coffee shop was awesome. Not only was the coffee excellent, but they had giant Jenga out on the patio, along with corn hole!

Jeremy and I played a game of Jenga, and we did pretty well considering the blocks were a bit wobbly. The top half was like a leaning tower for a good while, but eventually evened out as we kept removing more blocks. In the picture to the left, you can see the stack with several missing blocks.

After we played Jenga, we played several rounds of corn hole. I greatly improved my tossing skills today thanks to Jeremy's coaching, and actually shot the bean bag into the hole at least five times. I don't think I've ever scored in corn hole before today.

After the coffee shop, there wasn't much else to do, so we went for a drive. Jeremy ended up showing me the first home he lived in as a child, his first elementary school, day care, and childhood friends' houses.

After we got home, we let the bunnies out on the porch since the weather was so beautiful. It was Midna's very first day out on the porch! She's the little black bunny :). As you can see in the pictures below, she's about half of the size of Tetra. After I had them settled outside with their water and food, it was time for me to give the Golden Girls a bath while Jeremy swept up the condo.

You can just see the anticipation in Sequoia's face.

The Golden Girls each got shampooed and rinsed off. I let Sequoia out of the tub first, and had to hold her in a wrestling position to rub her dry with a beach towel. Autumn, of course, was much more calm and let me dry her off. Of course, I couldn't get them completely dry, so they went to hang out with their bunny sisters on the porch.

All the girls are back inside now that it is dark, and they are all tuckered out. It was a great day!

We started stopping at view points before we even entered the park as well, that's how beautiful it was. Jeremy, Katy, and I all stood on the edge of this hill, debating on if we should climb down, when Jeremy took off. He found a good route to go down, and Katy and I followed suit, but not before I could snag a pictures of him making his way down and then posing proudly on the log below.

PS - for those with cameras that want to complete similar adventures - I tuck my camera into my shirt/sweater. That way it can't swing and accidentally hit a rock as you're making your way up and down the rocks.

After our miniature adventure, we entered the park. The first sight we went to see what Bridalveil Falls.

The water all around was low, as it gets in early spring. The water will typically be at its fullest in later spring before the hot summer weather hits and dries everything out. It was neat to see the snow that sticks to the rocks from the mist of the waterfall this time of year. I also found it interesting to see that the rocks are still dark and stained from the water from when the waterfall is at its fullest. Keeping this in mind, look how wide Bridalveil Fall gets in its prime.

Jeremy and I took the short hike to the base of the waterfall, and since the water was so low, we were able to climb on the rocks within the river, getting closer to the fall itself.

If you've read my previous blog post on my trip to Yosemite in 2017, then you read where I stated that this waterfall creates its own purple hue, and it held true even with the waterfall being smaller.

It was a pretty windy day in Yosemite when we were there, as demonstrated by the waterfall in the above photograph. If you ever question the power of wind, just refer to this image and remember - it can move waterfalls!

Jeremy, Katy, and I had each purchased sweatshirts that morning at our hotel's gift shop to combat the wind that day. Obviously once we started hiking, it felt a lot warmer. I was constantly removing and putting back on my hoodie - but mine was a zip up, which made it easy enough.

As we made our way back to the car from Bridalveil Falls, I noticed how cool these stone bridges are that pass over the river from the fall. I made my way down, and I was standing on a rock just big enough for my feet to get the shot to the left.

​You can tell that there's a very thin layer of ice on top of the water where this was shot - but I still didn't feel like sticking my shoes in the water, especially since I wasn't wearing my waterproof boots!

Just as with every national park, there is more to see in Yosemite than El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, Bridalveil Falls, and the Half Dome, which are the parks biggest tourism draws.

Just about everywhere you look, you see a beautiful landscape. The evergreens appeared to be greener than usual against the yellow of the stone faced cliffs, and the golden hue of the land. 

The trees that go dormant during the winter had not quite woken up yet, which I wasn't surprised about considering it was early February, which made the evergreens stick out that much more against their surroundings.

It's interesting to me how the evergreens grow, with the branches down below becoming barren, leaving the leafy branches towards the top the only pop of green.

Before we found our way to the paved trail which leads to the base of Yosemite Falls, we stopped at this picnic area which included a bridge with an amazing view of the namesake waterfall.

I joked that since I am always the one taking photographs, that am rarely in them, so I took the picture above of Jeremy's and my shadows in humor. PS - my sister Katy does have several photos of me in the park, but unfortunately I cannot include them in the blog as they are .HEIC files.

The land was truly golden during our time in Yosemite Park, something that I'm pretty used to seeing being from Colorado. The golden hue was gorgeous against the clear river which ran from Yosemite Falls, and the greenery of the trees along with the blue of the sky. The river was so clear, that the yellowed leaves and grasses that coated the bottom gave the water a golden hue as well.

The waterfall in the distance in the shot to the left is Yosemite Falls.

Look how bundled up we all were! This is the famous paved path that leads to Yosemite Falls, and gives you a gorgeous view the entire time you are upon it.

Mom and Katy were completely bundled up in hats, scarves, the works! By this point I was pretty warmed up from walking around and had my hood down from my sweatshirt. I may or may not have made Jeremy take his hat and hood off for the selfie to the left. You couldn't see his face with them on!

Miraculously, he was messaging me to figure out where I was, at it turned out we had cellular service in this very random spot within the park. I shouted his name and he decided to climb across the rocks to join me on my side.

The photos to the right and below were as close as we got. At this point the rocks were becoming slippery from the mist of the waterfall, and we had been away from my family for quite some time at this point, so it seemed to be a good spot to stop. If the waterfall was in full force, we would not have been able to make this trek, but it was neat being there in February to be able to climb the river boulders to get to this view.

Jeremy took the photograph of me (below). I had taken his first to ensure my settings were correct, and then we switched places so he could take my picture. I am appreciative to have a fiance who has the patience to allow me to set my camera to have pictures of me taken. I am no longer the invisible camera woman!

My handsome goofball found a tree stump to park his rump (haha). We also found the United States District Court building within the park! Good thing my sister has a Court Badge, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to see the building :).

Towards the end of the day, Jeremy and I set out on a hike, just the two of us.

The hike was to go up to Vernal Falls, or at least the bridge where you can see it from. It's a really steep hike the entire way (the photo above is of a flat part, don't judge), and I was exhausted by the time we made it to the top. 

It was so worth it though. The views you get are incredible, just look at Yosemite Falls in the distance in the two pictures below!

We finally made it to the bridge to see Vernal Falls. We could have hiked further to actually get to the falls, but it was getting dark out and I didn't feel like being on the steep trail that had no guard rail in the dark, ya know?

Plus, like I said, I was exhausted.

I got a picture of Jeremy on the bridge, and yes, he is carrying my backpack because he's an amazing fiance. 

The bridge itself is beautiful, and I loved getting the photograph below of the bridge with the trail and woods beyond it. 

​We made our way back down the trail, just as it started to get dark, down under the trees. While I would have loved to continue hiking, I stand by the fact that it was wise to head back down so we weren't left in the dark.

We saw this fluffy coyote looking for food near one of the campsites on our way out of the park. When he realized I was watching him, he stood very still, trying to not be seen. I left him alone, of course, but I was happy to see wildlife! 

​The sunset made everything glow, and was magical to witness.

​Seeing El Capitan brightened by the sunset was the perfect way to end our day in Yosemite National Park.