November Adventures

November brought cooler weather, an amazing Yosemite adventure, and still lots of work.

The weather has finally shifted here in Davis, it's actually cold now! Well, not that cold, but after a summer above 100° it definitely feels like it to us. The evenings are especially misty and foggy, which makes everything feel very mysterious and fall-like, but also cold.

The highlight of the month was definitely our two-day trip to Yosemite. We kicked off our mini-vacation with dinner at Kato and Dave's (Sahar's aunt and uncle) the night before, chicken pot pie with salad and Lodi wine hit the spot. The next morning we headed into the park and started easy with the Mirror Lake hike. We stayed in a cabin overnight which was really nice, quiet and clean. Day 2 hike was the Upper Yosemite Falls Trail. Stunning, gorgeous, no notes. The views were absolutely worth the sore legs that followed.

> The fall leaves gave everything an extra pop of magic

We kept meals simple: overnight oats for breakfast, chicken avo sandwiches for lunch, and instant rice with canned chicken and green beans for dinner (glamorous, I know, but it worked). On the drive home we grabbed some waffle fries from Chick-Fil-A to tie us over until we got home and made ourselves a solid burger to celebrate surviving the hikes.

> Lunch break with a view

> We were all the way up there!

The Sahar Scoop: Sahar is fully in finals mode now, one down with three more to go. She'll be studying nonstop until December 12th when she finishes up the semester. She's also applying to summer jobs at the same time because apparently law firms think that's a totally reasonable thing to do. The good news is she already got an interview!

We've been going to a coffee shop called Morgan's Mill to study and work together more often, which has been really nice. Plus they have good matcha so it's worth the drive.

The Benoît Blurb: Big news this month—I'm working with a local photographer as an apprentice! It started off quick with an 8-hour wedding where I held the role of photographer's assistant. I carried a lot of gear around (a lot), took a few pictures myself, got free dinner and a cupcake (score!), and generally learned a ton about how weddings run when you're not a guest and what's expected from the photographer, it's a lot of pictures.

I've also been assisting with photo shoots in the area, mostly families in the Davis arboretum so far. It's been interesting to see family dynamics play out and how you have to navigate them to get good shots. Overall, I'm learning a lot about what being a professional photographer actually looks like—it's very different from just taking photos as a hobby.

Still working at CharterUP too, though nothing exciting is happening right now, we're working on upgrading the technologies our websites use.

We celebrated Thanksgiving with Kato and Dave (and their new puppy Enzo! A chocolate lab). Barbecued turkey, gravy, mashed sweet potatoes, mac and cheese, cranberry sauce, persimmon salad, and of course some great wine from their region. It was great. We also did some Black Friday shopping and found a few good deals.

> Good food, good company, good dog

December brings the end of the semester for Sahar, a trip to Tahoe for us, and then we're off to Colorado for Christmas. Can't wait!

Written by: Benoît