I am a stranger to real heat

So I'm currently on vacation and visiting my boyfriend in a small town called Copperopolis (part of Calaveras County) where it is HOT! I, having only lived in San Diego and Santa Barbara, am not equipped to handle heat - chapstick and ice-cold water have become my two most valued necessities here.

Nevertheless, I have been thoroughly enjoying myself. This last Saturday we went hiking down to a river which was absolutely breathtaking. Here are a few pictures.






The hike there was exhausting for a lil city girl like me, but swimming in the refreshing river water was so rewarding! I had no idea there was poison oak on the path, but I lucked out and apparently avoided it.

On Sunday (when it was 108 degrees!) we took a boat out on Lake Tulloch and went for a swim in the lake to cool down. I even got to drive the boat for a bit! So much fun!





I had never gone swimming in a river or a lake, let alone driven a boat, so the weekend was full of adventure for me! Plus, last night, we drove some quads around - yet another thing I had never done before!

Oh, and one of the most incredible things about being out in the country... one can actually see stars at night! And I mean lots and lots of stars! So out of the ordinary for me!

Anyways, I'm gonna go try to stay cool. Hopefully it's not too hot where you are!

I don't do well in heat. Or in the cold. Or in humidity or dry air. Thank you San Diego for ruining all extreme weather for me.

It is ungodly hot here. According to the internet, it is now 94 degrees here. NINETY-FOUR! That is 94 degrees of hell.

This heat is a product of the Santa Ana winds that are blowing through here, a fire nearby, and the quickening approach of summer.

I've compiled a list of the things I've been doing to cool down over the past day or so. This list is organized by the level of ridiculous behavior that is required to execute each action (normal person behavior to crazy person behavior).

1. Turning on my fan
2. Drinking extra water
3. Pulling my hair back in a ponytail
4. Wearing shorts and tank tops
5. Not wearing make up that will clump and/or melt in the sun
6. Wearing a dress
7. Standing in front of the freezer with the door open while moaning "It's toooooo hot..." over and over to my room mate.
8. Contemplating leaving German class early in order to organize a water balloon fight.
9. Contemplating leaving Linguistics class early in order to organize a water gun war.
10. Making it a point to ride my bike through all the sprinklers I can find on my way home from class.

Obviously number 10 is the most effective and fun method of cooling down that I've discovered so far - its made even more fun by all the weird looks I get (they're all jealous that they aren't adventurous enough to do the same). Now that I know when people's sprinklers are on, I'll be sure to schedule my day around that.