See Ya Cali!

If you couldn't tell from our previous posts, we LOVED our summer in California. There were multiple contributing factors, mainly the location and Dustan's job. Last year 2015, we spent the summer in Fort Dodge, Iowa. This was so completely different! The only really thing we enjoyed about Iowa was the people we became friends with. The location and weather were pretty awful, and Dustan didn't enjoy his job at all. Though this summer in El Segundo we didn't make as many friends, most everything else was just fabulous.

Funny how both For Dodge, IA and El Segundo, CA had water towers haha

We didn't know it was possible, but we became even more obsessed with the beach this summer. Living only a few minutes away, we went to the beach at least once a week. We were close to so many fun adventures--everything from sight seeing, hiking, good eats, swimming, and way more. This was a far cry from our summer in Iowa. There is so much to do in Southern California that we only knocked off a fraction of our bucket list for the summer!

And just as important if not more so, Dustan actually really enjoyed his internship this summer with the Aerospace Corporation. Unlike some of his other engineering internships, he was actually doing research that used what he has been learning at school. He got to build a thermal PID controller and test it, learn about motor control, work on nanosatellite reaction wheel jitter characterization, and design and build a thrust test stand for a new type of drone resembling a maple seed. The Aerospace Corporation also liked Dustan as well and decided to keep him on as a casual employee during his master's program, meaning that if we decide that Dustan should go work for the company after school, he wouldn't have to go through the rehiring process. Nothing is for sure of course--full-time employment is still a couple years away--but it was great to hear that the company that Dustan quite liked working for would have him full-time in the future.

The only bummer about El Segundo and Southern California in general is obviously the cost of living (and maybe that LA traffic with the crazy drivers). If we were to return and work for this company, we would be hard pressed to live how we would like with a home and going on adventures. But that is something we can worry about a little later :)

So for now.... Goodbye El Segundo, California!!!

And now, we're back in P-Town--after a brief adventure for our anniversary in Yosemite--for Dustan to do his Mechanical Engineering master's program at BYU! He will be doing research in pneumatically actuated robotics (meaning inflatable robots like Big Hero 6). As of right now, Dustan isn't planning on doing any more internships, so you'll likely be able to find us in Utah for a couple years ;)