I’m running a little late with this entry. I don’t have regular WiFi connection here in Yosemite. Oh yeah, and Rich woke up on this day, too.
We left San Francisco to head out to the wilderness in Yosemite National Park. I’ve never been to Yosemite, so this will allow me to mark off yet another national park from my list of places.
For breakfast, we walked around the corner from our hotel to this cute little place called the Beach Street Grille. Their sign offered American comfort food breakfasts. The place looks like part Chinese, part Russian, and part something else. After watching the waitress, I think this place started out in life as a Mongolian restaurant. It was the cutest place and had the best breakfast so far.
We got out of San Fran without much trouble. Getting back across the Bay Bridge was an experience as everyone was driving very fast and changing lanes even faster. We knew we had to take 580 out of the area, but the GPS got confused this time. The highways all cross each other and take off at different points. The GPS took us to 980/880 and then changed it’s mind! Now I know what they have women’s voices as default. They are making us look bad, girls!
The drive out to Yosemite is through some of California’s best farm land and orchards. It was very beautiful and so abundant with fruit and vegetable stands. Of course, there are irrigation canals running everywhere. There is no water in this part of California either!
We got past the farm lands and started up this side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. Now Rich has a problem with my driving anyway, but going up the side of a mountain definitely makes him even more nervous. We are talking about hanging on the side of the mountain by a slim shoulder. But I have to admit, I do love driving the winding and mountainous ranges.
We finally got to Groveland, CA without a sign of our lodging. So we kept driving out of town following the GPS directions. Can I trust her after San Fran? About a mile west of the Yosemite entrance, we get the direction to turn left onto Evergreen Road. How does this ever get a Groveland address this far out?
Now Evergreen Road turned out to be just as winding and mountainous as the road we just came up. It twisted and turned every which way. The cool thing was the coyote that I almost hit. I came down a hill and a quick turn just as the animal got to the middle of the narrow road. He stopped and I stopped. We looked at each other for a moment and then went on our ways.
I have no words to truly describe this place. When I made the reservation, it looked like a collection of 1940s style cottages around a building. This is a sprawling resort complex with many, many cottages. Each cottage is very, very nice with all the amenities, except WiFi. There is an office and store. There is a restaurant with a tavern. There is a pool with a poolside bar.
We’ve had a couple of meals here now. Very expensive, but so good. I had salmon with smoky grits and snap peas. Rich got the half chicken with truffle mashed potatos. Rick just got a sandwich, but it was excellent.
Rich and I went to the bar last night for a beer. They have about 6 or 7 local breweries on tap and a good selection of bottled beer. Rich has been eying their bourbon selection, including the small batch distillery from West Virginia. He had a conversation with Doug at the bar on beer and other liquours. Doug is from Brazil and has a different take on the drinking scene in America.
Today, we just took a tour of the park to get our bearings. Once I got used to how everyone drives in the park, it got easier. Man, the speed limit is 35 or 40, but they drive faster going up and down the mountain. We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls since it was a quick and easy hike. The falls are gorgeous.
There weren’t as many people as I thought there might be at this time of the year. Everyone appears to be British, Japanese, or have a dog. This must be vacation season for those countries.
While at Bridal Veil, we ran into a couple of young girls who yelled out that it was just like the Lorax. Rick and I thought they were talking about Rich’s moustache. But I think they were really talking about the young man standing inside of a stump along the path. The moustache comment was funnier.
Tonight, I was exhausted. I made notes for my blog and then went to bed. It felt so good to go to sleep.
Tomorrow, there will be more from Yosemite.
