![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.zurekbrau.com\/blogs\/richsblog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/Bridal-Veil-Falls.jpg\" "\\"Bridal")
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I’m running\u00a0a little late with this\u00a0 entry.\u00a0 I don’t have regular WiFi connection here in Yosemite.\u00a0 Oh yeah, and Rich woke up\u00a0 on this day, too.<\/p>\n
We left San Francisco to head out to the wilderness in Yosemite National Park.\u00a0 I’ve never been to Yosemite, so this will allow me to mark off yet another national park from my list of places.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For breakfast, we walked around the corner from our hotel to this cute little place called the Beach Street Grille.\u00a0 Their sign offered American comfort food breakfasts.\u00a0 The place looks like part Chinese, part Russian, and part something else.\u00a0 After watching the waitress, I think this place started out in life as a Mongolian restaurant.\u00a0 It was the cutest place and had the best breakfast so far.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We got out of San Fran without much trouble.\u00a0 Getting back across the Bay Bridge was an experience as everyone was driving very fast and changing lanes even faster.\u00a0 We knew we had to take 580 out of the area, but the GPS got confused this time.\u00a0 The highways all cross each other and take off at different points.\u00a0 The GPS took us to 980\/880 and then changed it’s mind!\u00a0 Now I know what they have women’s voices as default.\u00a0 They are making us look bad, girls!<\/p>\n
The drive out to Yosemite is through some of California’s best farm land and orchards.\u00a0 It was very beautiful and so abundant with fruit and vegetable stands.\u00a0 Of course, there are irrigation canals running everywhere.\u00a0 There is no water in this part of California either!<\/p>\n
We got past the farm lands and started up this side of the Sierra Nevada mountain range.\u00a0 Now Rich has a problem with my driving anyway, but going up the side of a mountain definitely makes him even more nervous.\u00a0 We are talking about hanging on the side of the mountain by a slim shoulder.\u00a0 But I have to admit, I do love driving the winding and mountainous ranges.<\/p>\n
We finally got to Groveland, CA without a sign of our lodging.\u00a0 So we kept driving out of town following the GPS directions.\u00a0 Can I trust her after San Fran?\u00a0 About a mile west of the Yosemite entrance, we get the direction to turn left onto Evergreen Road.\u00a0 How does this ever get a Groveland address this far out?<\/p>\n
Now Evergreen Road turned out to be just as winding and mountainous as the road we just came up.\u00a0 It twisted and turned every which way.\u00a0 The cool thing was the coyote that I almost hit.\u00a0 I came down a hill and a quick turn just as the animal got to the middle of the narrow road.\u00a0 He stopped and I stopped.\u00a0 We looked at each other for a moment and then went on our ways.<\/p>\n
I have no words to truly describe this place.\u00a0 When I made the reservation, it looked like a collection of 1940s style cottages around a building.\u00a0 This is a sprawling resort complex with many, many cottages.\u00a0 Each cottage is very, very nice with all the amenities, except WiFi.\u00a0 There is an office and store.\u00a0 There is a restaurant with a tavern.\u00a0 There is a pool with a poolside bar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We’ve had a couple of meals here now.\u00a0 Very expensive, but so good.\u00a0 I had salmon with smoky grits and snap peas.\u00a0 Rich got the half chicken with truffle mashed potatos.\u00a0 Rick just got a sandwich, but it was excellent.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rich and I went to the bar last night for a beer.\u00a0 They have about 6 or 7 local breweries on tap and a good selection of bottled beer.\u00a0 Rich has been eying their bourbon selection, including the small batch distillery from West Virginia.\u00a0 He had a conversation with Doug at the bar on beer and other liquours.\u00a0 Doug is from Brazil and has a different take on the drinking scene in America.<\/p>\n
Today, we just took a tour of the park to get our bearings.\u00a0 Once I got used to how everyone drives in the park, it got easier.\u00a0 Man, the speed limit is 35 or 40, but they drive faster going up and down the mountain.\u00a0 We stopped at Bridal Veil Falls since it was a quick and easy hike.\u00a0 The falls are gorgeous.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There weren’t as many people as I thought there might be at this time of the year.\u00a0 Everyone appears to be British, Japanese, or have a dog.\u00a0 This must be vacation season for those countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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.\u00a0 But I think they were really talking about the young man standing inside of a stump along the path.\u00a0 The moustache comment was funnier.<\/p>\n
Tonight, I was exhausted.\u00a0 I made notes for my blog and then went to bed.\u00a0 It felt so good to go to sleep.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, there will be more from Yosemite.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/a>\u00a0<\/div>\n\u00a0<\/div>\n