San Francisco/Yosemite - Jan 20 - 24 2016

Headed out to CA on an early flight for a long weekend. We've planned a 2 day jaunt to Yosemite and I'm excited to see yet another National Park.  Back in October, we visited the Statue of Liberty, and Ellis Island with the kids, and I purchased my National Park Passport. Needless to say I'm anxious to see it all!!

Arrived in San Fran by 10:30 and got to Karen and Conrad's in time for lunch. Karen made a delicious Swiss dish (a type of Mac n cheese) accompanied by wine, salad, meat and sweets. A fast clean up and off on our adventure! 

The trip was about 4 hours, but about 2 hours out we stopped in Groveland, at the oldest watering hole in Ca. The Iron Door - what a hoot!

  Solid granite walls, and a layered thatched roof covered in metal. It was about 4:30 and quiet. The bartender was a little old lady originally from Louisiana, spry as anything. (She was probably younger than me!). We had drinks, chatted awhile and took in the ambience.  The ceiling was "stuck" with dollar bills, and the corner stage area was screaming for a live performance!! It looked like a great place to hang.

In any other circumstance I would have been reluctant to leave, but I was anxious to be on our way, to get to the park before dark.

Entrance to the park was through the North Pass and took us on a series of  switchbacks to an elevation of 4,000 ft in the beautiful Sierra Nevadas. We arrived after dusk and by the time we got to the lodge, we had a sense of the majestic mountains surrounding us.  It had snowed, so we proceeded with caution. 

Yosemite Lodge is rustic and at the base of Yosemite Falls. We were thrilled to stay in the park and have access to the shuttle and all things afforded by the park.

Karen had arranged for a valley floor tour. Our guide was Bill who was a wealth of information. In addition to all things Yosemite, he's an avid photographer so he was helpful in getting the best photo ops!

Highlights of the trip were the Spires, Half Dome, Tunnel View, Sentinel Dome and of course El Capitan.

El Capitan is a massive granite monolith that stands 3,593 feet from base to summit. It has some world record but that record eludes me now. Climbers come from around the world to scale it.

After the tour we regrouped for lunch (at Degnan's Deli) then went to the visitor center for a film. It took us awhile to negotiate the drive, parking, and walking.  It wasn't til the second day that we realized exactly where we were and that we were actually within walking distance of where we wanted to be.  We went to the Swinging Bridge, Bridal Veil Falls ( didn't continue because of ice and my fear)then onto the base of Yosemite Falls. We hiked to the base and were once again struck with awe by the beauty of this place

We had an early reservation at the Ahwahnee.  The hotel has a distinction five facade of stone and timber and enjoys historic status. The main dining room seats hundreds and is beautifully appointed. Fireplaces throughout the first floor are massive. We enjoyed cocktails before dinner where we had one of the fireplaces all to ourselves. It was quite nice.  The full moon and the mist of the falls punctuated the return to the lodge.

Friday dawned misty and damp. We decided to take advantage of a ranger talk at the center. "Eric" talked about Charley Harper, an artist who painted posters for the national parks. We picked one apart, noting minute detail and how the artist incorporated hidden facets in his work. Most enjoyable and informative.

Prediction of bad weather encouraged an early departure. Realizing we barely scraped the surface we know we need a return trip. I would love to bring the kids...

We left the park via a lower road with plans to stop for lunch in Mariposa.  At a ranger's suggestion, we stopped at Sweet Pines Cafe. It was great.

Our plan was to drive through Modesto and see Karen's ranch and nut trees.  As we were making good time, we stopped at the Blue Diamond outlet store and watched the film on all things nuts!  We stopped at Karen's old homestead (where her brother now resides) for a brief visit. I never stopped to think about where nuts actually come from!  It was an education - especially bringing in the bees for pollination!!

Got back to San Fran early evening had a quick dinner with Karen and Conrad and then checked into the Hotel Del Sol.  What a hoot – an old fashioned motel, redone to be “boutique”.  The great thing about it, it was literally around the corner from Karen and Conrad – and hence walkable for Cioppino!

Saturday, I just hung with Karen and Caroline, walked to their yuppie area for lunch, and then got ready for the “event”

Cioppino this year was exceptional!!  The crowd was great – saw old friends and some new.  Unfortunately, the acoustics are so bad in the church basement that we couldn’t really catch up.  Soo – plans were made for dinner on Sunday at Antoinette and Bob’s.

During the evening’s festivities, Lenny received a message, saying our flight had been cancelled – SNOW in NY!!  After finally getting through to American, the first available flight wasn’t until Wed.  Not such a bad place to be stranded in!!

Sunday, we attended Mass at the cathedral of St Dominic – also up the block from Karen.  The church was reminiscent of Notre Dame Paris (flying buttresses) and magnificent.  The Mass was a high mass (sung with full choir) and in Latin.  What a throwback!

Off to Antoinette and Bob’s for dinner – we had planned on an early dinner since we were supposed to leave for our flight. With the cancellation, we were able to be more relaxed and we had a great evening.

Monday was a lay back day, but Tuesday, I drove back to the city (we had changed hotels), got Karen and then went to Mill Valley to see Jane.  What a beautiful area she lives in – and all the trails to hike and bike!!  I like to think that if I lived in a place like that, I would take advantage of all it had to offer.

We went to lunch, then to Muir Wood National Monument –one of the last stands of old-growth redwood forests on Earth.  I’m thrilled to be getting my passport stamped!  It was a great day!

Another great dinner at Antoinette’s  - she included Karen/Conrad and Jodie and Glenn.  What a riot – I laugh so much with Glenn.  He’s my chuckle buddy.  We all are looking forward to the Spain trip.  We’re trying to get Antoinette and Bob to join us.  That would be great!!

All in all, it was a great-extended trip.  My appreciation for our parks and country on the whole is tremendous.  I would love to return with the kids and share the wonder of nature on such a grand scale!