2 June: San Francisco
Our third consecutive flight was at 10am from Los Angeles to San
Francisco.
We picked
up a
rental car
and drove
downtown.
After
taking
possession
of our
hotel room
in the
Grant
Hotel, a 5
minute
walk
from
Union
Square, we
set off
for a
trolley
bus ride
around the
city. We
were the
only
people on
the bus
for the
second
half of
the
tour,
so
it was
interesting
to be able
to discuss
with the
guide.
San
Francisco
is a hilly
city, with
some
surprisingly
steep
streets and
beautiful views
over the
coast. We
caught a
few
glimpses
of
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge
that we
plan to
see closer
up
tomorrow.
The
weather
was
surprisingly
chilly:
there was
a very
nippy
wind and
we
were
slightly
underdressed
in our
fleeces,
but other
tourists
seemed
quite
happy in
sleeveless
T-shirts...!
After
the
trolley
bus tour
we
did a bit
of
shopping
around the
city. In
the
evening we
went to a
1950's
restuarant
called
Lorie's.
We had the
impression
that we
were
stuck
in a
time
trap;
all
the
furniture
and
fittings
were
genuine
50's
memorabilia
(a big
Cadillac-like
car, old
petrol
pumps,
seats,
posters, the
waitress
uniforms, etc).
It was a
nice
family
friendly
atmosphere.
 |
 |
| Touring San
Francisco in a
trolley
bus |
San Francisco
skyline |
3 June: San Francisco
Day two in San Franciso. We exchanged rental cars as ours had
a problem
with the
bearings,
before
walking to
a classic
car garage
about a
kilometre
from the
hotel to
see a
Chevrolet
Corvette
1958:
François'
dream car!
It was
beautiful
and in
almost
mint
condition,
red and
cream
colouring
with a
cream soft
top. If
it'd
been a
bit
cheaper,
François
would have
been very
tempted to
buy it and
ship it to
France,
but adding
French
VAT
and
import
tax to the
sale
price
made it
too
expensive.
We settled
for taking
a few
photos,
before
leaving by
bus for
the wharf
area.
We walked along the sea front and visited the historic wharf
at Hyde
Street
Pier.
Several
old tug
boats and
beautiful
sailing
ships
have
been
restored
and are on
display
here. We
could see
the
Golden
Gate
Bridge in
the
backdrop.
Fisherman's
wharf is a
lively
area
where
there
are
many
sidewalk
vendors
and
restaurants
selling
crabs
and
the
famous
clam
chowder in
sourdough
bread
bowls. We
continued
our walk
to the
famous
Pier 39
where we
bought
cruise
tickets
to
sail
under
the
Golden G
ate
Bridge and
around
Alcatraz
Island. Before
the boat
departed
we had
time to
see the
sea lions
at the end
of
Pier
39.
They
were
highly
amusing:
the sea
lions come
to the
pier to
relax on
platforms
in the
water, but
the males
squabble
constantly
to show
their
supremacy,
pushing
other
males back
into the
water
and
oinking
loudly!
The
accompanying smell
was pretty
whiffy
too!
The one-hour boat cruise took us under the gigantic Golden Gate
Bridge
with it's
distinctive
rusty red
colour
paint. We
also went
around
the
famous
Alcatraz
Island
which
hosts the
famous
maximum
security
prison of
the same
name,
where Al
Capone was
locked
up.
After walking to the end of the piers, we headed back to the
hotel for
a quick
rest
before
returning
to Pier 39
in the
evening
for the
famous clam
chowder,
accompanied
by a
Californian
Chardonnay
at Fog
Harbour, a
nice
restaurant
overlooking
the
bay.
 |
 |
 |
| François'
dream
car! |
The sea lions
at
Pier
39 |
The famous
Golden
Gate
Bridge |
4 June: Yosemite National Park
After doing a load of washing in a local laundrette we headed out
of San
Francisco
along the
8.5 mile
Bay
Bridge. We
stopped
off at a
shopping
mall to
buy a car
booster
seat for
Sophie and
later we
stopped off
at a
roadside
store
along the
way and bought
some
gorgeous
fresh,
sweet strawberries
and
cherries.
We arrived
at our
hotel in
Buck
Meadows,
12 miles
from the
entrance
to
Yosemite,
at 3pm. We
still had
a few
hours
before
sunset so
decided to
head
straight
for
the
park.
After
buying an
annual
pass at
the
entrance
to
the park
we drove
to
Bridalveil
Fall. We
did the
short walk
to
have a
good view
of the
majestic
falls and
got
drenched
by the
spray!
The
sound
of
the
water
crashing
down the
hundreds
of metres
to the
ground
is
deafening!
Next we
took a
wrong turn
and
instead of
driving up
the
Yosemite
Valley
we
set off
in
the
direction
of Glacier
Point.
Never
mind,
we
wanted
to
go
there
anyway,
however
distances
are big in
the
States, and
maps are
deceiving,
so it took
us longer
than we
had
anticipated
to get
there...
We stopped
at a
couple of
vista
points
for
a
photo
opportunities
on the
way. The
scenery is
stunning!
At
Glacier
Point
(2199m)
the
view is
spectacular:
a soaring
view over
Yosemite
Valley with
sheer
cliffs
and
rounded
summits
shaped by
glaciers,
plus the
huge
Yosemite
Falls,
Vernal
Fall and
the
majestic
Half Dome.
Awesome!
On the drive back down we were really lucky to see a couple of
bears
in a
clearing
next to
the
roadside.
One was
grazing in
the grass
and
the second
had
climbed 15
metres up
a tree! We
knew bears
could
climb, but
we didn't
think that
they were
that good
at
climbing!
It was
great to
see these
beautiful
wild
animals -
they
were
only
50
metres
from
us!
We didn't arrive back at the hotel until 8pm. We went directly to
a diner
next door
for a
meal.
Francois
had an
excellent
tender
16oz
rib
eye
steak
and
Jenny's
mini salad
was big
enough to
feed a
family
of
4!
Americans
must be
horrified
when they
go to
restaurants
in
Europe,
especially
if they
try
nouvelle
cuisine!!!
We put the girls to bed and when they were asleep we crept out
for a
relaxing
dip in the
hotel's
outdoor
spa at 39
degrees!
Almost
as
good as
the
Storvatt!
 |
 |
 |
| Gaelle and
Sophie
in
front
of
Bridalveil
Fall |
Yosemite Falls
and
Yosemite
Valley
from
Glacier
Point |
The Half Dome
(The
North
Face
brand
emblem) |
5 June: Yosemite National Park
We had feared that we'd suffer from the heat in the US in June,
but this
morning it
was
pouring
down with
rain and
the Tioga
Pass
across
Yosemite
Park
(Highway
120) was
closed due
to
snowfall...!
We sheltered from the rain in our hotel room for most of the
morning
catching
up on some
Internet
and doing
some
homework
with the
girls.
At
around
11am the
rain had
subsided,
so we
headed off
in the
direction
of
Yosemite
Valley. As
it was
still
raining we
ate
our picnic
lunch in
the car at
Curry
Village
before
bravely
setting
off in our
Goretex
jackets
for Vernal
Fall.
After an
hour and a
quarter we
had made
it to the
top of the
falls,
having
passed
many
scrounging
squirrels
on the way
and
getting
badly
sprayed by
the
waterfall
on the way
up! The
views were
stunning
and we
were
motivated
to keep on
hiking up
to Navada
Fall. We
crossed
over the
top
of the
Navada
Fall which
is
impressive
in both
height and
volume
before
looping
down the
less steep
John Muir
Trail. The
girls
walked
really
well:
after
4
hours of
hiking
we'd
walked a
respectable
13 kms
and ascended 600
metres.
On the drive back we spotted 3 deer on the side of the road and
then a
young
Black
Bear. We
were all
eager to
get back
to the
hotel
in
order
to
take a
relaxing
dip in the
outdoor
hot spa.
It was
well
merited!!!
We returned to the diner next to the hotel (Yosemite Westgate
Lodge) for
dinner,
where we
were
warmly
welcomed
and the
girls were
given
colouring
books and
crayons
to
keep
them
occupied.
A good
family
friendly
address in
Buck
Meadow.
 |
 |
 |
| Fresh snow at
2000
metres
in
June! |
Vernal Fall |
One of the may
squirrels
we
saw
on
our
hike |
 |
 |
 |
| Nevada Fall |
The top of the
Navada
Fall
before
the
big
plunge...! |
A young Black
Bear
in
Yosemite! |
6 June: Yosemite National Park to Fresno
We drove back into Yosemite National Park late morning and headed
for
Yosemite
Falls. We
did the
short walk
to the
base of
the lower
falls
crossing a
wedding
party on
the way.
The bride
was
skimply dressed
in her
strapless
gown
despite
the chilly
temperatures.
After a picnic at the foot of the El
Capitan rock
we drove
to
Mariposa
Grove, at
the
southern
end of
the
park,
to
see the
huge
sequoia
trees; a
taste for
tomorrow's
visit to
Sequoia
National
Park. The
Giant
Grizzly,
estimated
to be 1800
years old,
is a very
impressive
tree with
an
enormous berth,
towering
approximately
80m above
the
ground. A
couple
of trees
had had
tunnels
carved
through
their
trunks at
the end of
the 1800's
which we
could walk
through
and others
had
tunnels
burnt
through
them by
forest
fires.
It's a
beautiful site to
see these
majestic
giants.
There were
lots of
chipmunks
and
squirrels running around
the grove
which
amused the
girls
throughout
the hike. Once
we reached
the top of
the grove,
after
walking an
hour and a
half, it
began to
pour down
with rain.
We hitched
a lift
back from
a bus that
was taking
tourists
around
the
trees.
Unfortunately
the bus
was
roofless
though, so
despite
returning back
to the car
faster, we
still
arrived
drenched!
We then left Yosemite for Fresno. We arrived at our motel at
6pm
and
the girls
did their
homework.
We ate
dinner in
an
American diner
called
Denny's -
nothing
special,
but the
kids ate
for
free!
 |
 |
 |
| The girls by
Yosemite
Fall |
Big sequoia
cones! |
The impressive
sequoia
trees
towering
the
on-site
museum |
BACK
| 
