USA Trip: From the mountains to the bay...

Hi again,

Well, Yosemite certainly lived up to its reputation as a place of scenic wonder. On the drive into the valley, we stopped to ‘ooh’, ‘aah’ and snap pics of El Capitan (the largest sheer face of granite in the world), Bridalveil Fall and, of course, Yosemite Falls (the highest falls in North America and the fifth highest in the world. Yosemite Falls is usually dry by Autumn – or Fall, as the Yanks call it - but due to recent rainfall, it was actually flowing which was great to see. We also saw ‘Half Dome’. True to its name, it’s a huge half-dome shaped wall of granite which has claimed many lives from adventurous rock climbers (and others who were just plain crazy!)

We next headed down into the valley and registered into our campsite. All we can say is that we must have scored the campsite with the best view in Yosemite Valley. Backing onto the Merced River, with easy access to the water, our campsite had unparalleled views across to Half Dome and other surrounding granite mountains. We would have liked to stay there a lot longer than our booked two nights but alas, we could not, so we made sure we made the most of our time there! The boys even perfected their long-boarding techniques on the winding roads within the campground!

The day after our arrival, we explored the valley on a couple of walking tours; one through the meadows for more views of the towering granite masterpieces that surrounded us and another to observe Yosemite Falls up close. We had found the shuttle bus system at the Grand Canyon to be very efficient and the system here at Yosemite was just as well run, taking tourists from stop to stop around the valley floor quickly and efficiently. The rangers program was also very well run and interesting. There was an amphitheatre in our campground where the rangers held talks every night on different aspects of Yosemite. The first night, we watched one on the changing seasons within the park and the second night’s talk was on the bears, which we all found to be especially good.

After a spot of shopping at Yosemite Village, Graham, Liam and Rhiannon headed back to our campsite while Rebecca and Jack continued to browse. When Rebecca and Jack were returning a little while later, they came upon a Mule Deer grazing next to the pathway only a few feet away from them. A ranger, sitting in a car nearby, motioned for them to move along. We have since found out that the only recent death in Yosemite has been from one of these deer. And this one had decent-sized antlers! We didn’t spy any bears in this park but saw loads of squirrels everywhere, including an especially fat one which climbed into our fire pit. Luckily for him, we hadn’t lit it yet!

So it was with a little regret that we said good-bye to our beautiful campsite by the river and headed west to spend the night in a town called Manteca, before driving on the next day to San Francisco.

San Francisco…. Rebecca fell in love with the city as soon as we arrived, saying it had a nice feel to it. After we said goodbye to our campervan (we had enjoyed our time with it but had also had enough of it after 18 days!), we checked into our hotel in Fisherman’s Wharf and headed down along the water for dinner. The following day – yesterday- we set out to explore the area. We undertook a bay cruise, travelling under the Golden Gate Bridge and skirting around Alcatraz Island, and spotted a couple of seals in the water along the way. We next had lunch along the wharf where Rebecca talked Graham and Jack into experiencing Clam Chowder in sourdough bread with her – a Fisherman’s Wharf specialty. It was yum! A visit to the Wax Museum followed which the kids all enjoyed, although Graham and Rebecca were the only ones who ventured into the Room of Horrors section…

Today, we jumped on a cable car (where Jack and Graham hung off the side but didn’t fall off) and travelled to the shopping precinct of Union Square. Here, Rebecca was fortunate enough to escape from the pack for a couple of hours to shop. While trying on a pair of boots in Macy’s, Rebecca spotted the celebrity, Jessica Simpson, there to promote her own fashion and perfume lines. Rebecca snapped a quick pic for Graham and Jack before going back to her business of trying on footwear. After she met up with everyone again, the group headed back to Fishermans Wharf via the Embarcardero precinct for a rest before dinner.

Tonight, we dined at a wharf restaurant called “Pompeii’s Grotto”, which Rebecca found on the net. Everyone enjoyed their meals; good fish, great wine, and even the kids were happy with their choices! We finished off the night by catching another cable car to Chinatown (even Liam hung off the edge this time!). We wandered through Chinatown before heading back to our hotel to put the kids to bed and write this blog.

We have one more day in San Francisco before picking up a hire car and starting our journey south along the coast to LA again. Until next time, hope you are all well,

Graham, Rebecca, Jack, Liam and Rhiannon