podsnel
<font color=blue>just skippin' around, amusing mys
- Joined
- Nov 14, 2007
After not too long on the drive east, we stopped for a bite at red Robin- yummmm...
"He is a loathesome, offensive brute. Yet I can't look away."
Plus, there's a picture of Kramer on the wall!
Back on the road, we passed the windmills which seemed to go on for miles in every direction....
Yea, here comes the fun!
So...I have this friend, Kara- you may remember her as Karajeboo- anyway, she had gone to Yosemite the summer before- and had a very, very hard time on the 120 into the park. You see, there is this one stretch that is known to be particularly challenging- both height wise and curve wise. Not a place where you would want to be driving at night, in the dark, I can promise. Anyway, she was SO freaked by this road, that once she got to yosemite, she was afraid to go anywhere- so, while I was pretty sure that would not happen to us, I didn't want to do anything crazy, either. Mainly, I wanted to avoid the section called "Old Priest Grade". Trust me, the new and improved Priest Grade is hairy enough!! There were actually signs telling you to turn off your A/C- this road is FAMOUS for people overheating and getting stranded.
That's not it- that's just pretty. This too- and oh, look- arrows. Does anyone want to volunteer and explain what arrows mean (just in case any bike riders from CC are reading).
I do really enjoy the "driving" part of these vacations. The forced togetherness of a four wheel vehicle through unknown but repetitive terrain does make for some fun times...
Click to play
Here we go-
We let a tow truck pass us at one point- he OBVIOUSLY was MUCH better at driving this road than we were!
Click to play-
We could see the Old Priest Grade across the ravine- I read that it shaves 20 minutes off of your time, but- that was 20 minutes I was happy to have from the looks of what I saw over there!
It took about 3 1/2 hours, I think, to get to Groveland- where we would be staying at a historic (and haunted!) inn called the Hotel Charlotte. We chose this place because it is right outside the park and would be a perfect way to get an early start on Yosemite! The hotel looked charming, and it had recently been taken over by new, young owners who have been refurbishing. The hotel offers a couple of Grand Suites, which are 2 bedrooms sharing a private bath. We were in rooms 1 & 3. http://www.hotelcharlotte.com/ The reasonable rate included a nice breakfast in the morning to send us on our way. And the hotel boasted a creative restaurant which we were looking forward to. And as if all that wasn't enough of an incentive to stay in Groveland, there was one more- the oldest Saloon in California is across the street. SOLD!
The boys were happy to have their own beds and a little down time- so while they chatted on the computer with friends at home, Pods and I went across the road to see a man about a horse....
"He is a loathesome, offensive brute. Yet I can't look away."
Plus, there's a picture of Kramer on the wall!
Back on the road, we passed the windmills which seemed to go on for miles in every direction....
Yea, here comes the fun!
So...I have this friend, Kara- you may remember her as Karajeboo- anyway, she had gone to Yosemite the summer before- and had a very, very hard time on the 120 into the park. You see, there is this one stretch that is known to be particularly challenging- both height wise and curve wise. Not a place where you would want to be driving at night, in the dark, I can promise. Anyway, she was SO freaked by this road, that once she got to yosemite, she was afraid to go anywhere- so, while I was pretty sure that would not happen to us, I didn't want to do anything crazy, either. Mainly, I wanted to avoid the section called "Old Priest Grade". Trust me, the new and improved Priest Grade is hairy enough!! There were actually signs telling you to turn off your A/C- this road is FAMOUS for people overheating and getting stranded.
That's not it- that's just pretty. This too- and oh, look- arrows. Does anyone want to volunteer and explain what arrows mean (just in case any bike riders from CC are reading).
I do really enjoy the "driving" part of these vacations. The forced togetherness of a four wheel vehicle through unknown but repetitive terrain does make for some fun times...
Click to play
Here we go-
We let a tow truck pass us at one point- he OBVIOUSLY was MUCH better at driving this road than we were!
Click to play-
We could see the Old Priest Grade across the ravine- I read that it shaves 20 minutes off of your time, but- that was 20 minutes I was happy to have from the looks of what I saw over there!
It took about 3 1/2 hours, I think, to get to Groveland- where we would be staying at a historic (and haunted!) inn called the Hotel Charlotte. We chose this place because it is right outside the park and would be a perfect way to get an early start on Yosemite! The hotel looked charming, and it had recently been taken over by new, young owners who have been refurbishing. The hotel offers a couple of Grand Suites, which are 2 bedrooms sharing a private bath. We were in rooms 1 & 3. http://www.hotelcharlotte.com/ The reasonable rate included a nice breakfast in the morning to send us on our way. And the hotel boasted a creative restaurant which we were looking forward to. And as if all that wasn't enough of an incentive to stay in Groveland, there was one more- the oldest Saloon in California is across the street. SOLD!
The boys were happy to have their own beds and a little down time- so while they chatted on the computer with friends at home, Pods and I went across the road to see a man about a horse....