Claire L
<font color=blue>Enjoys a good broadway show<br><f
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
- Messages
- 10,782
Saturday June 24th 2006
We were up early and headed over to brekkie by about 8am. Once at the restaurant we were met by the most amusing lady who seated us and called herself 'Bonnie, the hostess with the mostest' now she must have been well into her 70's or even 80's. After brekkie we packed up the jeep and headed off. Once again the roads were very quiet and the scenery stunning
Soon the temperatures were creeping up and we had reached 100f
But it got even hotter as we approached the area around Jackson.
It was no longer mountain scenery now but hillsides that were quite brown through lack of water. At one point we drove past some open cast mining.
Soon we were heading higher and higher again as we made our approach to Yosemite. Suddenly we came across an area of burnt trees, which were from a forest fire in the early 90's. It was quite an eery sight but there was evidence of the new growth finding its way through the devastated area.
After a few more miles on twisty and turning roads we got our first glimpse of Half Dome in the distance.
Once into Yosemite National Park we drove through to the C140 and onto our hotel, The Yosemite View Lodge at El Portal. It was a great location right next to the Merced River. We were able to check in straight away as it was about 3pm, it had taken about 5 hours to get here. Our room was great two double beds.
Along with a kitchenette.
And a Jacuzzi bath!
The hotel had a small convenience store so we stocked up with milk and butter so that we could have brekkie in the room for the next three days. Feeling like we needed to relax we headed to one of the 5 pools for a swim.
Not sure where to go for dinner as the road was blocked our only option was the hotel or Yosemite itself. So it was into Yosemite for our first proper look around.
It was still quite warm but a lot of people not staying had already left so it was easy getting around. Once we had got our bearings we found somewhere to park and headed for Degnan's Loft as it was mentioned in a guide book as serving good pizza. We arrived expecting to find a restaurant but instead found a cafeteria type take out. It all looked very nice so we ordered a portion of garlic bread and a large Hawaiian pizza, and wow was it huge about 15 inches in diameter but it was soon eaten
After this we drove slowly back to the hotel and had a beer before going to bed.
I will add that since coming home I have found out that Bonnie is rather 'infamous' on trip advisor, when you read the reviews of the hotel she gets a few mentions
Claire
We were up early and headed over to brekkie by about 8am. Once at the restaurant we were met by the most amusing lady who seated us and called herself 'Bonnie, the hostess with the mostest' now she must have been well into her 70's or even 80's. After brekkie we packed up the jeep and headed off. Once again the roads were very quiet and the scenery stunning
Soon the temperatures were creeping up and we had reached 100f
But it got even hotter as we approached the area around Jackson.
It was no longer mountain scenery now but hillsides that were quite brown through lack of water. At one point we drove past some open cast mining.
Soon we were heading higher and higher again as we made our approach to Yosemite. Suddenly we came across an area of burnt trees, which were from a forest fire in the early 90's. It was quite an eery sight but there was evidence of the new growth finding its way through the devastated area.
After a few more miles on twisty and turning roads we got our first glimpse of Half Dome in the distance.
Once into Yosemite National Park we drove through to the C140 and onto our hotel, The Yosemite View Lodge at El Portal. It was a great location right next to the Merced River. We were able to check in straight away as it was about 3pm, it had taken about 5 hours to get here. Our room was great two double beds.
Along with a kitchenette.
And a Jacuzzi bath!
The hotel had a small convenience store so we stocked up with milk and butter so that we could have brekkie in the room for the next three days. Feeling like we needed to relax we headed to one of the 5 pools for a swim.
Not sure where to go for dinner as the road was blocked our only option was the hotel or Yosemite itself. So it was into Yosemite for our first proper look around.
It was still quite warm but a lot of people not staying had already left so it was easy getting around. Once we had got our bearings we found somewhere to park and headed for Degnan's Loft as it was mentioned in a guide book as serving good pizza. We arrived expecting to find a restaurant but instead found a cafeteria type take out. It all looked very nice so we ordered a portion of garlic bread and a large Hawaiian pizza, and wow was it huge about 15 inches in diameter but it was soon eaten
After this we drove slowly back to the hotel and had a beer before going to bed.I will add that since coming home I have found out that Bonnie is rather 'infamous' on trip advisor, when you read the reviews of the hotel she gets a few mentions
Claire
