California Dreamin'-A 14 Day Odyssey to San Fran,Yosemite & DL! 8/2013 COMPLETE!1/9!!

[podsnel]

silly girl...going up is the hard part...coming down is easy! it looks stunning and every time you post I feel the need to go west!

LOL! I was good with going up- we had been going up the whole time! The Mist Trail is just up up up- I was afraid because there was no rail- I really should have gone.

I wouldn't go up those stairs either. After our trip to the Grand Canyon I can't do that high stuff anymore. I have this picture in my head of careening over the side. Heck last week I almost fell out of the attic. All my DH could do was yell at me for cracking the ceiling!

OMG! This made me laugh so hard, and I will say why in a second, but are you ok? I sure hope so! So here is what your misfortune reminded me of- My FIL was a character- he was a great, great man, an awesome Dad (it is why Pods and his brothers are great dads, too- because they learned from the best). Anyway, it reminded me of him because he fell in the attic when he was up there fixing something, and fell right THROUGH THE CEILING AND LANDED IN A RECLINER!!!! Hand to God, it is true. Not a scratch on him. It was SO KARL. Really miss that man-

 

[Wicket's Mom]

LOL! I was good with going up- we had been going up the whole time! The Mist Trail is just up up up- I was afraid because there was no rail- I really should have gone. OMG! This made me laugh so hard, and I will say why in a second, but are you ok? I sure hope so! So here is what your misfortune reminded me of- My FIL was a character- he was a great, great man, an awesome Dad (it is why Pods and his brothers are great dads, too- because they learned from the best). Anyway, it reminded me of him because he fell in the attic when he was up there fixing something, and fell right THROUGH THE CEILING AND LANDED IN A RECLINER!!!! Hand to God, it is true. Not a scratch on him. It was SO KARL. Really miss that man-

That had me laughing, I could just picture him falling into the recliner! ROTFL!! I bruised my thigh, but I'm ok. I was putting luggage away, somehow I tripped. I was trying to keep from falling out the ladder door & managed to fall back away from the opening. I fell back on my bum, then realized I was sitting between the rafters in a space that only had insulation between me & falling thru the ceiling! I was so mad at DH for yelling about the cracked garage ceiling instead of asking if I was ok. Men, what are we to do with them?!

 

[Beth D]

LOMG! This made me laugh so hard, and I will say why in a second, but are you ok? I sure hope so! So here is what your misfortune reminded me of- My FIL was a character- he was a great, great man, an awesome Dad (it is why Pods and his brothers are great dads, too- because they learned from the best). Anyway, it reminded me of him because he fell in the attic when he was up there fixing something, and fell right THROUGH THE CEILING AND LANDED IN A RECLINER!!!! Hand to God, it is true. Not a scratch on him. It was SO KARL. Really miss that man-[/COLOR]

This made me laugh too! I just had to share with DH. Going up steps isn't bad, but going down, you see just how far away the ground is!

We went to Cancun on our honeymoon, and did a day trip to Chitzen Itza (sp?) Mayan ruins. I refused to climb up the temple. I took a picture of him up at the top, and he took a picture of me waving down at the bottom. I'm sorry, but when there's an ambulance PERMANENTLY PARKED AT THE BASE due to all the people falling, NO WAY am i going up!

Hope Timmy is feeling better!

 

[podsnel]

That had me laughing, I could just picture him falling into the recliner! ROTFL!! I bruised my thigh, but I'm ok. I was putting luggage away, somehow I tripped. I was trying to keep from falling out the ladder door & managed to fall back away from the opening. I fell back on my bum, then realized I was sitting between the rafters in a space that only had insulation between me & falling thru the ceiling! I was so mad at DH for yelling about the cracked garage ceiling instead of asking if I was ok. Men, what are we to do with them?!

Yea- he was also laughing in the recliner my MIL said- he was so funny. I am glad you were ok-we have 2 of those attics in our house and i hate going up there, i always think im gonna fall through the door because Im such a spaz! And shame on him for not asking how you were!

 

[podsnel]

This made me laugh too! I just had to share with DH. Going up steps isn't bad, but going down, you see just how far away the ground is!

We went to Cancun on our honeymoon, and did a day trip to Chitzen Itza (sp?) Mayan ruins. I refused to climb up the temple. I took a picture of him up at the top, and he took a picture of me waving down at the bottom. I'm sorry, but when there's an ambulance PERMANENTLY PARKED AT THE BASE due to all the people falling, NO WAY am i going up!

Hope Timmy is feeling better!

He was such a funny funny guy, my FIL! Really miss him.

I climbed up the pyramid at Tulum- up was easy- but down! Holy CRAP!!!! I sat on every step- it was terrifying!!!!!!!!! I kept thinking about all those virgin sacrifices at the top they would just throw down.... I kept thinkin they had it easy because they only had to climb up, lol. Chichen Itza is a much bigger pyramid- after Tulum I knew that no way would I ever go up that one! You're a smart girl!

Not sure you can climb either anymore, but there is another one that allows it, I think. Just in case you have any regrets not going in the past, lol.

 

[podsnel]

The boys were content to just hang around, go to the pool, etc for a bit after we ate our sandwiches. Timmy was not feeling any better (he did not feel like he had a fever to me, I think he just had a cold and was feeling run down. And SUPER DUPER cranky.) so was glad we didn't have anything major planned- until tonight. Tonight I had signed us up for Stargazing at Glacier Point. This was a bus tour that would depart from the Lodge at the Falls and drive us allllllll the way up to Glacier Point at sunset where we would stay to watch the stars come out, followed by the bus ride back to the Valley. It was $41pp, and we had arranged for it the day we arrived, in addition to the tour I was about to take of the Ahwahnee Hotel (which was free). BUT.....the 120 was closed, due to the blazing fire near Groveland that I am sure you all saw on the news. So, there was a kind of a haze creeping into the Valley, it wasn't noticible really until you looked up, but...we'll see how that factors into our plans later. SO... I grabbed a shower in the semi-repaired (as in there was a pliers to use to operate the water) then I left my band of semi-merry men and went down to the lawn to meet up with the tour of the hotel (which is open to anyone- not just hotel guests). Here is a plaque inside the hotel that speaks a little about it-





So, The Ahwahnee is a special hotel in the National Park system, because it was constructed to draw in visitors in their new horseless carriages, and greater popularize the park, and the National Park system itself. It was built to feel like a large country home. Materials were utilized that reflected the beauty of Yosemite Valley, so that it looked to be a part of its surroundings on the outside. After construction, there was an issue with putting the entance in, so you actually enter the Ahwahnee Hotel from the back rather than the front, and the hotel front faces the back lawn. Do you follow that?

We moved inside and marvelled at the interior of the Ahwahnee. The design is representative of elements from 22 countries with art from California's original inhabitants. It has a Native American decorative theme, and the designers hired for the job were Pope and Ackerman. Their love of mid eastern design (persian rugs, etc) greatly influenced the design. Here are some of the pieces they commissioned to create the Ahwahnee's ambiance-







Ackerman felt that something was missing with the plain windows. So Jeannette Dyer Spencer was hired (she was a UC Berkeley Architecture grad who had studied stained glass in Paris). Spencer created unique stencil designs based on designs she saw by indiginous Californians. This is what adorns the ceilings' beams (although most are replicas- at some point the originals were painted over- DUH! who did that????).



This shows some of the resoration of the original stencils, it is a tedious process as you can imagine-



The stained glass was also designed by Spencer to reflect Native American people- and it is all magnificent.







The Great Lounge, which during World War II was used as a Navy hospital, along with the rest of the hotel-





The Ahwahnee Dining room, often described as the most beautiful in any Nat'l Park-





The ceilings are 34 feet high-



We walked through several other of the rooms, and the tour concluded. Worth an hour of my day for sure. Outside, it was beautiful, and REALLY hot!



I decided to catch the shuttle over to the Village, as I wanted to go see the Ansel Adams Gallery and the museum. On the way, I passed by the gift store, so went in to do a little shopping- I ended up with a small onyx bowl and a Christmas Ornament that looked like one of the floor medallions. These onyx bowls were STUNNING, but heavy, so I had mine shipped home-



FWIW, this banded onyx is NOT from Yosemite. I thought these were beautiful as well-



But were a little out of my price range (although I have been seeing similar pottery in my Alaska research, but with Salmon, so maybe there is still hope for a fish plate in my future!). The blue jays here are different from our NJ ones-



Ansel Adams Gallery-



The Gallery hosts many different photography classes and lectures, and is someting I would have probably looked into had I been here longer OR this was not my first visit. Inside the gallery were many of Ansel Adam's photos, as well as lots of jewelry, etc. if you wanted to shop. I had wanted to get some turquoise earrings, but nothing was really hitting me.

Cont'd next post-

 

[podsnel]

Outside there was a Giant Sequoia trunk-



In the center of the trunk? That happened a few years back in AD 323-



On the edge? The opening of Yosemite in 1890. And SOOOO many amazing historical events in between! Please zoom in if you can to see-



I went into the Visitor's Center or the Museum, whichever one we had not visited the day before (i think the museum). There was a lot displayed depicting the lives and talents of the native tribes in this area.



The baskets are incredible, and highly prized-





Outside-



I toured the Indian Village-







There was a woman weaving baskets, and we got to talking. It turned out she had learned to make the baskets from her mother, who learned from her mother, who learned from her mother, etc. One of those mothers (this woman's great Grandmother, I think?) was Lucy Tulles, one of Yosemite's most treasured basket weavers. Her baskets were displayed in the museum, as well as at the Ahwahnee.



Somehow we got on the subject of the stone markers (cairns) I had seen the day before- she explained that whoever was doing that was NOT supposed to, and that it was creepy to her tribe. Bad energy. So if you ever see them, I mean TONS of them, knock them down, please, they are NOT a good thing. Anyway, she was very nice, I really enjoyed our chat- she hugged me goodbye, and I returned to the museum to see her Great Grandmother-









When I was done, Pods and the boys were going to meet me for dinner at the cafeteria inside the Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. Our plan was to have dinner here, early, so we would be able to finish up and board the bus to head up to Glacier Point and stargaze. But.....would we???? Up next-

 

[rentayenta]

Is that deer/buck pooping?

 

[podsnel]

Is that deer/buck pooping?

No- maybe peeing. I'm not sure.

 

[podsnel]

So I met up with the boys, who had spent the afternoon at the pool and then gone on a short hike. We went inside to grab some dinner-



It was around 4:30 I think, so there was not alot to choose from as we had not hit the full dinner hour-







UH-OH-



sigh....Timmy is the best of days most days, but every so often, he is also the worst of days. Guess which day he had that day!





Well, I can tell you that none of us enjoyed eating here- it was just not sop good, and for what it was, it was pretty pricy. Cheaper than the Ahwahnee by BOATloads, but ick. Anyway, when we were finished, we had a big decision to make. Was it worth it to go on the 4 or so hour tour up to Glacier point to see the stars? Because, i know we were down in the Valley, but this is how the sky looked where we were-



Add to that the fact the Timmy was surprisingly NOT in the best mood, and well, he was for SURE out.

We went up to the tour desk in the lodge at the Falls. Where the employee was of little or no help. We asked if it would be cloudy/hazy/smokey up there? Did he have any reports? Was there any info available AT ALL??? His reply was a resounding maybe, maybe not, hard for me to tell from back here behind this desk and I for SURE am not making any more effort for you than that.

Thanks so much for that useless bit of info there, Joe Facts. We'll take a refund sil vous plait.

$164 in cold cash back on our credit card, we jumped back on the shuttle to the Ahwahnee where Timmy could go lie down. Tyler stayed with him and they watched some TV or played computer games- Pods and I went for an evening stroll-



This is looking northwest, towards where the fire was-





Lots of families were out front on the back lawn enjoying themselves-



Looking out towards Half Dome-



It did make for some interesting skies, but I can honestly say that while we were in Yosemite, I did not have the pleasure of viewing even one star, much less a sky completely filled with them. sigh...







It was also a full moon tonight- but I think those activities were cancelled. Usually the full moon lights up the Valley- so much so, that they have a full moon bike ride (gee, do ya think I should have asked Tim to go? LOL!).



Smoky or not, still it was magnificent.







We grabbed a table, and Pods had-



And I had another-



And it was awfully good!



We decided to make our second drink a much cheaper one, and on the way -



Back in a few-

 

[podsnel]

Back in room



the shower was still in disrepair. But we had gotten a phone call- there was a person from maintenance coming to fix the handle, and for all of our vast inconvenience (I mean- just kidding- it was not VAST at all, lol) it would be the honor of the Ahwahnee to treat us to breakfast in the morning in the Dining Room.

WOW! I will take a broken handle ANY day for that awesome comp!

I explained that we were planning on checking out in the morning and trying to get a semi-early start out, so would it be ok to have room service, instead?

Absolutely, please. It would be the Ahwahnee's pleasure.

I love the Ahwahnee. LOVE the Ahwahnee. This is how it is DONE!

So the guy came up, apologized profusely to us, and fixed the handle.

Such a bother, huh?

Pods and I grabbed a glass of wine from the room, and went back outside-



And watched the fiery sky-









And I SWEAR I saw a bear climb up into a tree- but to this day Pods claims it was the El Capitini seeing the bear and not anyone else.





We were laying around in a couple of adirondack chairs, drinking our wine, enjoying the peaceful valley. It was such a nice night.





Eventually we called it a night, and headed back through the lobby. This is the Christmas Ornament I purchased- well, this is what it looks like!



And this is a very bad pic of the elevator lobby's fireplace- the Basket-Swirl-Mural above it was painted by Jeanette Dyer Spencer.



I got some packing done and, as per usual on this vacation, hit the sack like a ton of bricks.

Tomorrow- Glacier point AND some migty Giant Sequoias in the Mariposa Grove....

 

[KristiMc]

What a relaxing way to spend your evening!

 

[rentayenta]

No- maybe peeing. I'm not sure.

Sorry I interrupted the report for deer poop.


That sunset is stunning. Just wow. . And what a gorgeous resort all lit up. Perfect evening in my opinion.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

I could def deal with Glamping, but could NOT EVER deal with driving an RV into Yosemite on the 120- we remarked on our drive in how brave and crazy those people were- the RVs barely fit the road!

Oh Lord! I wouldn't want to do that drive pulling a trailer either! There are other beautiful places that don't involve that drive Your comments reminded me of the old Lucy movie where they were on their honeymoon pulling the "Long, Long Trailer" and she was collecting and hiding rocks in the cabinets from every stop. Almost fell off the mountain trailer first!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LINOoidixfU#t=151

Hi there! No, we did not make it to the museum this time- if the boys had gone to a baseball game my plan was to go there then, but they ended up going to see the Angels in LA instead (the Giants were out of own when we visited SF). More reasons to return! Was it amazing?? I would probably cry the whole way through...

It is amazing! Jim and I sat and cried together at the end.

LOL! I was good with going up- we had been going up the whole time! The Mist Trail is just up up up- I was afraid because there was no rail- I really should have gone.




OMG! This made me laugh so hard, and I will say why in a second, but are you ok? I sure hope so! So here is what your misfortune reminded me of- My FIL was a character- he was a great, great man, an awesome Dad (it is why Pods and his brothers are great dads, too- because they learned from the best). Anyway, it reminded me of him because he fell in the attic when he was up there fixing something, and fell right THROUGH THE CEILING AND LANDED IN A RECLINER!!!! Hand to God, it is true. Not a scratch on him. It was SO KARL. Really miss that man-

Love that story!

He was such a funny funny guy, my FIL! Really miss him.

I climbed up the pyramid at Tulum- up was easy- but down! Holy CRAP!!!! I sat on every step- it was terrifying!!!!!!!!! I kept thinking about all those virgin sacrifices at the top they would just throw down.... I kept thinkin they had it easy because they only had to climb up, lol. Chichen Itza is a much bigger pyramid- after Tulum I knew that no way would I ever go up that one! You're a smart girl!

Not sure you can climb either anymore, but there is another one that allows it, I think. Just in case you have any regrets not going in the past, lol.

Yikes! I was thinking I would like to do that pyramid climb some day- never thinking about getting down! I am terrible on stairs - I agree - good thing you didn't do the climb.

 

[MAGICFOR2]

Nice update again! Thanks for the tour Were those deer real or stuffed? I thought, "funny taxidermy pose" then wondered if they were real. Too bad Timmy wasn't making it - bad dinner, lost tour, but the night looks like it was salvaged in a great way! AND FWIW I believe you about the bear!

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Your pictures are stunning! I can only imagine what it was like in person.

Thanks so much for the updates!

 

[pillow]

Hey- I saw a Living Social deal in Vancouver that made me think of you- it was to go sturgeon fishing- I know it's early and would expire before next summer, but maybe you want to watch for it-

Thanks for thinking of me! I'm not much of a fisherman . . . BUT I think I will sign up for the Vancouver Living Social deals - good idea. Maybe I'll find one for whale watching.

 

[pillow]

RIC to SFO = $439! I KNOW I have a problem. But to get it fixed, I would need therapy, which costs money, which means fewer trips. So, I will remain certifiable!

Note to self for my eventual Ahwahnee trip: Break faucet handle for free food.

Jodie

 

[eandesmom]

Oh I am sad you turned around but I totally totally get it! And you know what, going down is harder on the quads for sure and depending on the stairs, far scarier!

Sad that Timmy was sick. Boy do I know EXACTLY what you mean by the "best of" and then the opposite.

LOVE love love the stained glass. Wow. Cancelling the tour was definitely the right call, sounds like a lovely evening and just what everyone needed. Guess you'll have to go back to see the stars!

No shortage of salmon themed

ANYTHING

in Alaska. Including Plates. Actually there was a neat art gallery in Ketchikan that had some if I recall....better than the same touristy stuff we saw everywhere....

 

[scottny]

Too bad he was not feeling well.
Okay after watching the video, I would NOT climb it. LOl
Too bad you didn’t walk up.
Nice pics.
The tour looked really nice.
Ooh nice plates.
That tree trunk is pretty impressive.
What a lovely chat with her.
Too bad you had to cancel the stargazing part. A little info would have been helpful form him.
Nice they comped you breakfast for the shower handle.
The sky looked so pretty.
Great updates and pics.