Catch up

Sadly our California holiday came to an end, but that meant our Houston Adventure was going to begin. The Days Inn near the San Francisco airport had the most comfortable beds of all the accommodation we stayed in. It was a shame we had to get up at an early hour to catch our flight.

I had been concerned about getting the car back through the maze of roads into the airport. I need not have worried, Google maps was excellent leading to a stress free drop and off check in for our flight.

Our flight left at 11am and we were able to spend a bit over an hour in the United Lounge as we waited. These lounges are spartan compared to Air New Zealand Koru lounges. Because it is hard to reserve seats from New Zealand we ended up in the very last row. The flight was a bit over four hours and with a two hour time change meant we were due around 5pm. Thunder storms near Houston meant we landed around 5-30pm. We had only just landed when they closed the airport because of thunder storms, which meant the luggage could not be unloaded. The delay was around an hour and a half.

Houston from the top floor of the Hilton Hotel

I had booked a rental car from Enterprise. What a fantastic check in experience, it was very quick and straight forward. The heavy rain had stopped and as it was now later it was a reasonably easy journey to the centre of Houston and the Hilton which would be our base for the next 11 nights. It was almost 8pm by the time we got to our room. 

For dinner we went to the local supermarket and got a wrap and two sides which we ate in the cafe part of the store. Then to bed. It had been a tiring day with the delays

Crossing the Golden Gate Bridge

Vacaville is about an hour from San Francisco so we decided to spend at least some of the day in the city. We began with the best Motel breakfast so far. The make your own waffles could be covered in strawberries or blue berries or a whole lot of other less healthy options. They were yummy.

We had a relaxed start and spend some time in Walmart before we set off for SF. Yes we got a few bargains at Walmart. For our day in San Francisco we had decided we would drive over the bridge, so we drove around the top of the harbour and then onto the freeway which eventually crosses the bridge. To get a good view we drove up on to the Marin Headlands. This meant fighting for a parking space. The biggest difference was after a week of being hot we had to find jackets and jerseys to combat the cold. The fog was also doing its best to cover the bridge pylons. Still it was good to get a different view point. Then we drove across. Aimee took lots of photos while David concentrated on the traffic. We had to pay the toll on line later. Expensive at $7-50.

Golden Gate Bridge from Marin Headlands

Our next stop Lombard street, the world's most curved street. This was easy to get to you as the 101 goes along Lombard Street for a while. It was fun to drive down but hard to get a photo.

We then found a place to park. After the first 15 minutes it cost $3 for 15 minutes. Who would have a car in this city?

We caught the trolley car around the embarcadero almost all the way around to Union Square. These Street Cars are beautifully restored. We bought some rolls from Walgreens and found a seat in the sun in Union Square. Very pleasant. Then we explored Britex fabrics. This is an amazing four stories of all sorts of fabric. Nothing purchased today however.

In car park at Golden Gate Bridge

Back on a street car we went on a return journey as far as the ferry building. David and Aimee spend some time in the great bookshop there before we caught the trolley again back to our car. O the pain of paying the parking!!

On the way to our motel near the airport we went to the Painted Ladies. These are the brightly painted and beautifully restored houses featured in the opening credits of "Full House". There were lots of people there but we got a great car park. No charge for this one. Amazing how television turns an area into an attraction.

Google maps informed us it would take 30 minutes to get to the motel. This seemed impossible as for ages we were stuck in very slow jam packed roads. However it was right, the roads freed up and we covered 20+ miles as predicted.

We had dinner in the restaurant over the road. We had the Greek options. They were very good. This was our last night before going to Texas so quite a bit of time was spend packing our bags. Yes it did all fit, even with all the shopping. And a great finish to a great day, the bed at Days Inn was the most comfortable yet.

Painted Ladies

Lets go shopping

We slept better on our second night at Lake Tahoe even though the mattresses were old and very uncomfortable. We got away by 9am heading for Vacaville. Lake Tahoe is over 6000 feet so this meant a long time of going down. It would have been a great road to cycle. Traffic was light through the mountains, but once we got on the flat and closer to Sacramento then the number of lanes and the volume of cars and trucks increased. Through Sacramento itself it was very busy.

Interesting Sculptures Lake Tahoe

We were going to Vacaville as it is home to a very large outlet mall. We arrived about 11-15am and found ourselves parked close to the Gap Store. This proved to be a great place for bargain hunting. We spent almost an hour there and then went back again later in the afternoon.

For lunch we went to Taco Bell, bought three special meals and ended up with more than we could eat. It was just as good as we remembered. At around 4pm we were getting worn out. It was a very hot day when we were outside the stores. So we went and booked in to the Motel, a Best Western. It was just around the corner. It was good to rehydrate, cool down and rest our feet.

Pancake Stack at IHOP

For dinner we walked across the road to IHOP [International House of Pancakes]. Lynda and I had pancake stacks. Aimee was much more responsible with her order.

We headed back to the outlet mall after dinner and made a few more purchases. All i all it was a very successful day. David bought the cheapest pair of jeans in California at the Levi's shop $8.08.

A day at Lake Tahoe

After five busy days in National Parks today was a chance to slow down and catch up. Lynda and I didn't sleep all that well as the mattress was hard and uncomfortable. Still there was a bonus I was awake early and managed to complete four days of this blog and to deal with some work e-mails.

Breakfast is provided so around 8-30am we headed off for waffles and bagels. Simple but not bad to begin the day. We also had quite a bit of laundry to do, but were beaten to the key. The system here is to pay $5 an hour for the key and to be able to use the washer or dryer without having to find coins. Initially we thought we would wait for the key, but not knowing how long we might need to wait we searched for a coin laundry and google maps took us there.

Lakeside Beach, South Tahoe

Within an hour we had everything washed and dried and Lynda had done some shopping in a neighbouring store. We came back to the motel to drop of our now clean clothes and then drove around the corner to the beach. We get free access with our room, otherwise it was $5 each.

We found a seat and soaked up some sun, until at lunch time we used a table in the shade of a tree. In between we watched the activity on the lake and on the beach. Tahoe is a large lake, it is 72 miles around, is sounded by a ring of mountains on which there are several ski fields. The water is so clear that a white plate can be seen at 75 feet.

Lakeside Beach, South Tahoe

Just before 2pm we decided to go to another part of the lake and walk along the shore. As we thought parking was an issue. We got 30 minutes free at the marina and then discovered several car parks in a side street. So we got our walk and saw a bit more of the area. The California- Nevada State line runs through the middle of the town. The Casinos are on the Nevada side. Our motel is in California. The local TV from Nevada. I guess for some things it gets confusing.

On the way to the laundry we had seen Ross Dress for Less, by special request we spent an hour there. We discovered that on Tuesdays they have a special 10% discount for  Seniors. Those aged 55 and over. We didn't complain.

After a rest at the motel we went to Applebys, a wood fired grill restaurant. The food was very good. So ended a relaxing day - well almost because I finished this blog before bedtime.

South Lake Tahoe Casinos across the lake.

Take the High Road

Today we leave Yosemite by travelling through the park and exiting via the Tioga Pass, the highest pass in the Sierra's at 3050m above sea level. We were on the road a little after 8-30am and headed back towards Yosemite Valley, but then turned up the hill towards the Tioga Pass Road. We stopped at a couple of view points to look down the valley, with the sun behind us.

Our first real stop was the Tuolumne Grove, one of the three Sequoia groves in the park. It was just over a mile to walk down the hill, the temperature was just right for walking, but we only went about half way before returning to the car.

Alpine Lake

Soon we were driving between tall trees and large expanses of granite. We stopped briefly at a small lake to take photographs and drove on enjoying the view. As we drove we always watched, in vain, for a bear to walk out through the trees. It was a very beautiful road.

At Olmsted Point we stopped for the view back across to Half Dome and the top of Yosemite Valley. There was a large granite dome over the road and we climbed much of the way up for a better view. It was also interesting to see the trees which grew in the cracks in the granite. These are really hardy trees, and some very very old as these surfaces can be covered in snow up to 9 months of the year.

Half Dome

We had lunch on the shore of Tenya Lake just a few kilometres further on. It was a great place to stop. A bit further we stopped for Tuolumne Meadow and walked around the end of the Meadow. David climbed halfway up Pot Hole Dome which gave excellent views. Rain was threatening and we could hear thunder so we didn't hang around too long. It had rained at the Visitor Centre and shop a little further on. We didn't get rain until we were on our way out of the park. There was still some snow / ice on the mountains visible from Tioga Pass, but not much.

Meadow

We descended to between 5 and 6000 feet and joined the road heading north to Carson City and Reno. We went over a couple of passes, but mostly stayed at this elevation. Much of the countryside was dry and desert-like, but we also crossed several large plains with lots of green grass and happy cattle.

Just below Tioga Pass

As we approached Carson City we could see a road climbing the steep slope in front of us. This turned out to be the road to Lake Tahoe. Like most of the road we have been on this was an excellent road allowing is to go up a very significant mountain at almost 50 mph.

We had no trouble finding the motel and checking in. After a short rest we drove a couple of minutes to the Mall and shopping area to find some where for Dinner. We chose a Mexican Place and it was good food. After a brief wander around some of the shops we retired for the night.

Descending Tioga Pass

Half Dome. Zoom in and you can see the climbers

 

Wildlife

Trees on Granite slope

Yosemite Again

We slept soundly and in part because we didn’t need to pack up were on the road by 7-50am. We were in a long line of cars, in part because there were several buses ahead of us slowing the traffic. Still by 8-20am we were in the Bridal Falls carpark and walking to the base of the falls. This is the only waterfall which has any water in it as it is fed from a stream which drains an alpine meadow. Still it was a feeble flow, but much better than nothing.

Bridal Veil

There were still hardly any cars or people around so we got a really good carpark near a shuttle stop. Our objective was to walk to the mirror lake. The air was not too hot, the track was in the shade and it was almost flat. We discovered later that we did not take the shortest route, but it didn’t matter.

Mirror Lake

Initially we though that there was no water in the mirror lake, but fortunately there was a shallow pond left and this was long enough to get some great reflection photographs. As always however in such a grand landscape the camera is a poor recorder of immense cliffs which tower all around.

Ewe caught the shuttle from the bottom of the mirror lake track to the Yosemite Falls track. This is about 5km away. This water fall was dry, but the cliffs it falls down are immense and spectacular in their own right. It would be good to see it in spring in full flow however. We did see a deer eating in the river bed, oblivious to all the people walking by.

By now we had done all the easy walks, so we decided to go to a neighbouring part of the park, Hetch Hetchy. On the way we had lunch in shady picnic ground and took a brief walk to  take a close up look at El Capitaine, the huge mountain with vertical cliffs at the entrance to the valley. As hoped we saw four people rock climbing, they looked like ants on the face of the rock.

To get to Hetch Hetchy we travelled out of the park on the road to San Francisco and just after the gate bounced along a rural road for 7 miles before entering the park again. This part is by day permit so we were given a numbered card to hand back when we left. A fire had been through the area 3 0r 4 years ago and several hillsides had grasses growing under the dead remains of the pine forest. The dam at Hetch Hetchy provides 85% of San Francisco’s water supply. The landscape was much more desolate than Yosemite, it was clearly a lot drier and lots of rock was visible.

The stunning aspect of the dam was the water gushing out of a pipe at the bottom in a jet at least 3 feet across. This jut thundered into the cliff opposite and then flowed downstream to the next resivour. The two water falls near here had been dry for a few weeks, so we only walked far enough to get a better view of the mountains at the headwaters of the lake. They were impressive, especially when you consider that a third at least were hidden under the lake.

We made our way back to Yosemite late in the afternoon in time to get burgers again  before the Grill closed at 6pm. They were just as good as last night. By now there were not many people around and it was reasonably quiet. A big contrast with last night. After getting some supplies at the Supermarket we headed out of the village making a detour to the tunnel view to get some photographs with the evening sun behind us. This was one place where there were lots of people. It was worth it to get one last view of Yosemite.

Hetch Hetchy Dam

Lake at Hetch Hetchy

Rock Climbers El Capitaine

Yosemite Valley from Tunnel View

The journey back to the motel was uneventful. We did stop to fill up with petrol at the only fuel stop. As expected when you have a monopoly it cost a lot more than in the city.

Back at the motel a shower to wash off the dust of the day and watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics.

Yosemite

We were on the road by 8am. Even at that time there was a steady stream of cars heading to the park. By 8-30am we were at the Wawona Visitor centre and Historic Village. After wandering around we set off for the Yosemite side of the park. Our first destination Glacier Point. This is directly above Yosemite on the top of the cliffs [ 7000 ft] providing a panoramic view of the valley and  beyond. We were early enough that we didn’t have to wait for a car park. The cliffs and mountains are seriously impressive. A camera struggles to do it justice.

From Glacier Point

We took our time to have a good look and then made our way to the walk to Mono Meadow. It was about 1 km, but it was hot and it was downhill. These meadows are really pretty grass areas where it is wetter. We didn’t see any deer in this meadow, but we had seen one earlier when we stopped at an overlook to see the view.

From Glacier Point

The hard bit was walking up the hill. The drive to the valley was uneventful. The last piece is a 1 mile tunnel. One of the key photo spots is just on the other side of the tunnel. What a shambles as people tried to find car parks. We were fortunate to find a car park and got the photo we wanted and continued on our way. As it was lunch time we stopped at the first picnic area and had something to eat.

When we pulled back onto the main road it was a bumper to bumper traffic jam. We slowly made our way along the valley and eventually found a car park on the side of the road after another car pulled out. We began to walk to the Village along the river, it was made special by seeing a deer drinking just in front of us. After a kilometre or two we were feeling hot and tired and then discovered we could take the free shuttle to the village.

We enjoyed an ice cream, with hungry squirrels roaming around the tables. After deciding it was too hot to go on a longer walk we caught the shuttle again to the Yosemite Village and Visitor Centre. The displays explaining the geological history and the settlement from Native peoples through to today were very interesting. Behind the Visitor Centre there is an Native American Village and this weekend they were having a special gathering. This included some of the men in traditional dress performing a sacred dance in the long hut. We were pleased to discover something of their history and culture.

As we didn’t know what would be available at our accommodation we decide to eat before we left the park. Fortunately the Grill was still open and they made a great burger. Yes the squirrels were hanging around here too.

Half Dome

Half Dome and Merced River

It was still amazingly busy. There were people everywhere, the shuttles were jammed full and the road out clogged with cars crawling along. So at about 6-30pm we joined the slow moving line of cars. Fortunately there are three different routes out of Yosemite and we were soon moving at a reasonable pace. It took about 25 minutes to get to Cedar Lodge, which is quite a large complex in the middle of nowhere. And it was totally full.

A great day. We enjoyed every moment, but we were tired.