We were a ragged, exhausted, but happy bunch when we pulled up in front of our home at 3:45 am today. We spilled out of the minivan with the usual cascade of empty water bottles, wrappers, and drawings. Our half asleep children stumbled up to their beds kicking off their shoes on the way. We deposited our ridiculous amount of luggage on the living room floor (something like 8 checked items and a bunch of carry-ons) and crawled gratefully to bed.
It was an epic trip for us. Fantastic in every way. We covered some 1500 miles up and down the state of California, over mountains and through deserts, in our rented minivan. From Vegas to Yosemite to San Fran, and back through the central valley, then the Mojave desert to Vegas. We saw wonderful friends, and beautiful places, and barren places, and gained a greater appreciation for the enormity and variety of our country.
Lake Tenaya. We stopped briefly here after entering Yosemite national park. We'd just finished a five hour flight and seven hour drive, with another two to go inside the park.
Tunnel view vista of Yosemite valley. We're about half an hour from our rental house at this point and it's midnight east coast time, so we're getting pretty tired!
Well rested the next morning we set off for our first hike- sentinel dome. We reach the trailhead by 7:30 am because we're still on east coast time. This was very fortunate, although we didn't realize it at the time. We were the second car in the lot, but later that morning there would be nowhere left to park. We only saw a few other people on the trail early, and they were all east coasters too.
Hiking up the last portion to the summit.
We made it!
Luca and I with the valley below us.
Me with Yosemite falls in background.
Later that afternoon we find a spot on the merced river in the valley and we all wade in the cold water. It is such a relief from the 100° heat.
We are in awe of the great towering granite cliffs, and take lots of pics trying to capture what we see, but find that the view finder isn't large enough to take it all in.
The next day one of Jer's old Cornell cronies joins us with his family. We become a group of four adults with ten kids, which may sound chaotic, but was actually quite pleasant. The kids sort of paired off and got along splendidly. We decided to trek off the beaten path to a less publicized spot, a swimming hole, at the wawona swinging bridge.
There was a spot deep enough to dive into that cold mountain water. That was the most refreshed I've ever felt. So great I was almost giddy.
Jer and Enoch hadn't seen each other in 13 years. Turns out they're still buds.
Luca and Rivka carved their names in a piece of wood and Luca carried it with him for the rest of the trip.
James and Hosanna were buddies too, and loved going rock hopping in the river.
Libby climbing out of her swimming hole.
A common sight. Jer performs a finger sweep to retrieve some rock, stick, or leaf that Tommy continually tries to eat.
Mariposa grove was our next stop. These ancient giants with their spongy orange bark looked like something from a different planet. These must have been the trees giving shade to the dinosaurs!
All of the kids but tommy.
Then we were off to San Francisco. We stopped to see the golden gate bridge and a glimpse of the pacific ocean.
Then to Laura's wedding at china camp state park. Laura is one of my dearest friends from before I can remember. Her wedding took place in a picturesque meadow with live music and white parasols and a falafal food truck! The whole event was perfectly Laura and just how I would have imagined it to be. Classy, artsy, hip, and fun. Their first dance was a choreographed and well rehearsed number to a flight of the concords song. So awesome.
Laura and me.
kids with their parasols.
Then we started our return to vegas. We drove through endless fields of fruit trees in the central valley, sparking conversations on Steinbeck novels, and irrigation, and trains.
And then many hours that looked like this. Before rolling into the absurd glitzy tackiness that is Vegas.
We must have looked haggard as we finally drug all our bags through the flashing lobby of the Cosmopolitan. I took James to the restroom while Jer checked us in. James said the restroom was the fanciest one he ever saw and that he might pretend to have to go to the bathroom; just to go in there again.
When we got back to Jer in the lobby he informed us that we'd been upgraded to a suite that usually goes for $2000 a night. It had 2 floors and it's own pool! Jer concluded that we looked frumpy and out of place and they were probably trying to figure out how to get us to spend as much time as possible in our room.
We did venture out to the fountains at the Bellagio, and we all loved watching the water shoot 100 feet up into the desert night. After walking a while we realized we were hardly the wierdest sight roaming the halls of the hotel. We hit the pool the next morning, stuffed ourselves at the wicked spoon and then caught the red eye home to Maryland. The rain was waiting to welcome us home.
