I loved Yosemite so much! The whole experience was magical. We had an amazing day hiking high in the wilderness (in NZ we would be in the 'bush' or 'mountains', here we are in the 'wilderness') It really does feel like bear country, and I really wished that we had seen one. Perhaps the sight of a bear is unlikely this time of year, so it now still sits on my 'to do' list in life! We saw so many squirrels (Matt counted over 100 on our hike - a great way to keep him distracted from the steep track ahead of him!) and the kids loved them! Also Stellars Jay birds. We made a camp fire and had marshmallows. We hiked, we oggled at the amazing 'wilderness' and we were only here for a few days, but we experienced the 'calling' of Yosemite.. please, can I come back!!! The park facilities were incredible - we loved our cabin experience, but there were loads of other options for people, from a hotel, to campgrounds. We brought lots of food for breakfast and lunches with us, but there were also lots of food options available as well. Pizza, Buffet, Mexican Cantina, Coffee shop etc. Showers we hot (hard to get out of them when the air outside is so cold) and great laundry facilities. Thank you Yosemite for the amazing experience!
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| Our campground at Yosemite |
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| Mirror Lake, Yosemite |
A long drive back to the coast to Monterey - amazing that not long after leaving the Yosemite National Park we were in dry grasslands - the sudden change of terrain was unexpected. We travelled through the valley between the mountains and the sea, the area that has a fantastic climate for growing produce. "Hola" - I purchased some cherries from a spanish speaking ("no no english") man at a roadside stall...must have been his rejects because they weren't a match on Cromwell cherries. But have I mentioned Californian Strawberries? SUBLIME!
We arrive in Monterey - the first capital of Spanish and then Mexican California and the west coasts most historic city. It's much smaller than I expected...which is a good thing since we need to drive around and find somewhere to stay. Yes! We see an information centre open and get great help from them. We find a motel around the corner, not far from tomorrows planned trip to the Monterey Aquarium. Order pizza delivery, that is so slow: it would have been quicker to go out for dinner! We're all pretty tired, and I must say, it's nice not to go to bed with 8 layers of clothes on! (I am not kidding about the 8 layers. Perhaps that's being conservative! Yosemite was an amazing experience but not a warm experience!)
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