Looking back at our trip (5)

Sunday looked promising in Mariposa, clear blue skies. But we knew we had an hour's journey back up into the mountains to Yosemite - it might still be raining there! Luckily we had great weather all day. We decided we'd do a video of our day in Yosemite so Dan shot the trip back up the Merced valley including the "geological exhibit" (landslide) about halfway up.
With perfect weather Yosemite looked even better. We had great views of El Capitan, Yosemite Falls (above), Half Dome and Bridalveil Falls from the valley floor.



From Glacier Point the view was even grander (above). The view to Half Dome, Nevada Falls and Vernal Falls was crystal clear and we also had good views of Clouds Rest and Yosemite Falls.


Back in the valley we took a few more shots of El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls then headed back to Mariposa for another pizza

Looking back at our trip (4)

Saturday was quieter in San Francisco so we had an early breakfast in Johnny Rockets then left for Yosemite. We crossed the bay bridge to Oakland, but we were on the lower level so the view was not good. We stopped at the Raiders stadium (above) in Oakland for a few snaps and then back on the bumpiest freeway in California IS 880. After that it was a steady drive across the central valley and into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada. We pretty much kept on all the way to Yosemite and it started raining just as we got there.



We had a quick look around in the valley floor, but we could see the cloud closing in so we headed to Glacier Point before it disappeared into the mist. We had time for a quick look around and took some shots of Half Dome in the clouds. Then the clouds really closed in, it started to rain in earnest so we headed back to the valley floor. On the way back down the visibility was zero in places - scary since we saw some of the drops on the way up! It was the poor weather that clinched the "stay another day in Yosemite" option. So we headed off to Mariposa, a good hour drive, for the night. Nice pizza restaurant in Mariposa - good grub!

Looking back at our trip (3)

We spent Friday in San Francisco. We planned to have an early breakfast in Johnny Rockets (fondly remembered from our Dublin trips), but it was packed out so we had a stroll along the waterfront, saw some brave souls swimming in the bay, and took a few photos. This one shows Hyde street, which runs from Hyde Street Pier up to Russian Hill


Then we A quick visit to the airport to change the car and an even quicker visit to Candlestick Park and then over the Golden Gate bridge to take some photos. We stopped at the eastern view point just over the bridge on the north side of the bay. The view was good, but there were lots of people in the way of a good photo! Dan spotted a better "Vista Point" on the other side of the highway, so we drove north towards Sausalito then turned off and headed back. The western vista point is at a higher elevation and was much quieter. We had some great views of the bridge and San Francisco.



After returning across the bridge we made our way out to the Pacific coast at Lands End (Point Lobos). We had a walk around and took some photos - did I already say that?!

Looking back at our trip (2)

We really enjoyed the drive up the coast at Big Sur. The road was reasonably quiet - a change from LA! We had the top down all day and with the sun shining it was a great way to take in the views.

We arrived at Pebble Beach about lunch time and then did 17 mile drive to Monterey. I think it would be worth an overnight stop at Monterey if we did this again, but we had to press on to San Francisco so we didn't spend much time here.

Looking back at our trip (1)

Ok, maybe I was a bit harsh on LA! It was just getting off a 11 hr flight then having to wait another 2 hrs before thay let me in. The bit we saw (Manhattan Beach) was straight off Baywatch and the area around the beach looked very nice.

Santa Barbara is somewhere we'd go back for a longer look. Weather was a bit off when we were there. And it was the first day on the road so we weren't sure how long we could stay. Lots of pelicans though!

Gaviota beach is where we stopped for a dip in the ocean. Huge railway bridge runs right across the small cove. A loco, heading north, pulling panoramic coaches trundled over the bridge just after we pulled into the car park

Home at last

We're back in blighty! A bit of a marathon journey coming home, we left Vegas at 9 am on Thursday and drove back to LA. Stopped at San Bernadino for a bit of lunch and then got to LA about 2 pm. We were at the airport early & hoped to get the 5:25pm flight back to London, but they couldn't guarantee us a place and we could only get a standby. With both flights full we decided to wait or for our flight - do some shopping in duty free. No chance- nothing for sale worth having. Cheaper booze in Tesco & ASDA and the only other things for sale were perfume & tobacco. LA airport is the pits!

Decent flight back though and we're looking forward to the next one!


See again - Yosemite, Big Sur & San Francisco

Other places we'd like to see - Grand Canyon South, Meteor Crater, Canyons in Utah......

Probably not - Death Valley - unless it's on the route.

No thanks - Las Vegas

Not even if you paid me - Los Angeles

On our way home

Our last night in Vegas. We plan to go to Caesar's Palace, maybe Tom will be there! A bit of shopping maybe if I can drag Dan around! Should be easy, I've been taking lessons from an expert shopper for the best part of 38 years!!

Update: Not our type of shops I'm afraid - all designer outlets - just like an indoor McArthur Glen. And Tom wasn't playing - Bette Midler instead - not quite the same although I bet she belts out a good Delilah if she feels like.

Then we're off back to LA tomorrow morning for our flight home.

We take off at 9:15pm Thursday and land at 3:30pm on Friday - maybe we're going the long way around?!