We were so happy to get to see this little slugger play two t-ball games!
We've been in California a little over two weeks and the fun has been so nonstop that I haven't had time to put together a blog. We now have two special guests with us for a week. That's for the next blog. I've got some catching up to do before getting into those adventures.
Much of the time the first two weeks was spent enjoying time with Sarah, Joey, James and Emma Joy. After spending the first night near the Oakland Airport, we picked up the rental car and moved to a hotel near Sarah's house. The hotel had a swimming pool that we took advantage of everyday. Due to covid protocols (California is moving VERY slowly on reopening) we were limited to using the pool for one hour a day. On a positive note, during that hour we had the entire pool to ourselves. James loves the water and is becoming quite comfortable swimming and doing cannonballs to splash water on MiMi and Pop. Emma likes the water pretty good as long as she is being held by her mom or dad. She likes Beth and I pretty well as long as we remain "socially distant".
In addition to "family time" we enjoyed visiting Mount Tamalpais State Park. Mount Tam as it is commonly referred to is a 25,000 acre park in Marin County, just a few miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge. The peak of Mount Tam is 2,571 feet above sea level. Not massively high, but high enough to stand out as you drive along Highway 101.
There are miles and miles of trails of varying degrees of difficulty in and around the state park. We took Sarah's recommendation of the Verna Dunshee Trail which is a flat, relatively short trail that goes completely around the east peak of of the mountain. The beauty of this trail is that since it is located just a few hundred feet below the summit of the east peak, it offers great views of San Francisco, Marin County and much of the north bay area as you make your way around it. Once we completed this loop trail we took on the short but much steeper trail to the fire tower lookout which is at the summit. From the top of the Fire Tower Lookout we again had great 360 degree views of the surrounding area plus the satisfaction of knowing we had made it to the top.
After spending seven nights at the hotel we moved to our rental home in Sonoma which is where we will be staying until we return to Florida on June 26. The home is great for our needs and we really enjoy the back patio where we are entertained daily by a constant stream of hummingbirds stopping by to enjoy a little nectar from the feeder.
James enjoyed spending one night with us and after playing so hard at the Sonoma Plaza playground slept several hours past his normal "wake up time", sleeping all the way to 8:30! Beth and I enjoyed babysitting Emma Joy one morning although we don't think she enjoyed it too much. She was quite vocal about it for the first hour before finally slowly resigning herself that she was going to be stuck with us for a while. She was happy to see her mom come to her rescue around noon and we were quite pleased that none of the neighbors had called child protective services to report a child that sounded in distress.
We've spent quite a bit of time simply enjoying Sonoma, hanging around the plaza area, walking the Sonoma Trail and sampling a bit of fermented grape juice that makes this area such a popular destination.
Not being ones to pass up an opportunity to visit a national park we did venture out very early one morning for Yosemite National Park, which is located about three hours southeast of Sonoma. After checking several times, the park either opened up some additional accommodations or there was a cancellation so we were able to book a rustic cabin (two beds, a chair, small chest of drawers, night stand, light and a shared bathroom/shower) for one night. In spite of it not exactly being the Ritz Carlton, the bed was comfortable, the shower/bathrooms were clean and only about 20 yards away. Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night wasn't too bad, just a little chilly and we didn't encounter any bears along the way.
Yosemite is over 1,200 square miles in size and is the fifth most visited of the 62 national parks. If you're keeping score the top five are: Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Rocky Mountain, Zion and Yosemite. While the park was somewhat crowded, thanks to us going mid-week and summer not quite being in full swing, it was very manageable. It wasn't our first visit to Yosemite, we had been there way back early in our marriage. Beth had visited the park a little more recently on one of her famous "Old Lady Trips" with her mom and two sisters.
In addition to miles and miles of trails and wildlife, it is known for it's sheer granite cliffs and spectacular waterfalls (they are snow fed so they dry up by mid-summer). The most famous of the numerous granite features of the park is El Capitan, which from base to summit measures over 3,000 feet. Men and women with incredible strength and endurance (but who in my opinion may have questionable mental fitness) can be seen hanging off the cliff with only a rope separating them from catastrophe. While it is possible for some climbers to make the climb in one day, many take several days, meaning they spend the night suspended almost literally in mid-air a couple of thousand feet off the side of a cliff. Beth and I enjoyed visiting with a very nice young lady who works for the national park service and is also an avid climber. She has scaled El Capitan numerous times and on one climb spent eight consecutive nights snuggled up against the cliff. She also told us that the oldest person to summit El Capitan was an 81 year old gentleman. I guess I'd better get started training!
There are several recommendations we would have for anyone visiting Yosemite. They would include hiking to Mirror Lake (one mile each way on a mostly flat trail with an option of a paved multiuse path), Yosemite Village, finding a picnic spot along the Merced River, and the views from Tunnel View and Glacier Point. If at all possible, don't go in the summer when the falls are dried up and the crowds swell making the limited parking even more challenging.
Yosemite isn't the easiest national park to reach, but it's certainly worth the effort. We loved our visit and hope to make it back. I'll keep everyone posted on when I make my attempt to climb El Capitan..............that should make for quite a blog!
