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It’s not Saturday but hey I’m here now so let’s recap my trip…and some cool stuff I found on CD Saturday.

On Friday we left around 4am to bypass the LA Traffic and hopefully get to the hotel in the town of Oakhurst, which is 14 miles outside the gates of Yosemite. The trip was smooth and there was still a bunch of folks on the freeway. On the way there I spot this

 

For such small fruit their facility is massive. An hour later we stop at a McDonalds/Truck Stop to stretch, grab some food, and be disgusted by the truck stop. Ok why are truck stops so dirty and sticky? While feeling gross after leaving the bathroom and browsing the random gifts in the shop section of the Truck Stop I spot this

 

I want to know the guy who’s driving through Central California, leaves the disgusting bathroom and says “You know I do need a miniature Roman Legion helmet.” The McDonalds was on another level of crazy & dirty. The floor was sticky, and the employees full on had an argument while helping their customers. We watched as a customer said they were one McMuffin short. The cashier said we’re short, the cook said I made 9, and the cashier proceeded to take each one out of the bag. Some back and forth and finally the cook threw another into the microwave. This spot truly deserved the 1.5 star rating on Google.

Maybe two hours later we hit the hotel. The second room wasn’t available yet so we dumped our stuff into the one that was ready and then made our way to the park. Getting to Yosemite’s entrance was short, getting to the valley floor was another 40 minute drive through roads that hugged the side of the mountain. You eventually go through a mountain tunnel and you’re greeted with this view

 

Here’s a better view

 

Since it was around noon on Friday there really wasn’t a crowd. We spent time here going full tourist, and then it was off to Bridalveil Falls. Parking was a little funky here because people were waiting for spots at the opening of the U shaped lot while the other side had open spaces. I swear the falls sound like a train with its rumble but amazing.

 

Oh you get wet and I didn’t spend much time at the base of the falls because of this. We roamed around this area for a bit just absorbing the surroundings and watching some dumb tourists

 

I was waiting for this to happen

 

After this fun event we hopped back into the car made a couple of stops here and there on the valley floor and planned out what we were going to do the next day. After that it was the trek back to the entrance of the park and back to the hotel. While heading out we ran into some traffic and while were waiting to go I spot this while sitting in the car

 

It’s a freaking bear! As some folks walk by we mention that there’s a bear and instead of doing the normal thing and walking the other way they stop to take pictures. My window was firmly rolled up at this point. After a solid nap in the car we’re back at the hotel. While waiting for the local eatery to open we hit up a store next to it and I found some cool vintage NFL pins for a buck.

The next day we hit the same eatery but now they’re in breakfast buffet mode which is free to hotel guests because it’s on property. Think College Commons breakfast buffet. If you add the biscuits and gravy gravy to the eggs they make them amazing. After this we hit the local grocery store to buy some ice for the ice chest, and a mini Starbucks run. The cashier told us to visit Vernal Falls, whipped out her phone to show us the video and then told us that it was a good 3 hour hike. That sold us on not doing this hike but Elaine, you are freaking awesome and I dug the energy! The goal was to park catch the free shuttle (think city bus) and hit Mirror Lake, another Waterfall, and then head out.

Mirror Lake was stop 17 on a 20 stop route and we parked at stop 4. The ride was quick, the bus got packed real fast but we were all heading to the same point. The hike to the lake was a mile but it was flat. We took our time to stop take pictures, snack, look around, and wonder if the bears were waiting. The lake was below Half Dome and there was a guy sitting by the water relaxing and telling us that on the other side is where people can climb and he was there the day before. Here are a couple of pics

 

 

The last one was on the side of Half Dome. It looks like an angel.

We hopped on the bus to the falls that were close to our parking spot and as we were rolling a truck decided to all of a sudden stop in front of us to let someone out. Yeah full bus + sudden stop is never good and one guy hit his head. He got off on the next stop where an employee was waiting for him and as the bus was leaving park paramedics zoomed by. They are quick! Anyways we went to our last stop which was a waterfall that is two parts, the top part you have to hike to and the other one is where we went.

 

Now 99% of the people here are friendly, we all want to enjoy the scenery but there are some tourists that are rude. As I was standing taking a pic, guy walks in front of me and starts to take pictures. No excuse me/I’m sorry/nada. I found a taller rock to stand on and proceeded to take more pictures. We decided to find a nice log under a tree to eat our prepackaged sandwiches and just enjoyed the views. After this it was one more ride on the bus to the car where we continued snacking, and relaxing before we called it a day.

 

A view of inside the tunnel going towards the entrance of the park

 

The random golf course inside the park.

 

Before we left Yosemite we hit the portion of the park where the there is a tree with a walkway cut through it. To get to this point it was a freaking hike, like uphill, and the one mile we were told was a lie. I was exhausted by the time I got to the top. I was ready for a nap.

 

After the Yosemite trip we stopped by Bass Lake to see what was going on before we went back to check out a couple of random stores and then back to the hotel and it’s restaurant.

 

That was my trip. It was fun filled time to enjoy nature, take tons of pictures, and just relax.

 

On Saturday when I was supposed to write this blog I actually went to my usual stomping grounds and now one of my thrift stores shifted their pricing to CDs 4 for a $1. I spent a total of $12 and I found this

 

The Audiobook was $2. I might head out tomorrow and see if anything new was added to the two thrift stores that sell CDs for .25. 

In other news there have been earthquakes going on and where I live we felt one of them. It was a rolling quake that wasn’t too bad. I do have some friends that live in the area where the earthquakes had more power and they seem fine. 

 

That’s all for now, more later!

-Chris