Yosemite and San Francisco

Monday 14th September 2009...

Arose to a (for the first time in ages) chilly morning - jackets were needed as the temps dropped down into single figures!!...packed up and said goodbye to the legendary Chaos (who was very sad due to his sister "Mayhem" dying shortly before) and the lovely Sherry and set out for Yosemite...what a beautiful park!...no wildlife until Jim and Jon stopped by a steep gully and saw two fawn coloured deer at the bottom...but the mountains and forests were wonderful, if somewhat full of hikers and ramblers...great place for fishing, camping and walking around here and there were still lots of tourists about...Also there was evidence of a few forest fires still about, one of which must have been quite close to the road as we could smell and see the remnants of smoke about and also see the firefighters trucks parked in the clearings...a very great danger in California at the moment...

Out the other side of Yosemite and a fairly short 170 odd miles to San Francisco, which we covered fairly quickly and watched as the temperature got higher and the grasses lighter and drier...also the fruit trees - oh how many fruit trees!! - peaches and almonds from what we could see...wonderful abundance...stopped off at a diner in Oakdale for a quick lunch and then carried on....

And then our first view of San Francisco - it's a BIG city - quite a Metropolis with many suburbs...it reminded Carol of Vancouver a bit...big city, water and bridges - just her sort of place...Arrived at the Fairmont Heritage Place in Ghirardelli Square and checked in to our fabulous room - well 2 bedroomed apartment with absolutely every mod con, including a washer/dryer!!...We also have a wonderful Terrace outside our front door, on which the hotel were throwing a complimentary Cheese and Wine Party for all guests to compensate for a private function being held in the square below and making it out of bounds...we had a glass or two of wine then got ready for our dinner out at the fish restaurant across the square...very nice too...

After dinner, we walked back to the Cheese and Wine party which was still going on, where Jim and Jon had another drink, whilst Carol went into our room...early night for Jim who was tired after the long drive, Carol had a chat on the phone to a friend and Jon found an Irish Bar down the road and met up with some nice people and generally had a great time...