Coit Tower

After Zach finished his first day at the VMware conference, we ventured up to the northern part of the city to check out Coit Tower (see map below), but not before eating some tasty Italian food.







After dinner we continued north. As we walked, the sidewalks got steeper and steeper...and steeper (a stellar opportunity to walk off all those carbs), until we finally got to the stairs that led to the tower.




Then...more walking (or in this case, stair climbing) until we finally reached the top where we experienced the most amazing 360 degree view of San Francisco. We stayed up there for over an hour photographing every angle of the tower and it's homage to Christopher Columbus (the statue). After a while, I got really cold so I went inside the base of the tower where I learned about Lillie Hitchcock Coit - the tower's namesake - and her dynamic, often eccentric, life. I was also able to view the vibrantly colored murals painted along the circular walls of the first floor.

















Eventually, I warmed up, so I headed back outside to watch the sun set with Zach. The beauty of a digital camera is you can take a hundred photos of the same thing and not feel one bit guilty for wasting film. And that's exactly what Zach and I did; capturing picture after picture of essentially the same thing. Adjusting the f-stop on our cameras or changing the shutter speed until the sun finely dipped below the horizon.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art

On Monday, while Zach was at the VMware conference, I went to the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art where I was able to catch two great special exhibits: Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams: Natural Affinities and Richard Avedon: Photographs 1946-2004. Both were fantastic. The museum architecture reminds me of the Cheshire Cat in Alice in Wonderland. I loved it.

Yosemite to Mariposa

After our day in Yosemite we headed to the River Rock Inn in Mariposa (technically it was a motel - supposedly the oldest one in town). Our room was very cute, albeit dark, with a white rabbit planter outside the door (yaaa rabbits!). That evening we enjoyed a lovely dinner at Savourys - a local restaurant recommended by the Inn owner. The next morning we had home-made pastries and breads along with a bountiful fruit salad out on the back patio. After breakfast I had a lovely chat with the proprietor. Interestingly, her grandmother was born in PA and when she told me she was heading to Italy for the next three months to visit family, I reminisced about the college trip I had taken there. She asked if I had gone to the town of Lucca. I had! Small world.

Sunday morning we decided not to spend a second day in Yosemite because of the fire. Accessing Yosemite Village (our planned destination for day two in the national park) would have required us to drive out of our way to get around the section of closed road. Instead we took a leisurely drive back to San Francisco and stopped at the Dunneville Cafe and Market for some of the best tri-tip sandwiches in the area.

Modesto to Yosemite

After a lovely breakfast at the Marriott (which we had to pay for - sigh), we headed on to Yosemite National Park. Along the way we found the most AMAZING road we've ever driven. At this point, Zach and I lamented not having a Lamborghini Murcielago (we've been watching too much "Top Gear"). When I say "amazing," think driving-through-the-Alps-amazing! This road was incredible! The pictures don't do it justice. Alas, we only had our trusty little Toyota Matrix, but it proved to be rather peppy - not too bad overall.







Once we got to Yosemite we took Tioga Pass Road (Rt.120) across the park (Dad, you'll be happy to hear they let us drive the whole way in our car.), stopping at several spots along the way (see map) until we finally made it to Tuolomne Meadows. There we walked along some trails to Soda Springs where we were able to sample some naturally carbonated water bubbling up from the earth.











Big Oak Flat Road was closed from Crane Flat down into Yosemite Valley because of a managed forest fire that got out of control. Thankfully I had read about this while were were waiting in the airport in Philly, so we planned to just take Tioga Pass Road (Rt.120) across the park. There was enough smoke to make everything look hazy even as we headed away from the fire toward Tuolomne Meadows.

I just went to their website again on Thursday morning (9/3) and now Tioga Road is closed from Crane Flat to White Wolf. Looks like we made it just in time.

Regardless of the fire, Yosemite was still a wonder to behold. Peaceful and immense with it's massive Redwoods and huge rock faces. We stopped at Olmsted Point (B) (see map above) and walked the .2 mile trail to catch a view of Tenaya Canyon. Then back in the car and on to Tenaya Lake (C) where we waded up to our knees before I lost most of the feeling in my lower extremities (glacier-fed lakes are cold!). We really wished we had had kayaks so we could have explored the lake further. Back in the car again and on to Tuolumne Meadows (D) where we got a quick bite to eat and then spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the meadows (and Soda Springs as mentioned before) via trails in the area.












After leaving Yosemite, we met up with more fabulous road with some incredible views of the valley below. Next time we're planning to camp in the park for several days. When it isn't on fire, of course.

San Francisco to Modesto

We arrived in San Francisco mid-afternoon, picked up our rental car at Hertz (thanks to AAA it only cost 28 bucks!) and headed to Modesto. Along the way we found a fun road winding up into the hills following along small houses tucked away from the hustle and bustle of life below. Unfortunately the road was blocked after only a few miles, so we had to turn back and drive the main roads to Modesto. We found a fantastic little Thai restaurant called SalaThai, where I tried sweetened coconut milk from an actual coconut and Zach tried some Thai beer (of course). Once we checked into the hotel, a dip in the pool and a soak in the hot tub and then we were off to bed - long day and maybe a bit of jet lag.