Travel is a good thing. It expands your horizons, it’s good for the soul, and it’s just plain fun.
Usually my get-aways involve skiing. And as great as that is, believe it or not, once in a while it’s actually good to do something else — even if you are a Ski Diva. That’s why we decided to take a trip to San Francisco and Yosemite. That way we’d get both parts of the vacation spectrum: the urban hustle and bustle of one of the most beautiful cities in the country, and the majesty and serenity that is Yosemite.
So forgive me if I’m not writing much this week. Instead, I’ll share some pics from our trip. We just left San Francisco yesterday and arrived in Yosemite last night. Our hotel room overlooks Yosemite Falls. How can you beat that?
Here are some of the things we did in San Francisco:
Rode the cable cars:
Checked out Lombard Street, the most crooked street in America (so they say):
Biked over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito:
Saw the special exhibit on the Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors at the Asian Art Museum:
Ate a lot of great food (the SF restaurants are amazing!):
Then yesterday we visited Muir Woods to see the Redwoods….
And today we’re getting ready to explore Yosemite. This is the very famous El Capitan (which we’re not climbing):
As they say, travel is broadening, so here are a few the impressions I’ve had on so far:
• Califronia is DRY DRY DRY. This was most noticeable once we left the city and started driving inland to Yosemite. All the grass is brown and there are very few trees. A very different landscape from back east.
• Everything is so (relatively) NEW. No surprise there, but in the east it’s common to see buildings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. To me, this emphasizes how recently we’ve been in this part of the world.
• San Francisco is indeed beautiful, but you have to be in good shape to live there. Those hills — whew! We did a lot of walking, and I can’t imagine dealing with those if you’re elderly, out of shape, or infirm.
• There are loads of good restaurants in SF. This town is foodie heaven. I guess walking the hills help keep of the pounds.
• San Francisco’s bus service is great. Two dollars per ride, and your ticket is good for (I think) 90 minutes. We went everywhere, and it was easy, easy, easy.
• The BIG EARTH QUAKE did not hit while I biked over the Golden Gate Bridge. I was pretty sure it was waiting for me. One bullet dodged. 🙂
We have 3 days left, so lots to do. You’ll forgive me, then, if I sign off…..
