The City by the Bay

On Monday, July 25 we took Toby to a vet to get a Bordetella vaccination (required for all doggy day cares and kennels in California). Then we checked out a dog kennel recommended by the vet. It was a really nice place, but the next morning it was almost like leaving the kids at kindergarten the first day. We dropped her off at 8 AM and drove to San Francisco. We missed most of the early morning SF traffic and got to the Embarcadero about 10 AM. They have restored the Ferry Building and there were lots of different shops inside and a farmers market outside that we visited while we waited for the tour that began at 11:15. The tour started with a ferry ride across the bay to Sausalito. We had a great lunch and walked around the town for a little while. Beautiful flowers, statues, and a fountain. Afterwards we got on a little shuttle (there were only 18 people on our tour) that drove us from that point.

We had a great tour guide – she knew lots about the city and had some interesting stories. We made a number of stops where we got out and walked around – Golden Gate Bridge, Golden Gate Park, Alamo Square-7 Sisters Houses, Grace Church, Palace of Fine Arts, Chinatown, and Lombard Street among them.

One story she told was at the Palace of Fine Arts, built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exhibition. Part of the exhibition was a group of huge columns with naked women facing the column on each corner of it and plantings in the center. One modern legend of why the women are facing the column is that they are watering the flowers by crying because all the eligible men in San Francisco are gay :)

There was a lot of walking on this tour, especially down Lombard Street. It is billed as the crookedest street in America. It is at a 24% grade, and we walked down it for about four blocks. It was better than walking up it, but still very strenuous. I really noticed it in my calves two day later!

Grace Church was very beautiful, especially the doors to the church. They were cast using the lost wax process from a mold made in the 14th century. The doors depict scenes from the Bible.

The 7 Sisters are seven Victorian-style houses that have been restored. Very pretty.

They have a beautiful park called the Golden Gate Park. This is the amphitheater at the park.

Chinatown was a very crowded, fun place. Not much English on those streets.

Yosemite, Land of Granite and Waterfalls

Wednesday, July 20 we moved on to an RV park outside of a little mountain town named Groveland. To get to Groveland you must drive up a road that closely resembles a corkscrew. Actually, Lannas drove (very safely I might add), while I sat with my eyes closed and fists clenched. The park was quiet, with a flock of turkeys roaming around. Only downside – no Sprint cellphone service.



The next morning we drove, again up winding roads, to Yosemite National Park. The park is just breathtaking. Deep valleys, massive granite rock formations, and many waterfalls. Although it is probably worse on the weekends, it was a pretty crowded place. However, they have great roads and lots of pull-outs. There was also ample evidence of some wide-spread wild fires that occurred in 1987 and 2004. While we were there the forest service was setting some controlled burns.





We went through four different tunnels – one of them about a quarter mile long.









We saw El Capitan and Half Dome – granite formations, as well as Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls, Nevada Falls, and Vernal Falls (the one where three hikers fell into the Merced River and over the falls). There were many references to John Muir, the man who convinced Teddy Roosevelt to make Yosemite a national park.

There were many references to John Muir, the man who convinced Teddy Roosevelt to make Yosemite a national park. We had a great time and all three of us came back exhausted from walking each day. What a lovely place!

California – The land of fruit, nuts and really big trees

After loading up on groceries Saturday, July 16, we headed to California. Much of northwestern Arizona reminded us of Colorado. There were tall pine trees, mountains, and beautiful valleys. In the late afternoon we crossed the border into California. It’s like going into a different country! They stop every car going into the state and ask if they have any fruit or plants. They “quarantined” the $12 bag of cherries that I had just bought! Like I’m going to come back and get them in 10 days! Not a great introduction to the state. We spent the night in Needles, California in a lovely private RV park. It was as hot as Wichita Falls, but the park was scrupulously clean with beautiful tall oleander bushes between each site.

Sunday we drove through Barstow and Bakersfield on our way to Visalia. Along the way we saw a solar farm (first thought the reflection was a lake) and then a wind farm. There were thousands of wind turbines on the sides and crests of several hills. These hills went on for miles and were covered with wavy, golden grasses – really beautiful. On the other side of those mostly treeless hills was a beautiful sight – row upon row of trees – orchards! All the way to Visalia we passed different orchards. For a while we were guessing what they were, but we began to see some signs in front of some of them. We saw walnut, almond, pistachio, orange, lemon, apple, cherry, and olive trees and grape and kiwi vineyards – way cool!

Our quest to find an RV park Sunday night was not so cool. I selected one from the GPS because it sounded like it was close to a river as well as close to the Sequoia National Forest. Unfortunately, we never actually found it, despite driving up and down narrow hillsides in our bus with car in tow. We finally decided to call it quits and turn around. In order to do so Lannas had to unhook the Ford from the RV. My job was to get out and guide him as he backed the RV up. There were enormous boulders on both side of him, and a 30 foot drop off behind him. Scary – and he came within inches of removing one side of the RV – my side – but he made it. There was lots of screaming involved (me) and cursing (Lannas). What an adventure! We'll laugh about it ... in two or three years. We drove back to Visalia and checked into a KOA.

Monday we drove up to Sequoia National Park. Wow – it is so beautiful. It is a long, winding drive up a mountain to the Giant Forest. Then it is a steep walk to see the largest tree (by volume) in the world. It’s called the General Sherman and it is over 2,200 years old and 108 feet in circumference at the base. Toby really enjoyed the walk and had to sniff most of the people that passed us. After returning from the park we ate dinner at Red Robin – fabulous hamburgers!

Tuesday we went to the museum at the International Agri-Center in Tulare, CA. They had lots of old and restored tractors and other exhibits. I enjoyed it, but Lannas thought it was a little lame. We were hoping to find a tour of some of the orchards, but there were none, so we did our own. There were lots of huge dairies in the area, in addition to the orchards, cotton, alfalfa, and corn. The dairies were providers to Land-O-Lakes (which we thought meant they were from Minnesota or Wisconsin??). Pictures below are olive tree, almond trees, corn, and lemon trees.

In the afternoon we drove to the little town of Exeter, CA, about 10 miles from Visalia. Exeter is about the size of Burkburnett, and has painted murals on the outside of buildings all over the downtown area. It was a little like an Easter Egg Hunt, finding the murals. The town of Exeter was founded by a man that named it after his hometown, Exeter, England! I have postedpictures of a few of the murals below.

On Wednesday we moved on to an RV park that is inside Yosemite National Park. We plan to stay here for three days.