Mashel's Northern California Trip

Saturday 9/2/06

Drive to airport was uneventful and the good karma began with Sal the Hat getting us to the front of the check-in line, which was worth all of the angry looks from the other passengers. And thanks to Michael's endless perks, we got to have a nice breakfast and relax in the Continental President's Club.

7 am flight to SF and escape from NJ, which surprisingly took off on time despite remnants of hurricane Ernesto. Flight was fine, but 6 hours is long for an aching neck. I am grateful for the occasional neck rub that Michael seems to instinctively know is needed today. Man in window seat did not move for the entire flight. Finally we arrive in SF and get in our rented Toyota Camry to embark on our road trip. We aren't too impressed with the Camry. It's basic and functional but that's about it.

Michael disagrees with Hertz Neverlost's first instruction, so we are briefly lost. We find our bearings and head out to Sausalito. 11 am drive to Sausalito took 2 hours due to Bay Bridge closure and Labor Day weekend. Frustrating. In Sausalito, we stumbled upon the Sausalito Art Festival, which was excellent. Famished and exhausted, we devoured some awesome smoked salmon / goat cheese sandwiches and fried calamari. Michael is determined to get some unposed pictures of me. Sausalito was great but time to move on to Muir Woods. Why? Who knows?

Never did make it to Point Reyes, and got on each other's nerves driving to Sonoma. More traffic! Booked the Best Western in Sonoma and had a great dinner at the El Dorado Hotel. Iced tea cocktail was delicious and deadly. 7-11 coffee and back to motel.


Sunday 9/3/06

Waited too long for our complimentary muffin. Off to Healdsburg on the northern part of Sonoma county. Beautiful little town to walk around, with lots of tasting rooms. Had our very first tasting ever at Toad Hollow and bought our first bottle of sparkling wine. Got some good tasting advice from our server at Toad Hollow: "Just enjoy the tastes and don't take it seriously". As the morning wore on, everything started tasting better and better. Lots of fun and we got pretty buzzed. One interesting note: we ran into some guys from France who were in town for tasting. I asked them what they thought of American wines and they sounded surpisingly impressed.

Next stop was noted as the friendliest winery in Sonoma by our guidebook. What a great time we had at the Grove Street tasting room. It was here that Michael started getting really really REALLY drunk. Bought some more sparkling wine, plus a $10 "out of vintage" bargain.


Sebastiani winery was a must. Billed as one of the best in Sonoma. We found it very crowded. And the tour was cancelled. Time to move on.

Gloria Ferrer Champagne Cave was the next one. The view was glorious and the vibe was wonderful. Feeling no pain and enjoying the day. Snuck a few grapes off the vines on our drive out. They are very tasty.

Last stop was Viansa vinyards. Inserted ourselves into a "private tour" and got a free tasting. Tons of food samples to gorge upon. Another beautiful place with an incredible view.

Onward to Napa and our free stay at Embassy Suites, more of Michael's perks…and worth every penny. Dinner at Celadon.

Monday – September 4, 2006 (Labor Day)

We began our day by driving to "Old Faithful of California" geyser park. Waited an hour for "Old Faithful", which was supposed to come every 35 minutes. Michael was certain there was a control room in the hatch with a button that worked the whole thing. Tiffany- the-cat liked to drink water from the allegedly boiling geyser pool.

Sterling Vinyards was great. Took the tram to the top and did some tasting. I tried to be brave on the tram ride. Also went to the "cellar sale" and got a nice bottle of wine.

Next stop was Beringer with an interesting tour of the wine caves. More tasting!

St. Helena downtown area was underwhelming and expensive. I had to have lunch but Michael didn't.

More tasting at Peju tasting room. I posed once again for pictures. Niebaum-Coppola was ridiculously expensive so we decided to skip it, but Robert Mondavi was a nice winery. We resisted taking lude poses with the statue out back, though it was tempting. For entertainment, we angrily shouted "Hey!" at people trying to discretely sneak grapes off the vines.

At the end of the day, one of us had romantic visions of a nice takeout sandwich and eating by the pool. Reality was we walked around town trying to find a cafe that wasn't closed for Labor Day. Hated each other! But what the heck.. we're hungry and the poolside was beckoning.

Tuesday – September 5, 2006

While the rest of the world returns to work after the long holiday weekend, Michael and I got up at 5:30 am, refreshed and ready to continue our exploration of Napa. Our first stop was a massage at Avance Spa. My therapist did some great neck work and I discovered a wonderful pain reliever for my neck called "Biofreeze".

Next was Domaine Carneros winery and the best tour ever. We learned a lot of really interesting things about the sparkling-wine making process. Very impressive. After accidentally drinking some champagne from a private tour, we had lunch on their splendid deck, dining on sparkling wine with an assortment of delicious cheeses and fruit.



Next stop was an attempt at the Sake gardens, but we could not find the tasting room and we heard that they no longer do tasting. Called Ben and Brit. They were thrilled to hear from us and told us every detail about their first day of school (any sarcasm here is purely intentional).

After that, I had a brilliant idea to drive out to Point Reyes State Park. It was only 50 miles on the map, and the prospect of a gorgeous beach was beckoning. Unfortunately, 20 of those 50 miles were through tortuous winding roads, and the trip took about 4 hours. One highlight, though, was the town of Point Reyes, where we stopped for some discounted trail mix and cappuccino. The town was an inviting combination of laid back small-western and new age funkiness. Very good vibe in this town and a few good characters roaming the streets, too.

Fifteen miles from our goal we aborted our destination and decided to attempt a different beach that seemed more accessible. Drove another hour and came upon the crappiest beach ever. Quite a disappointment. Not a word was spoken on the return trip, and needless to say we were glad to get back to the hotel. We agreed that it was basically a wasted day, and we were kind of bummed about the whole experience.

Upon our return, I decided to go downstairs and get takeout from the hotel restaurant. Picked up some fried calamari, shrimp cocktail, and smoked salmon. Plus, free wine was being served at happy hour so I grabbed a few of these, too. Michael and I soon found ourselves savoring this dinner in our room. The wine and food raised our spirits and eventually we made our way to the Jacuzzi and pool downstairs. Very refreshing and all in all a happy ending to the day.

Wednesday September 6, 2006

6:00 AM wakeup from Michael and we were soon embarking on our journey to Yosemite. Not without first having one last great breakfast at our hotel, though. The trip to the southern part of Yosemite took about 5 hours, and much of the scenery we passed were industrial towns and not as lovely as the coastal region. After a few hours we recharged on French Vanilla cappuccino, trail mix, and jerky. It made us smile and gave us the energy to make the rest of the trip. Lunch was at Carl's Junior near Mariposa. After lunch there was some negotiation over who would do the driving through the scary roads when the time came. Seems that I'm scared when I'm not in the driver's seat (in control) and Michael's not comfortable when he sees me tense in the driver's seat.. which is what happens when we're driving 6,000 feet up with no guard rails. Quite the dilemma. We agreed to share the driving.

Our motel is the "Narrow Gauge Inn" in Fish Camp, CA. The place is very romantic and rustic. We have the "mission suite", which has two baths and a great lodge-type room with a king sized bed and a private porch facing a peaceful wooded area. The grounds and gardens are beautiful.

After check-in, we take a tram tour of the nearby Mariposa Grove, which has 300 ft high and up to 30 ft wide giant Sequoia trees. The tour was very interesting and the trees were way cool. Our guide tells us not to take any of the giant pine cones out of the park, and he suggests we might find some instead outside of the park near the Tenaya Lodge. He swears they can be found all over the back of the lodge.

For dinner we ate at the Tenaya Lodge, where we envy the poolside bar. The food is good and once again I am a cheap date, having gotten drunk on a half martini. I am determined to find Ben, Brit and Patty some of those giant pine cones, but after looking around I realize the guide told us that just to deter us from taking the cones that were in the park.

After dinner, I take a Jacuzzi and relax, then we watch Rock Star Supernova and Michael is very glad that Storm is going home.

Thursday September 7, 2006

We are up at the crack of dawn again, excited to spend our first full day in Yosemite. Today we plan to see Glacier Point, which is a drive that takes you to a spot high in the mountains where you can see down into Yosemite Valley for an incredible view. Michael has not slept well. Plus, we heard some weird noises during the night, like critters rummaging around our building. Still, we trudge on. The continental breakfast is good, with lots of fresh fruit and beautiful views out the windows. After finishing breakfast we make a pit stop at Tenaya Lodge to buy box lunches for hiking later, and we are quickly on our way.

I have some trepidation driving up into these mountains. Will we be above the tree line? Will there be sheer drop offs at every turn? Memories of Rocky Mountain National Park haunt me. As it turns out, so far my worries are in vain. The drive to Glacier Point is pleasant and, though it's 7,000 feet up, the trees seem to block most of the scariness.

The view at Glacier Point is incredible. We can see the entire Yosemite Valley and more. From this vantage point I feel like an eagle, wanting to fly off into the abyss.

As we turn around and make our way back down Glacier Point road, we stop at several trailheads to hike further into the park. The first trail we take is called "Sentinel Dome". It's a roughly 2 mile round trip hike to a great view at the base of a granite dome high up in the Sierras. Michael thoroughly enjoys this hike and begins to unwind totally. I am in heaven with the sights, sounds, and smells of the Sierras. The trail is rocky but well worth the sweat.

On our hike back, we encounter a couple who warn us that they talked to somebody who just saw a mother bear with 2 cubs not far from the trail. Well, this is all I need to hear to get in paranoid mode. Michael is thrilled and has the camera ready to take pictures of these bears while I am planning how to avoid getting eaten. We promise each other to fight off the bear for the other as best as we can, but if we fail we also promise to get good pictures of the whole ordeal. Think "Grizzly Man" with the lens cap OFF. We make it to the car with no bears in sight.

The planned hike to Bridalveil Creek is ditched due to us not being able to find the trailhead. We both swore we saw it on the way up but it seemed to disappear on the way down. Instead we hike to McGurk Meadow. At the beginning of the hike we see a man with two women coming in the opposite direction, and I ask them how they liked the meadow. The man loved it but the women didn't because the flowers weren't in bloom in the meadow. We continued onward, and after this encounter we didn't see another soul for the rest of the hike. My mood oscillated between pure joy at being alone in the wilderness and a bit of fear thinking about bears and mountain lions stalking us. We saw several warnings about mountain lion sightings and of course I planned our defense.

The trek through the woods was very dusty but also very pretty. While the meadow had no flowers, the surrounding woods had plenty of them and they were lovely. Midway through the hike we came upon an abandoned pioneer cabin. Incredible to think that we were looking at remains of our culture from over a hundred years ago. When we finally reached the meadow we found a small wooden bridge and spread out a wonderful picnic lunch on it. What struck me most about this place was its utter stillness. A dragonfly hovered around and we could hear the beat of its wings. Butterflies flew about, too, in silence. I was truly overwhelmed with the beauty and solitude of this meadow. And sharing it quietly with Michael made it all the more special.

I once knew a man who described Yosemite as his "spiritual home". And our friend Terri told us of having a "religious experience" the first time she went to the Mariposa Grove and saw those giant sequoias in the dead of winter in three feet of snow. It's here, in this beautiful meadow, that I begin to fully understand what they are saying. Yosemite can wrap around your heart and soul like no other place, connecting you to the greater universe.

After lunch, we packed up and hiked back to the car, totally exhausted but definitely happy.

On the way back to our motel we stopped at the small town of Wawona where we enjoyed the General Store and explored the Pioneer Information Center, which included many real stage coaches and the pioneer town that still stands, abandoned, to this day.

Our last stop is a return to the Mariposa Grove to take some more pictures and also to experience some giant pinecone intrigue. We are victorious in our quest, but not without a park ranger "incident"

Back at the hotel, we have an invigorating Jacuzzi and an outstanding dinner at the Narrow Gauge Inn Restaurant.

Friday September 8, 2006

Today we must check out of the Narrow Gauge Inn and make our way to Yosemite Valley, where a room in Yosemite Lodge at the Falls awaits us. Our ride is uneventful, and passing through the tunnel we get our first dramatic view of the valley just like the pioneers did over a hundred years ago. This is also the place where Ansel Adams took one of his most famous photographs.

Before checking into the lodge we park at Curry Village and take a shuttle bus to the John Muir Trailhead to make our climb up to Vernal Falls. The trail is rated as "moderate" in our guidebook, and promises to take us up to the top of the falls in a 3-1/2 mile loop. We begin our trek with walking sticks in our hands and high hopes in our hearts. As the trail goes on, we are breathing heavy but the view is thrilling and we are so proud of ourselves for doing all this hiking. About halfway through the trip we can see the falls in the distance and it is exciting. We feel as if we have almost reached our goal.

But no, the hardest part of the hike is yet to come. We must now climb up hundreds of stone stairs along the side of the waterfall and, though the view is breathtaking, it is very scary because we are always one slip away from plunging hundreds of feet to the ravine below. Each time we stop we are taken with the beauty and power of the waterfalls, the wildflowers, the great granite mountains surrounding us, and the rainbows in the waterfall pool.

The last leg of this climb will take us to the very top of the falls, and as we debate whether or not to make the final push, we pass by a young man of about 25 who is coming down from the top. We ask him about the hike up this section and he says it's pretty tough. Figuring that if a 25 year old is calling it tough, we should call it a day and make our way back down.

Still proud of our accomplishment with this hike, we turn around and make our way down. By this point my legs feel like jelly and I am having a really difficult time making it down the stairs. Occasionally, I am consumed with panic when I think of how high up we are and how unsteady my legs now feel, and at those times I need stop to gain my composure. I know that I am not making it down very well because at one point an 80-something year old woman offers to give me a hand. It seems that every other person I pass either says something encouraging or offers to assist me with the next step.

Somehow we finally make it to the bottom of the falls and Michael spots a great rock for us to eat our box lunches on. Squirrels and blue jays are jockeying for the best position to get a handout but we resist the urge to feed them. Lunch was delicious and extremely gratifying after our waterfall climb. After lunch, we make our way down the remainder of the trail. I observe that sometimes it's easier not to use my walking stick. Michael adds that the walking stick is like a wife…"sometimes you want to lean on it and sometimes you want to throw it off a cliff". Hmmm….

We are positively exhausted when finished with this hike, so we make our way back to the car and drive to Yosemite Lodge to check in and catch the 2 pm open-air tram tour of the valley floor. In the tour, we learn that the Ahwahneechie Indians called Yosemite "Ahwahnee", which means "gaping mouth". I got a lot of mileage out of this phrase. Anyway, the floor tour was excellent and extremely informative, though at some points we were almost falling asleep from exhaustion. When the tour finished we went straight to our room and immediately fell asleep.

Later we took a shuttle bus to the visitor center and made a stop at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel. The Ahwahnee was elegant and beautiful and filled with interesting artifacts. We had dinner in the cocktail lounge outside. After our visit to the Ahwanee, we came back to our hotel and used our "free coffee" vouchers in the lodge dining room, which was so gross compared to the Ahwahnee that we couldn't stop laughing from the contrast.

Time to unwind and call it a night.

Saturday September 9, 2006

I have a great deal of trepidation about today's trip. Our plan is to take the Tioga Road through the high Sierras then down over the Tioga Pass. If time permits our ultimate goal is to make it to Bodie State Park, which is one of the country's best ghost towns. The stress started seeping in last night, worrying about how high this Tioga Pass is going to be and will I be panic-stricken riding through it. All of the guidebooks say that the road passes from 10,000 feet down to 7,000 feet in a matter of ten minutes with sheer drop-offs and areas with no guardrail. We decide that I will drive most of Tioga Road up until the Tuolumne Meadows, at which point we'll switch and Michael will take over the driving through the scariest part. During the scary part I am either going to take a Xanex or lay on the floor of the car so I don't have to look out the window.

As usual, we got up at 6:00 am. Had a yucky breakfast at the Yosemite Lodge dining hall. Eating in the dining hall is a disjointed and confusing affair, with silverware on one side of the room and napkins on the other side, etc. A great deal of time was spent just trying to gather up everything we need from the various food and utensil stations. Afterward, I needed to buy something before leaving for our trip and found that the Yosemite stores didn't open till 8 am, which is ridiculous because there are tons of early rising hikers who need to get stuff before their trips. Finally found what we needed at the Ahwahnee Hotel and we were on our way.


Going up into the high country, the views are incredible. Olmstead point has a magnificent view of the high granite formations. From here we can also see Lake Tenaya in the distance. We stop at Lake Tenaya and are taken with how pristine and peaceful it is. There is a soft sandy beach and the water is crystal clear and cold.

Driving further we explore Lembert Dome, another granite formation. We can see rock climbers making their way up the face. Michael has an idea to see how far we can walk up the granite "until we start sliding down". We walk up pretty far and are rewarded with an amazing panoramic view of the high country and all of the granite formations that top off Yosemite. While in this area, we also take a short hike to the "Soda Springs", which crosses through Toulumne Meadows and ends at an interesting spring that bubbles up carbonated water.

It is here, on this short easy hike, that I trip on a rock and fall pretty hard… breaking my sunglasses and scraping my hands. Of course Michael is ready with the camera and the silliness begins. It should have happened while climbing the falls yesterday but then again I would not be here telling the story if that were the case.

The Soda Springs are otherworldly. Upon returning to the car, it's now time to switch driving duties and I begin my stress. My first decision is not to take any drugs to calm the fear. As it turns out, that's a good decision because the Tioga Pass is a beautiful drive and not at all scary as it's made up to be. One highlight of this stretch was the gorgeous alpine Ellery Lake at 9538 feet up.

Pictured above, Ellery Lake. Below, I'm imitating guess-who.

At the bottom of the Tioga Pass, in the town of Lee Vining, we have the best lunch ever in an unassuming Mobile Gas station called the "Whoa Nellie Deli". Gorged on Lobster Taquitas and Fish Tacos. Delicious food at a delightful place.

Moving on, we pass by Mono Lake, known for the strange salt formations that jut up out of the water. An hour later and at last we arrive at Bodie State Park in the middle of nowhere. I can't say enough about Bodie. We've never been to a ghost town before but this is everything I would imagine a ghost town to be and more. It is amazing to see what happens to abandoned towns and somehow I can't help but think that this will be the fate of our modern civilization over time, too.

We could have stayed in Bodie all day, but it is time to make our hundred-mile trip back to the lodge. More sensational views, plus another "incident" with a park ranger. We are in tears from laughing and the whole scene is reminiscent of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid… "Who are those guys?"

Very good dinner at the Yosemite Lodge Mountain View restaurant. Michael is in rare form mimicking the tourists and we're in tears laughing. It has been a good vacation.

• * NOTE: Due to upload restrictions, you won't see any more pictures on this page. But there's a link at the bottom of the page that takes you to the rest of our gallery **

Sunday September 10, 2006

Up early and ready to leave this big rock called Yosemite. We decide to eat a nice breakfast on the road instead of having that "camping food" in the lodge. We also decide to head towards Redwood City because it's close to SF and also close to a beach. Aside from seeing it on a map, we know nothing else about Redwood City.

It takes forever to get out of the park, and we're beginning to regret our decision to delay breakfast. Nothing for miles except Yosemite-this and Yosemite-that. Get us out of Yosemite already! Finally, after an hour and a half, we see one small roadside cafe, and we consider it a good sign that it has outside tables with umbrellas. We decide to make this our stop. We asks the waitress if they have egg whites or egg beaters, to which she replies "No, and I keep telling them they need to put it on the menu but they don't listen". I ask the waitress if I can get the 'fresh fruit' from the menu, and she tells me "well, they call it fresh fruit but it's really just the super-sweet syrupy stuff from a can. The owner is a jerk and this place has gone down hill. This will be my last year working here". Hmmm….

Turns out the breakfast was delicious. Go figure.

Much more to my dismay was the route out of the mountains. Miles of roads were perched on steep cliffs towering above extremely high canyons with no guardrails… much worse than the Tioga Pass. I held my breath throughout the ordeal.

About an hour from our Redwood City destination, I finally am able to access the internet and find that Mike's old college friend, Patty, has sent an email telling us to come on down to Monterey and catch her at work, where she'll leave us Aquarium passes then meet us for dinner afterward. The last time we saw Patty was over five years ago on our trip out to drive the Big Sur coast. We bag Redwood city, reprogram Nellie Neverlost, and we're soon on our way to the beautiful town of Monterey for the night.

Once in Monterey the first task is to find a motel. Michael spots the La Quinta Inn tucked on the side of the road and it turns out to be a great find and cheap too. Next we find Patty at her post managing the Monterey Bay Aquarium Café. It's great to see her and it's the same old happy-go-lucky Patty. We tell Patty that we are going to eat at her café and she immediately escorts us to the bar and puts Karim (with the nametag that says Raphael) in charge of getting us some drinks and appetizers. Karim proceeds to put drink after drink in front of us without our even asking, and before we know it we are falling down drunk. (Patty later tells us "he always does that to people and I told him he's gotta stop doing that"). We are not too drunk to cut ourselves off, though, and that's exactly what we did because nobody else was about to cut us off.

An hour and a half into our Aquarium tour and the only fish we've seen are the fried calamari on the plate in front of us.

What happens after this is a blur, though I do remember rushing from fish tank to fish tank trying to take tourist photos before the place closed. I also remember laughing way too much and seeing people stare at us. At some point we stumbled to the car to sleep off our stupor, and a part of me also remembers touring the shops on Cannery Row and posing with various inanimate objects.

Dinner later with Patty at the Japanese restaurant was fun, and the best part was that we only had a ¼ mile drive back to our motel.

We are beginning to feel like we are in the vacation without end.

Monday September 11, 2006

In a final bid to squeeze every bit of vacation into our trip, we decide to go to Carmel-By-the-Sea for the morning and walk around the neighborhood. Beautiful place to stroll. Finally got to see that damn Lone Cypress Tree on 17-Mile Drive, though that was the only sight not shrouded in fog.

Next we stop at the UPS Store and make a decision to ship a lot of our souveniers home. That decision will pay off later at the airport when we deal with security and regulations.

It is the fifth anniversary of 9/11 and we must now fly home. Flying on 9/11 feels like my personal statement that we will not be bowed by anyone. We arrive at SF, and I have never see an airport or an airplane so deserted. The flight home is uneventful but thank goodness for Scrabble. Home Sweet Home. Izzy awaits crying, and Indie will be back in her abode tomorrow.

For more photos, click here: http://www.travellerspoint.com/photos/gallery/users/sharonmash/