After a day and a half in the Northern Californian city of San Francisco, we headed out to Yosemite National Park for 2 full days of sightseeing and hiking. I know I've said this several times, but it's worth mention again in this particular post. I'm not a backpacker. I don't "rough" it. And my idea of hiking usually involves a defined path with a clear destination. Camping overnight? Forget it! Give me a shower. Give me electricity. Bugs? No thank you! Soft pillow? Yes please!
Having said that, I'm certainly not opposed to nature. Since San Francisco is so close to Yosemite, I couldn't rationalize NOT taking a few days to go and see it. And to anyone traveling to that same region, I encourage the same thing.
Since the Tenaya Lodge (our hotel) was not actually inside the park borders, we planned a guided tour of Yosemite our first day. We selected the full day tour of the park through Discover Yosemite mostly because they covered all of the main highlights of the park, and they picked us up and dropped us off right at our hotel. This day couldn't have been more perfect. The tour was supposed to go from about 8 or 9AM to about 3 or 4PM. When our driver and tour guide greeted us, the first thing she asked was, "Does anyone have to be back by a certain time?" When no one raised their hand she said, "Great, because I usually run a little bit late." And by a little bit, she meant a lot. We didn't get back to the hotel until well after 6PM. Did this bother us? Not even slightly. She was an amazing tour guide. She was so knowledgeable about the park, the animals, the history, everything. She took her time when we visited things, giving us plenty of time to walk around. She took pictures for us, and stopped when we saw wild animals.
We started out our day in Mariposa Grove: home of the giant sequoia trees. Our guide explained their connected root system and took us to some of the parks most famous trees.
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| Mariposa Grove |
Along the drive we were constantly on the lookout for wild animals and birds. We didn't see any bears, nor did we see any cool birds like bald eagles. We did see a couple of these gentle beasts along the way.
Since our visit to Yosemite was in October, we stopped at the various waterfalls, but they were barely more than a trickle. Spring is the best time for the waterfalls because you get to see all of the snow melt.
For lunch, we stopped at the historic Ahwanhee Hotel for about an hour or so. There was a pricey restaurant, but we just picked up some snacks and sandwiches at the cafe and picnicked on the grounds.
The day was beautiful (a little windy) and we were able to get some great pictures of Half Dome, El Capitan, the Cathedral Spires, etc. This picture below is one of my favorites from the end of the day.
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| Half Dome reflecting pool |
Back at our hotel, we ate dinner at the bar and grill that they have onsite. There aren't many places around the hotel to eat, so we were just as happy to eat on the premises.
The next day, we got a little closer to nature. While our Yosemite tour was absolutely outstanding, we were pretty sheltered in our temperature controlled 15 seater bus. On our second day in the Yosemite area, we didn't venture back into the park; we instead did some local hiking up to the Tenaya Falls followed by some horseback riding in the afternoon.
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| Hike outside Yosemite to Tenaya Falls |
The horseback riding in the afternoon was pretty fantastic. Having only been horseback riding once before (in Ireland), I was excited but unsure what to expect. In Ireland, our horseback riding adventure was less than an hour and was on a pretty calm trail. Having only that to compare to, I simply thought that this horseback riding experience would be the same. I couldn't have been more wrong in the most wonderful way. After we were all saddled up, the guide gave us a few basic instructions and then told us a few very specific things: 1. to lean back if we were going downhill and 2. lean forward if we were going up hill. Little did I realize how valuable that advice would be.
For the next TWO hours, we went riding through the woods of Yosemite. It wasn't only beautiful, but it was terribly exciting. The horses never went faster than a trot, but we went up and down very steep hills (which were exciting and terrifying all at the same time) and through streams. I've never experienced anything like that before. It not only gave me a new found respect for horses but it was also a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.
Knowing that we would be sore and tired from our day of hiking and horseback riding, that night, we splurged and upgraded ourselves to a jacuzzi suite for the night. Yes, we broke our $200/night rule, but just for this one night. Looking back, it was incredibly silly, but we were young. And I must say, it was lovely to relax in a jacuzzi tub after riding horses and hiking through the mountains.
Our Yosemite journey had come to a close, and the next morning we headed back to San Francisco. Instead of going the same route we took out to Yosemite, we took a very different way back so that we could make a very special stop. About an hour north of San Francisco is a place I've wanted to see for a very long time....The Jelly Belly factory. (Don't judge!) :-)
It was a good 3.5 hour drive from Yosemite, so we left good and early and got to the Jelly Belly factory in time for a late lunch. They have a small cafe, so we were able to get some food before going on the factory tour. The tour itself wasn't terribly exciting although I found it interesting and informative. Plus, they gave you samples along the way. Yum!
After the tour, you end up in the massive jelly belly gift shop which contains a tasting center in the middle where you can request any jelly belly flavor for a sample. They also had belly art prominently displayed throughout the building which I found utterly fascinating. I was slightly disappointed by the "belly flops" that I had heard about. I assumed the belly flops would be flavors that never became popular, but instead, they were giant bags of jelly belly rejects in all of the normal flavors. If a jelly belly came out too big, too small, or melted together with another one, they were rejected and sent with the other belly flops. They also weren't terribly discounted either, so I opted for a bag of my own bulk candy where I could individually pick the flavors I wanted (really just like any other bulk candy store that sells jelly bellies).
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| Outside of the Jelly Belly Factory |
We spent a good couple of hours there before driving the last hour or so to get back into the city. That evening we drove about an hour south of the city to Santa Cruz where we met an old friend for dinner. Late that night we drove back to the Embassy Suites where we stayed at the beginning of our trip and got ready for the last full day of our vacation.
We've already done some pretty great things, but our activities on the last day were some of my favorites. Don't forget timid travelers. Save something you're really excited about for the last day of your trip. It will keep you from getting sad that the trip is ending until after it has actually ended.
Read all about our last day in San Francisco HERE.
Thanks for reading!
- Foxy the Traveler
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