Union Station

Yesterday, my friend C and I went down to Union Station for a mini photosafari. We each brought a couple of lenses (me: wide and prime; him: super-fancy-wide and a zoom) and spent an hour or so wandering the train station and shooting things and stuff.  I don't like a lot of people in my photos, so it was a little tough to find shots.  But, I did get some nice ones:

Back home

Yesterday, after 9 days of hiking, illness, recovery, friends, food, drinking, and general mirth, S and I drove the long drive home from the Bay.  We got to San Francisco on Thursday and got to see some friends that night at a lovely dinner.  On Friday, S and I hung out in the city doing some shopping before meeting M & E for dinner at their apartment. On Saturday, we took our host into Chinatown for the afternoon. We had a great time in the chilly Bay!

On Sunday, we bid farewell to our excellent host and drove south to Monterey. We hit the aquarium in the afternoon and then headed out for dinner at Marinus.  It was truly one of the most exceptional dinners either of us have ever had! It's not for the faint of heart, but if you get the chance, I highly suggest making the trip.  I'm going to hold back on writing about it because I'm not sure I could do it justice...  Just... go.

On Monday, we made our way home, but first we stopped in Point Lobos at low tide to check out the tide pools.

Then, back in the car to zip down the coast! Home by dark, and back to work today!

Yosemite! Day 6 & SF! Day 1

Thursday:

A mellow day. We checked out of the Lodge at Yosemite and hit the road for San Francisco. As soon as we got into cell phone service, our phones exploded with information (did I mention that we got no cellphone service and almost useless internet in the park?). So, we stopped at a Starbucks for an hour to recollect our digital lives.  Then, on to SF!

Once in SF, we killed some time at Amoeba Records before meeting an old high school friend and her husband for dinner at Beretta, a great Italian place deep in the city. Then, up to Marin to meet our host M, who is letting S and I crash at their place while we're in town. And we slept. A lot.

Yosemite! Day 5

Wednesday:

Up at 7.30(ish), feeling much better after a nasty day on Tuesday. S and I headed back into the valley for our last day in the park. We started with a small hike around the base of Yosemite Falls, the tallest waterfall in North America (and the 5th largest in the world). The falls are all at their most dramatic at this time of year, and in the next few weeks, as the snowmelt runs out, they'll lose some awesomeness. Fortunately, they were showing off for us that day:

I also finally got a picture of this dark blue jay that I had been trying to shoot all week. 

At noon, we hopped on a tram tour through the valley with Ranger Eric, a 22-year veteran of the park who, as the tram loped around the valley floor, told us stories about the development of the park from geological, biological, and sociological perspectives. We both enjoyed the tour, but I think it would have been something to do on our first day, not our last day.

Along the tour, we saw rock climbers scaling the face of El Capitan!

And, naturally, Ranger Eric took us to some photogenic spots. Here's a shot of Half Dome resplendent in summer light:

After the tour, I was still a little foggy, so S and I grabbed lunch before beginning our last hike. We wanted to hike the Vernal Falls/Nevada Falls trail, which led to two dramatic waterfalls. But, we had been advised that the hike was pretty strenuously vertical (the trail guide says over 600 stair steps). S's back was still a mess, and I was still getting over the cold, but we gave it our best shot. We made it up to the top of Vernal Falls (S counted - 641 stair steps), which was beautiful and dramatic and dangerous, but we decided against going up to Nevada Falls. Best not to push our luck.

The last section of the hike up to Vernal Falls takes you right along the falls. This section is called the Mist Trail, for good reason - we got wet, and saw multiple double rainbows. Once at the top of Vernal Falls, I deshoed and cooled my feet in the snowmelt. My feet went numb from the cold. Excellent.

Back down to the base, then pizza for dinner, back to the Lodge to pack, and get a good night's sleep. So long Yosemite - we'll be back for sure!

Yosemite! Day 4

Tuesday:

The sore throat blossomed into a full-on cold, but I was determined to not let it keep me from the park. S did all the driving today, and I slept in the car as she shuttled us from place to place.

We had spent two days outside of the iconic Yosemite Valley, but now that we were mid-week (with less weekenders around), we ventured towards the Valley. First stop: Glacier Point, a high point overlooking the valley. There had been a hotel/lodge here until a 1969 fire, but now it's just a gift shop and viewing area. You can see most of the iconic images from Glacier Point, including Vernal Falls and Nevada Falls:

There is a hike from Glacier Point down to the valley floor, but I wasn't feeling up to that long of a hike, so instead we took a smaller hike to Sentinel Dome. 

Then, down to the valley floor, where the monoliths rise up around you like gods. The rock faces climb almost vertically, but the valley floor is lush and green. Lots of wildlife: birds, deer, squirrels. Lots of people: lodging, camping, rafting, hiking.  We parked the car and went for lunch at the historic (and outrageously expensive) Ahwahnee Hotel. The Ahwahnee was built specifically to attract well-heeled people to the park, and it truly is a masterpiece: big ceilings, huge beams, beautiful decor. I wanted to experience the hotel, so we lunched there and walked around the grounds afterwards.

After lunch, we tried to hop on a tour of the valley, but they were booked up. Instead, we checked out the visitor center, the Ansel Adams Gallery, and then drove back to the Lodge.  I was still a zombie, shuffling along, falling asleep frequently. When we got back to the Lodge, I laid down in the bed at 5.30 and asked S to wake me at 6. She did, and I refused to get out of bed. I slept (fitfully) from 5.30pm until 7.30 the next morning...