Day 36 - Yosemite with Jan and Mike

Still using the heater!  A little chilly this morning, but a great day!

It was laundry day and we needed to get it done before Jan and Mike got here at 10:00 a.m.  Also needed to vacuum and mop the floors.  I got the cleaning and David got the laundry.  He left me still needing a shower and the cleaning to be done.

Did the dishes, fought the vacuum cleaner, mopped the floor, dusted, etc.  Time for a shower!  My hair is really thick and is difficult to wash in the shower.  We have a six gallon water heater.  You get wet, turn off the water, soap up, turn on the water to rinse off - Just to take a shower.  Then try washing your hair twice and using conditioner!  Hot water runs out before my hair does. 

Finished my shower, got dressed and my hair was a disaster.  Not combed yet and wild!  Then....I hear Chrissy barking at the door.  Jan and Mike are here!  Just before 10:00 a.m.   I'm so glad they don't care about wild, wet hair!  LOL   Jan and I planned our vacation makeup perfectly!  NONE!

Chrissy finally let Jan in, but it took a bit to get Mike in and for Chrissy to leave him alone!  She was her usually loud barky self!  Didn't matter that Jan brought us treats!  OH NO! 

Where is David?  He finally showed up with the dry clothes.  Jan even helped load the clean clothes on the bed.  What a gem!

We get settle and off to Yosemite.  Mike drove their SUV which worked out great.  Our truck is really long and difficult to park in Yosemite.  Jan took great care of me by making sure my seat belt was buckled (100 times!).  I couldn't get it to work.  I told her I felt like my mother as we always hook her seat belts, too!

First stop of the strange tour....tunnel view.  If you drive into the long tunnel at Yosemite, there is a "tunnel viewpoint."  You walk halfway into the tunnel and make a turn to where there is an opening in the rock.  You need a flashlight!  It opens into a barred viewpoint.  I won't show the pictures I took of the person who climbed over the fence just in case one of us was recognized and would get in trouble!

The orange light is from the tunnel entrance.

 Here is the view we were rewarded with!

Jan and David walking in the tunnel.

The only reason we knew this viewpoint existed is that the last time we were here, we saw what we though was a "homeless" man entering the tunnel on foot.  David was going to give him a bottle of water, but he had disappeared!  Then we saw the tunnel entrance and decided we'd do it this trip!

On to the park!  We could see Half Dome ahead from the viewpoint.  Climbers come from all over the world to climb Half Dome and El Capitan (El Cap).  Not to be outdone, Jan and I decided to climb Half Dome while we were here.

Here's Jan climbing and conquering Half Dome.  Since she's much more agile then me, I didn't quite make it all the way up. 

Here's the real viewpoint:  El Cap to the left and Half Dome to the right:

Next stop:  Somewhere in Yosemite Village!

Here's the view of Half Dome from ,the Merced River.  Notice the strange clouds?  A professional photographer, Joe Park, www.joeparkweddings.com, was there and doing time lapse shots of the same clouds.  He even took our picture for us!

Next up on the agenda:  The Ahwahnee Hotel!  We've seen it several times on the Travel Channel, but hadn't been here before.  After waiting patiently for a parking space, Mike got us inside!  It was awesome!  Here's their website for more info:  http://www.yosemitepark.com/accommodations_theahwahnee.aspx

We were getting hungry so we decided to grab a bite to eat in the hotel.  Jan and I enjoyed crab and artichoke dip and the "boys" had boysenberry pie and apple pie.  Oh, our guest!

Squirrel!  I don't want squirrel at lunch and I certainly didn't want one up my pants leg!  He roamed in and out of the restaurant.  Mike kept an eye on him for me.  I kept thinking of Ray Steven's Song "Mississippi Squirrel Revival."  If you want a good laugh, check out the video:  Ray Steven's Video

After our break we decided to see the hotel.  Look for views you've never seen before!

Well, why not someone else?  I've got the camera!

After this sign, we decided to take our tour outdoors!

We can take a hint!  So where do we go?  The Wedding Lawn!  White chairs are arranged!  Just in time for a wedding!  No wedding going on, so we decide to sit and talk and take in the view.  The guys decide to do "men talk."

We "shot" them, so they shot us!

Don't we look comfortable?

We'd spotted really large chairs by the creek, so Jan and I check it out!  Only problem is - we're toooo short to get out.  Someone suggested a crane, but our husbands did pull us out.  I think one of them chuckled!

Here was a last view of the Awahnee Hotel - notice the waterfall!

Back to the park!  There is so much to see and it's crowded here and we still have to cook dinner.   We start off to the next viewpoint on our list.  El Cap and the climbers.  The next series of photos are climbers we could see on the granite.  They were probably settling in for the night at this point.

 Here's El Cap and what they're climbing.

Three climbers

 I could not do this!!!!

Here's is the end of the day view of Yosemite:

We watchribeyes and Jan and Mike brought fruit, lemon dessert squares, broccoli salad, corn, and I'm not sure what else.  So, back to the campground over an hour away!  But wait!  BEAR!

Mike spotted it and let us stop for a quick photo.  Here's my view of the bear: 

Not much, but it's truly a bear!

We get back to the RV and start getting dinner ready.  David is marinating the steaks with Moore's Marinade and garlic.  Jan and I shuck the corn.  I take it inside and start cutting it off the cob - fried corn.  Jan and Mike aren't too sure about it, but they are such good sports.  Better than picky me!  LOL  David and I disagree on how it's done, so he "fixed it' his way.  It still turned out great!

We ate outside on the picnic table and it was all great!  I even worked through the broccoli salad with"stuff" in it.  Aren't you proud of me?  LOL

Then it was time for them to go.  I told them they should have brought their PJ's, but Mike possibly had jury duty the next day.  It's a two hour drive home for them.  I hated to see them go!

We cleaned up after they left (just a few minutes) and watched a little TV and read a little.  Back to Yosemite tomorrow!

See ya down the road!

Jenny :)