Day 1:
At 3:10PM we arrived at Yosemite Wawona Hotel. The beds are very plush, yes, yes. I am sitting at the front porch while enjoying the view and fresh air. Beautiful place, Yosemite, yes, yes. In fact i think the earth is an artist, and the National Parks, its carvings.
A little while later, we took the bus (whilst thou was still there, thank goodness), to the famous Mariposa Grove of BIG trees about 7 feet in diameter! We took a short walk there, and found that Mariposa grove had a lot of woodpeckers, yes, yes. At the end of the walk there was the GRIZZLY GIANT! Very, very scary! (I am just joking, the Grizzly giant is just a very very very large sequoia tree). It's branches are the size of thin trees!
On the way out we went through the California tree tunnel. A very large tree with a big tunnel cut into the middle of it! I bet I could live in there! We took so many pictures, yes, yes.
Once again those trees, yes, those trees! They were so big, that if my parents and I joined hands, we still couldn't hug the tree. We took a bus back and we made it just in time for the last bus at 5:30. At 5:34PM we came back from Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.
It was time for dinner. The food was not that great. My dad took portobello mushroom, and my mom took the garden salad. I took spaghetti (of course food from home could be mistaken for ambrosia). We came back from the dinner, and took a shower. Then we fell asleep.
Day 2:
The day began with a pancake, very very large pancakes, yes, yes. Then, the fun started. (Sing song voice) We drove into Yosemite valley! Too bad Wawona is not in the valley. My favorite part of the drive was when we were at Tunnel View (there was a tunnel right in front of us) where there was the perfect, most amazing view of my BFF, HALF DOME! (or Domy for short). Domy is the most famous rock in Yosemite!
We parked in the day use parking, and took a shuttle to the Valley Visitor Center. I got my Junior Ranger packet there. Then we took a shuttle to the Mirror Lake trailhead. We only did a little bit of the walk, just enough to get to Mirror Lake. We were expecting a reflection of Half Dome there, but we didn't see it and had to turn back as we didn't have enough time 'cos we had to go to lunch.
Terrible lunch, yes, yes. We had lunch at Yosemite Lodge. I had this bad Ziti that left an after taste in my mouth for a real long time. Then from the lodge, we boarded the shuttle for the Glacier Point tour. We learned about Bear safety, different types of pine trees, and saw many famous landmarks of Yosemite. We got to the top, WE GOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW EVER! WE SAW HALF DOME, NEVADA AND VERNAL FALLS AND MORE FROM GLACIER POINT! A lovely spot to have your picture taken with all the view is a little jutting rock, that I like to call "Domy Mountain".
Then we hiked down the 4 mile hike. Little did I know that I had terrible shoes. The 4 mile hike has a very "creative" name. In reality the hike is almost 5 miles long. Thanks to my shoes I was slipping a lot. Along the way we stopped in a place called Union Point where we had a beautiful view of the valley, and thanks to luck we saw a lizard that John Muir wrote a whole paragraph about. The lizard was very beautiful bluish-green.
When we finally got down it was 6PM, and we had to take a little walk to the nearest shuttle stop through the swinging bridge. By the time we got there, my feet were aching!
We had dinner once again at Yosemite Lodge where I actually got root beer and better food this time (I had black bean soup with oyster crackers.Oyster crackers are not made out of Oysters.) Then we took a shuttle back to the day use parking, and drove back to Wawona Hotel, had a good shower, and then slept.
Day 3:
I woke up to the sound of my dad snoring, yes, yes. We got ready and ate breakfast in our room and once again went to the valley.
We hiked up the Mist Trail from Stop 16 (Happy Isles). The Mist trail led us to Vernal and Nevada falls. The hike to Vernal falls meant I had to go through a slippery staircase of uneven steps, while getting sprayed by the Vernal falls with a cliff on one side, and wasn't allowed to bend down (so that I won't get dizzy). Very scary, yes, yes. But the Vernal fall was very pretty with a rainbow sparkling with it. It was such a relief when I got to the top of Vernal Falls.
Then we took the same Mist Trail from the top of Vernal Falls to the top of Nevada Falls. The last part was very steep with uneven steps, but I didn't get sprayed and the stairs weren't wet (thank goodness!). The really bad news was we missed lunch, so we had to have lunch with our snacks as the main course at the top of Nevada falls. There was a cute little squirrel right in front of us!
There was a separate trail back to the valley called the John Muir Trail. I decided to hike back the John Muir trail as it was easier although longer than the Mist trail. Along the John Muir trail I found a map.I was wondering where I was, so I asked my mom. She told me I was at Clark Point. I was wondering how she knew when there was a big sign on the map that said I was at Clark Point!
After we came back from the John Muir Trail, I had a late "lunch" at the Village Grill where I got a grilled cheese sandwich which I really liked along with a slushy and some French fries.
I got a souvenir from the shop - a stuffed owl, that I've named Sugar Pine after a pine tree seen in Yosemite. Sugar Pine is way too fat and big for her wing size.
Then we took a walk to see the Lower Yosemite Falls. Very pretty falls, yes, yes. There were many signs that said don't clamber around on rocks, but many people were still clambering around rocks. After we came back from Lower Yosemite Falls we were to have dinner at Curry Village. On our way there we met somebody who had spotted a crazy guy doing tightrope walking over the Upper Yosemite Falls.
We went off and had a pizza for myself with pineapple on top, while my mom had some good tofu and my dad had a good salad and a couple of slices of pizza.
Then we returned to Wawona Hotel, had a good shower and a good night's sleep.
Day 4:
Today we woke up to the relaxing thought of "today will be take-it-easy day". We started off with breakfast of some french toast for me, regular toast for mom, and a regular continental breakfast for dad. The French toast was a bit salty for a French toast(unless it is supposed to be like that and I've just had my mom's version).
We left to the visitor center to get my Junior Ranger Badge (I've been doing my packet over the trip). There was a long queue to get my badge, yes, yes. While my mom was waiting in line, I explored the visitor center and learned an Ahwahneechee legend (Go to Yosemite to learn it). After I got my badge, I went to Degnan's Deli (in singsong voice). Degnan's deli had a caprese sandwich and I liked every bite of it without the mozzarella. This was one of the places where I got good food in Yosemite.
After lunch, we left for the Mirror Lake trailhead (talk about a "take-it-easy" day!). This time though we finished the entire 5 mile loop. Very flat trail and we got the best view of Half-Dome and I could imagine touching it, my best friend ever! We couldn't see the reflection of Half dome though as it was very breezy and the water was rippling.
We then stopped at Sentinel Bridge going on the shuttle. We got another perfect view of Half Dome
from there, and I learned a few tricks about my mom's camera and I took tons of pictures. We also saw a common merganser in the Merced river as the Sentinel Bridge is right across the Merced river.
After that we went to Curry village to eat. But Curry village does not have any curry. It was simply named after Mother Curry. Once again I ate pizza but topped it with all kinds of vegetables and no pineapples, very very yummy.
In the end I wanted to do shuttle surfing, getting off at whatever stops we wanted to and exploring. But we didn't have enough time for that, so my mom was so wonderful (as usual), and suggested an amazing compromise of still going to stop 21, heading back to 1, but instead of getting off at 1, we went all around once again and back to 1. From stop 21 I got a very good view of Half Dome, and at every stop I thanked the stop for giving us a wonderful time and experience.
We returned Wawona for a nice shower and a good night sleep.
Day 5:
Today is the sad day. I woke up, and had breakfast of kid sized pancakes. Then we checked out and left for home. I was the one who DJed on the iPod and I went alphabetically. We were to head to Rajdhani (a restaurant in Cerritos) for lunch. Due to the traffic in LA, Rajdhani closed by the time we got there. I decided we could go to another place called Udupi Palace. I saved our lives, yes, yes.
We soon arrived home.
I then became domesick. :( I still am...
At 3:10PM we arrived at Yosemite Wawona Hotel. The beds are very plush, yes, yes. I am sitting at the front porch while enjoying the view and fresh air. Beautiful place, Yosemite, yes, yes. In fact i think the earth is an artist, and the National Parks, its carvings.
A little while later, we took the bus (whilst thou was still there, thank goodness), to the famous Mariposa Grove of BIG trees about 7 feet in diameter! We took a short walk there, and found that Mariposa grove had a lot of woodpeckers, yes, yes. At the end of the walk there was the GRIZZLY GIANT! Very, very scary! (I am just joking, the Grizzly giant is just a very very very large sequoia tree). It's branches are the size of thin trees!
 |
| Grizzly Giant at Mariposa Grove |
On the way out we went through the California tree tunnel. A very large tree with a big tunnel cut into the middle of it! I bet I could live in there! We took so many pictures, yes, yes.
Once again those trees, yes, those trees! They were so big, that if my parents and I joined hands, we still couldn't hug the tree. We took a bus back and we made it just in time for the last bus at 5:30. At 5:34PM we came back from Mariposa Grove of Big Trees.
It was time for dinner. The food was not that great. My dad took portobello mushroom, and my mom took the garden salad. I took spaghetti (of course food from home could be mistaken for ambrosia). We came back from the dinner, and took a shower. Then we fell asleep.
Day 2:
The day began with a pancake, very very large pancakes, yes, yes. Then, the fun started. (Sing song voice) We drove into Yosemite valley! Too bad Wawona is not in the valley. My favorite part of the drive was when we were at Tunnel View (there was a tunnel right in front of us) where there was the perfect, most amazing view of my BFF, HALF DOME! (or Domy for short). Domy is the most famous rock in Yosemite!
We parked in the day use parking, and took a shuttle to the Valley Visitor Center. I got my Junior Ranger packet there. Then we took a shuttle to the Mirror Lake trailhead. We only did a little bit of the walk, just enough to get to Mirror Lake. We were expecting a reflection of Half Dome there, but we didn't see it and had to turn back as we didn't have enough time 'cos we had to go to lunch.
Terrible lunch, yes, yes. We had lunch at Yosemite Lodge. I had this bad Ziti that left an after taste in my mouth for a real long time. Then from the lodge, we boarded the shuttle for the Glacier Point tour. We learned about Bear safety, different types of pine trees, and saw many famous landmarks of Yosemite. We got to the top, WE GOT THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW EVER! WE SAW HALF DOME, NEVADA AND VERNAL FALLS AND MORE FROM GLACIER POINT! A lovely spot to have your picture taken with all the view is a little jutting rock, that I like to call "Domy Mountain".
 |
| Half Dome, Nevada and Vernal Fall from Glacier Point |
Then we hiked down the 4 mile hike. Little did I know that I had terrible shoes. The 4 mile hike has a very "creative" name. In reality the hike is almost 5 miles long. Thanks to my shoes I was slipping a lot. Along the way we stopped in a place called Union Point where we had a beautiful view of the valley, and thanks to luck we saw a lizard that John Muir wrote a whole paragraph about. The lizard was very beautiful bluish-green.
 |
| BluishGreen lizard at Union Point |
When we finally got down it was 6PM, and we had to take a little walk to the nearest shuttle stop through the swinging bridge. By the time we got there, my feet were aching!
We had dinner once again at Yosemite Lodge where I actually got root beer and better food this time (I had black bean soup with oyster crackers.Oyster crackers are not made out of Oysters.) Then we took a shuttle back to the day use parking, and drove back to Wawona Hotel, had a good shower, and then slept.
Day 3:
I woke up to the sound of my dad snoring, yes, yes. We got ready and ate breakfast in our room and once again went to the valley.
We hiked up the Mist Trail from Stop 16 (Happy Isles). The Mist trail led us to Vernal and Nevada falls. The hike to Vernal falls meant I had to go through a slippery staircase of uneven steps, while getting sprayed by the Vernal falls with a cliff on one side, and wasn't allowed to bend down (so that I won't get dizzy). Very scary, yes, yes. But the Vernal fall was very pretty with a rainbow sparkling with it. It was such a relief when I got to the top of Vernal Falls.
 |
| Uneven slippery steps to Vernal Fall |
 |
| Nevada Fall |
Then we took the same Mist Trail from the top of Vernal Falls to the top of Nevada Falls. The last part was very steep with uneven steps, but I didn't get sprayed and the stairs weren't wet (thank goodness!). The really bad news was we missed lunch, so we had to have lunch with our snacks as the main course at the top of Nevada falls. There was a cute little squirrel right in front of us!
There was a separate trail back to the valley called the John Muir Trail. I decided to hike back the John Muir trail as it was easier although longer than the Mist trail. Along the John Muir trail I found a map.I was wondering where I was, so I asked my mom. She told me I was at Clark Point. I was wondering how she knew when there was a big sign on the map that said I was at Clark Point!
After we came back from the John Muir Trail, I had a late "lunch" at the Village Grill where I got a grilled cheese sandwich which I really liked along with a slushy and some French fries.
I got a souvenir from the shop - a stuffed owl, that I've named Sugar Pine after a pine tree seen in Yosemite. Sugar Pine is way too fat and big for her wing size.
.JPG) |
| Sugar Pine |
We went off and had a pizza for myself with pineapple on top, while my mom had some good tofu and my dad had a good salad and a couple of slices of pizza.
Then we returned to Wawona Hotel, had a good shower and a good night's sleep.
Day 4:
Today we woke up to the relaxing thought of "today will be take-it-easy day". We started off with breakfast of some french toast for me, regular toast for mom, and a regular continental breakfast for dad. The French toast was a bit salty for a French toast(unless it is supposed to be like that and I've just had my mom's version).
 |
| My 10 Junior Ranger Badges, yes, yes |
After lunch, we left for the Mirror Lake trailhead (talk about a "take-it-easy" day!). This time though we finished the entire 5 mile loop. Very flat trail and we got the best view of Half-Dome and I could imagine touching it, my best friend ever! We couldn't see the reflection of Half dome though as it was very breezy and the water was rippling.
We then stopped at Sentinel Bridge going on the shuttle. We got another perfect view of Half Dome
 |
| Half Dome taken by me - @ Sentinel Bridge |
After that we went to Curry village to eat. But Curry village does not have any curry. It was simply named after Mother Curry. Once again I ate pizza but topped it with all kinds of vegetables and no pineapples, very very yummy.
In the end I wanted to do shuttle surfing, getting off at whatever stops we wanted to and exploring. But we didn't have enough time for that, so my mom was so wonderful (as usual), and suggested an amazing compromise of still going to stop 21, heading back to 1, but instead of getting off at 1, we went all around once again and back to 1. From stop 21 I got a very good view of Half Dome, and at every stop I thanked the stop for giving us a wonderful time and experience.
We returned Wawona for a nice shower and a good night sleep.
Day 5:
Today is the sad day. I woke up, and had breakfast of kid sized pancakes. Then we checked out and left for home. I was the one who DJed on the iPod and I went alphabetically. We were to head to Rajdhani (a restaurant in Cerritos) for lunch. Due to the traffic in LA, Rajdhani closed by the time we got there. I decided we could go to another place called Udupi Palace. I saved our lives, yes, yes.
We soon arrived home.
I then became domesick. :( I still am...
Very well written.. Yes yes! Between the food and description of yosemite, you have made me add this to my list of places to see!
ReplyDeleteYou won't like all the food in Yosemite, Trust me on this!
DeleteSree, great travelogue! Keep up the good work! Come to Seattle and I will take you on some beautiful hikes here too!
ReplyDeleteI remember Deception Pt hike. I will come to Seattle when I can, and I will collect even more Jr.Ranger badges :) Thanks for the compliment!
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteAnd congratulations on the 10 Junior Ranger badges! That's a great achievement!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
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ReplyDelete"The earth is an artist, and the National Parks, its carvings." That was brilliantly put. Thanks for sharing some wonderful information on your trip as well as Yosemite park. For a moment i thought u ran into a real Grizzly giant :-) How old were the Sequioa trees? Do write on that when you find time as well as on the soundtrack you played for the road trip to Yosemite.Well written and insightful as always.
Aww. You are saying way too much about the Earth being an artist comment!
DeleteGrandma also enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteSree! your description took me back to the time that Hari and I visited Yosemite -- funnily enough, on our way back from Upper Yosemite falls, my feet hurt cuz of bad footwear too! :D
ReplyDeleteYour owl is soo cute - so is the name - the first time I saw the photo, I felt like I could eat it! ;-) not a very vegan thought, but there are times when I feel like Vibha is also edible -- yes yes! - so you see where I am coming from!
Also I rarely (if ever) say this of lizards - but that one in the photo sure is a stunner.
BTW, a trip to Pune might help cure some of that dome sickness - we have lots of rocky mountains that you can go hiking in and many quarter and half domes :P
keep writing and sharing! love,
Thank you for the compliment. Especially the one about Sugar Pine. My mom literally thinks I am edible too! SHE GNAWS ON MY EARS AT TIMES!!!!!!! I;ll come to Pune when I can.
DeleteBeautifully written. The content rich, style picturesque. I felt like I travelled with you to Yosemite. When you decide you are going to write a travelogue, does it make you pay attention to little details that you might have missed otherwise? What do you like about blogging? Keep it coming. I enjoy reading your pieces!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the entertaining read. Loved the details and Yosemite is one of my favourite places in the US, so enjoyed it even more. Keep writing.
ReplyDeleteAside, can a double positive be understood as a negative? Yeah, right.
Yes, yes... Loved the every word you wrote!!
ReplyDeleteYou inspire all the gals out there !! Hugs!!