Trip Overview
Date Overnight
July 26 San Francisco - Hilton Financial District
July 28 Yosemite Valley Lodge
July 29 Yosemite Valley Lodge
July 30 Yosemite Valley Lodge
July 31 Livermore - Hilton Garden Inn
August 1 Fly Home from SFO
July 26 - San Francisco
We flew from Jacksonville to San Francisco with a long layover in Atlanta on the way.
We got to San Francisco & picked up our rental car from Avis. BJ was pleased to get a Chrysler Pacifica, the same car she drives at home. This one was a hybrid though. We weren't sure what that meant since none of us had any experience with a hybrid, but we took it anyway.
We drove to the Hilton in the Financial District to check in. We discovered that the entire front part of the hotel was under construction so we had to weave our way through plywood tunnels to get inside. Their self-parking lot was closed because of construction so we had to pay the $75 valet fee to park.
We had a fairly decent view from our room if you ignored the ugly rooftop of the building next to us.
Once we got settled, we went for a walk to explore. We walked around the North Beach Area past Grace Cathedral where folks were lounging around and enjoying the beautiful afternoon.
We made a stop at the popular Piazza Pellegrini for a glass of wine and delicious bruschetta.
Next, we climbed Telegraph Hill toward Coit Tower with its beautiful views of the city & bay.
We chuckled about the sign over the kitchen door that read, "Manicomio" which means "Madhouse".
We made our way back to the hotel through Chinatown admiring the lights and decorations.
July 27 - Yosemite - Mariposa Grove & Glacier Point
We got an early start and made it to Oakhurst in time for lunch at South Gate Brewing.
We put Grizzly Giant Trail in our GPS and it took us down some really remote roads where we saw no one until we encountered a woman on horseback. We decided she must be Yosemite Sam's wife, Samantha. 🙂 Samantha got us turned around and headed toward the South Gate. There was a bit of a wait to get in. We used Nancy's Senior Citizen Lifetime Pass to get in! (Thankfully she remembered to bring it. I forgot mine.)
We parked at Mariposa Grove Welcome Plaza and took the bus to the trailhead. We hiked into the grove (some made it further than others...it was REALLY HOT).
We kind of wanted to see a bear, but not up close!
We took the long drive to Glacier Point. The roads are really winding. Glacier Point had the most beautiful views!
We had dinner reservations at the lodge at 7. We were less that 2 miles from the lodge as the crow flies, but it took us over an hour on the winding roads. We had dinner (chili that was not very good) and then checked into our very rustic lodge rooms. (Our room came complete with a mouse trap, all baited and ready for its victim!) No AC, but they did provide multiple fans!
July 28 - Yosemite - Mirror Lake, Curry Village, Yosemite Falls
Breakfast for most of us was at the Starbucks inside the Base Camp Eatery. After some searching, we found the shuttle bus stop and rode to the Mirror Lake stop.
Eva Marie and Rebecca tried to make a new friend on the bus but he wasn't interested.
Mirror Lake Loop was a wonderful hike through trees and past huge rocks.
We took note of the warning about mountain lions in the area, especially the advice, "If attacked, fight back!"
The lake was pretty dried up, but we could see the reflection of the mountains in the nearby ponds and imagine how spectacular it must be when it is full.
Back at the lodge some napped during the afternoon heat but BJ was restless so she walked to the lower Yosemite Falls viewing area.
When she got back everyone was ready for a card game before dinner.
We had hoped to go to Degnan's Kitchen for dinner but it was closed so we went to the Base Camp Eatery. The food was surprisingly good!
We took an after dinner walk to the water behind our lodge.
July 29 - Yosemite - Olmstead Point, Tenaya Lake, Tuolume Meadows
We were disappointed to find that the Starbucks doesn't open until 6:30AM. We wanted to get an early start as we had planned a long driving day based on recommendations from Hannah, our server at the Mountain Room Lounge.
We still got on the road by 7:30AM. Road construction caused us further delay.
Our first stop was Olmstead Point where we climbed out on the ledge to get a better view.
Afterward, we took a short hike for another scenic view.
Beautiful Tenaya Lake with its deep blue water was our next stop. We spent a few minutes on the beach, watch paddle boarders and kayakers.
Tuolume Meadows was next.
We hiked out to beautiful Parsons Lodge and Soda Springs.
We were hoping to see some wildlife. A marmot popped out to see us.
Our last view was of Puppy Dome before we turned around and headed back to the lodge.
We didn't want to miss our dinner reservation at Ahwahnee!
Pan Roasted Halibut charred Hispi Cabbage, yuzu-miso sauce and Roast Elk Tenderloin sunchoke puree, sugar snap pea sauce, fondant potato, citrus sage gremolata paired with Hatcher Tailem Bend Vineyard Zinfandel 2018
We were too full after the meal so we got our dessert to go! Danish Capirotada goat cheese anglaise cajeta, drunken figs, candied almonds and the alternate choice was a decadent chocolate dessert.
July 30 - Livermore
We got an early start for our 3+ hour drive to Livermore. We took our obligatory photo at the exit to the park and then took the winding road down the mountain.
When we got close, we ran into some slow traffic, but got to our hotel in Livermore by 11AM, too early to check in. We had lunch at the 1st Avenue Ale House. Rebecca had a massage while the rest of us went wine tasting.
We went to 3 Steve's, a winery started by 3 friends named Steve. Stacy, whose name tag said, "I'm not Steve" was full of personality and generous with the the tastes. Our favorite wine at 3 Steves was the 2020 Reserve Cabernet.
We went next door to McGrail for our next tasting. The view was spectacular! Allison was our server. The 2020 Merlot was BJ's favorite there! We got a recommendation for a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
Dinner was at Uncle Yu's at the Vineyard. The wine list was overwhelming with 600 wines by the bottle and 50 by the glass!
July 31 - Livermore
Our bodies are still on East Coast time, so it was a struggle waiting for the first winery to open! Darcie Kent Winery opened at 11AM and we arrived at 11:07. The tasting room is in a purple barn filled with the owner's art work.
Nancy & I chose to sample the red wines. Eva Marie went with the white wines. Casey was our server. She let us sample a Merlot that was about to be released!
Next we went to Murietta's Well where we sampled the wine as well as some of the best Brussels Sprouts any of us had ever tasted!
BJ met her birthday twin, born on the same day and same year!
Concannon was our next stop. The were having $5 Fridays where the regular $30 tasting menu was only $5! BJ wore her Birthday tiara, so everyone sang to her! Michele was our very fun server.
There is a house on the property that was purchased from the Sears catalog!
Next we went to Wente. We were running late so we almost missed out, but since it was BJ's birthday, we talked them into letting us stay. Carina was our server.
For dinner, Eva Marie wanted to introduce us to In-N-Out Burgers. We used BJ's birthday tiara to beg to break in line and then paid the check for people behind us.
BJ wasn't quite ready for bed yet so she talked into Nancy into going out. We tried to go to Del Valle Winery for their Fire Pit Friday concert but they were sold out.
We found a concert by Super Diamond – The Neil Diamond Tribute Band at the Almost Famous Wine Company that was fantastic and spent the rest of the evening there.
August 1 - SFO-ATL-JAX
Nancy, BJ & Eva Marie drove back to San Francisco & returned the car. Rebecca decided to take a later flight that would still connect with our Atlanta-Jacksonville flight. We had about an hour before our flight left for Atlanta. The four and a half hour flight to Atlanta got us in at 7PM giving us a 4 hour layover which we spent in the Sky Club. Rebecca's flight was delayed so it looked like she would not make the connection after all. The airline software had already rebooked her for the next day but she actually landed in time to make the connection IF SHE RAN! We talked to the gate agent and got him to put her listing back on our flight. We waited nervously until we heard her thundering down the concourse out of breath! She had taken a fall on the way, but she made it! This is the flight attendant that picked her up when she fell.
Another wonderful trip to one of America's fabulous National Parks! Thanks to Eva Marie for organizing!
