Yosemite 2, the sequel

You probably think that sequels are never as good as the original. That's not true here, the sequel was as good, if not better, than the original. Vickys buboils had swelled overnight to historic proportions, so we lathered her with savlon.  We ate our meagre breakfasts then headed back into the park. This lodge was only a couple of miles from the gate, and our previously bought pass meant

 we were waved on through the gateway. 

With Cam beside us we headed for his 'must not be missed' location, glacier point. Along the way he regaled us with tales of the park and tips, until we pulled up at the parking lot. No sign of a pustule pop yet as we headed for the viewpoint. My word cam was so right. We had climbed to the top of one of the peaks and could see the whole of Yosemite valley spread out before us. 

You can just see mirror lake in the trees. 

Nevada and vernal falls

We spent ages looking at the view before going back down into the valley to call at bridalveil falls. Another one that soaks you through, although at 100+ that's nice. 

Our original plan had been to take the Tioga pass across the Sierra Nevada and come at Lake Tahoe from that side, around three hours. But in keeping with our hols the pass is still closed due to snow!! I was so not looking forward to the five hour drive that meant we would have. But in keeping with our hols, it was fantastic! The road took us out of Yosemite to a switchback down a hill like something from James Bond. With very few other cars on the road Ian loved it. We then crossed some banjo country before hitting CA 49, the gold route. We passed through Angel Camp where Mark Twain wrote his first novel, The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County. No change in the blister yet. 

Next we hit the Sierra Nevada, and the road took us up and through a high (8000ft) pass in the north of the range. The views up there were spectacular, with loads of snow still around. 

We also saw a yellow bellied Marmot run across the road in front of us and down its burrow. 

Not actual blog footage

Eventually we descended to South Lake Tahoe, site of the first ever Winter Olympics, because all the mountains surrounding it make it a ski resort. We pulled into the hotel car park and the heavy car door swung shut on Vickys arm. You can guess what happened next. Several wipes were required to wipe up the pus that had run all down the inside of the car door. In Vickys words, it was grim. 

The hotel didn't look much from the outside, but when Ian opened the door to the room he said 'wow'. We had a balcony overlooking the lake and the sun was setting. 

There was no restaurant at the hotel so we walked along to a Greek place by the dock. It was cheap (for California) and Vicky and I had cocktails. (Not so cheap!)

The hotel had no air con so we left the balcony door open and drifted off to the sounds of tiny lake waves lapping the shore

Hotel watch

The balcony and view can't be beaten. Great big room but small bathroom. No robes. No breakfast. No air con. But the balcony and view can't be beaten! 8/10

Song for the day

California sunset - Neil Young