From Coast to Mountain

We got a Shared Van back to the airport this morning, saying goodbye to our lovely little hotel. 18 dollars per person gets you a shared mini bus, and we went straight from our hotel back to the airport - easy!

Picked up the hire car about 11 and headed east across the Bay on the San Mateo-Hayward Bridge - some 7 miles of it!

The drive for the most part was flat through a very dry landscape, the only green where irrigation is possible. We made a couple of stops - at a BevMo to stock up on drinks, and a supermarket for some basic food stuffs, and later to....a Taco Bell, last visited in Oman in the 1990's! We could have gone to a Wendy's or a Popeyes, similarily familiar from Oman! 

Finally we saw hills ahead and began the ascent into the mountains. Once in Yosemite Park the view around every bend just got better and better.

 

However the excitement all came to a halt when we saw the sign, within 3 miles of Yosemite Village and our destination, that the traffic queue meant it would take 2 hours to get there! Well, it wasnt quite that bad, but it did take us an hour of nose to tail driving. Remind me never to go anywhere touristy on a Labour Day weekend! 

However once in the village all was good. Checked into our little lodge, had a nice drink on the balcony, and had a basic burger from the Food Court. All to explore tomorrow