Day 1- we arrived at Yosemite NP through the south entrance near Wawona. Unfortunately, Mariposa Grove is closed for restoration through next summer, so we were not able to see the Giant Sequoias there. Instead, the guide at the visitor's center directed us to a great little swimming spot under a swinging bridge nearby. It was a beautiful introduction to Yosemite. We also toured the Pioneer Yosemite History Center before driving up through the park to our hotel, the Yosemite View Lodge.
Day 2- we started in the morning with a short hike to McGurk Meadow. The wildflowers were beautiful and the bees were buzzing! It was an eerie feeling walking through the meadow with the sound of constant buzzing in your ears. After that, we drove up Glacier Point road and stopped at Washburn Point and Glacier Point for some amazing views of Yosemite Valley. Then we (minus Sarah who stayed in the car) did a 2 mile hike to Taft Point, which was incredible and scary. You could walk right up to the edge of a cliff! The views along Glacier Point were the highlight of the trip for Brian.
Day 3- our first day in the Valley. We hiked the Mist Trail up to Vernal Falls, which was the most difficult hike we did in Yosemite. It was quite steep! But worth it! Sarah went all the way up to the falls and got wet! After that, we were pretty wiped out, so we took the shuttle over to the Ahwahnee Hotel and relaxed with some cocktails on the porch while the girls played on the lawn.
Day 4- another fun day in the Valley. We started with a hike to Mirror Lake, which was almost dried up. Then, after a picnic lunch, we rented a raft and spent the next 2 1/2 hours leisurely rafting down a 3-mile stretch of the Merced River. This was probably my favorite activity. The views of the valley from the river were really cool! We also found a little rope swing that the girls had fun with- swinging out and dropping into the river. The water was very cold though, so they popped right out and back into the raft! Before heading back to the hotel, Brian and I hiked the short path to Lower Yosemite Falls.
Day 5- our last day in Yosemite, we drove up to Tuolumne Meadows. We hiked to Soda Springs and had a picnic lunch along the creek. I had planned on spending some time swimming in Tenaya Lake, but the water was too cold! It sure was beautiful though! After lunch, we exited Yosemite through Tioga Pass and drove to Lake Tahoe. We met our longtime family friend Rhonda Keen and her husband Jeff for dinner in South Lake Tahoe. It's been a long long time since I've seen her, so it was really nice to spend an evening with her.
Day 6- we rented a boat and spent about 4 hours on the lake. We also rented a tube, which the girls really enjoyed, after they got over their fear of the cold deep water!! It is so clear, you can see about 80+ feet down into the water!! After a day on the lake, we were wiped, so we got a pizza and took it back to the hotel and called it a night!
Day 7- super fun beach day! Rhonda and Jeff said that if we only had one beach day, we needed to go to Sand Harbor, so we did...and it was incredible. Again, the scenery is so beautiful! The water was still cold, but slightly warmer in the shallow beach area than the middle of the lake. After a while, you could get used to it and swim around in the water a bit. (I never did though!) We rented a paddle board, which Sarah loved. The water was so calm, so it was easy for her to stand up. Brian took the girls out to a good swimming spot while I relaxed and read my book on the beach! In the evening, we went to a free concert on the beach and watched the sunset. It was a great end to a wonderful vacation!
*Another highlight of our trip was the license plate game. After 5 days in Yosemite, we had seen 47 of the 50 states' license plates. The only ones we lacked were Vermont, Hawaii, and Alaska. We didn't see any new ones in Tahoe. That is the most successful license plate game we've ever had!
