disneyfaninaz
It takes faith, trust & pixie dust!
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2007
I am normally on the Cruise and Disneyland boards so Im not sure if this is the place to put this report, but I dont see any place better so here goes. I hope this report helps others planning a trip to Central California and the Sierra Nevadas.
We are a family of 3.
Myself, an anal and obsessive vacation planner
DH, a willing participant
DD, a well traveled almost 9 year old.
Our trip consisted of 2 1/2 days in Yosemite and 1 1/2 days in the Monterey Bay area.
Day 1 Do you know the way to San Jose?
We live in Arizona so we decided to fly to San Jose and rent a car rather than drive to Yosemite from home. We fly Southwest Airlines and as usual had absolutely no issues. We left on Monday, May 25th, Memorial Day. Our flight was a little under 2 hours. After retrieving our luggage, (Boy, I sure did miss Magical Express!) we headed out to get our rental car. We rented from Hertz and again had no issues. We hit the road heading south towards Gilroy and stopped for lunch in Morgan Hill. We then started heading East. I couldnt even count all of the fresh fruit stands we passed going through the Pacheco Pass heading towards the Sierra Nevadas. After about 3 hours we finally hit Oakhurst which is the largest town just South of the park. We stocked up on some groceries and gas and then headed towards our hotel. We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp. It is about 10 minutes outside the South gate of the park. We really enjoyed this resort. We reserved a cottage. Tenaya recently acquired a little resort adjacent to their property so we had to walk a bit between our cottage and the main building, but it wasnt bad. Our cottage had 2 queen beds, refrigerator, microwave and a gas fireplace. It was very quiet and comfortable.
After getting settled in, we went back to the lodge for dinner. We ate on the patio with the fire pit going. It was delightful. Tenaya offered flashlight nature hikes every night. I booked us for the one that night. There was really no moon to speak of, so I was looking forward to seeing the stars. I was not disappointed. We all met under the Port Coachere at 8:00 PM. Our guide, Jessica, started us out on what used to be the railroad bed of the Sugar Pine Railroad. While walking she told us about all of the plants, trees and animals that were indigenous to the area. Near the end of the hike, we turned off our flashlights and she showed us a few constellations. We were then given wintergreen lifesavers and were told to watch our partner while they bit into it. It created a green flash in your mouth that you could see really well in the dark. That was pretty cool. Then it was off to bed as we had a big day in the park scheduled for tomorrow.
Next: Yosemite, here we come!
We are a family of 3.
Myself, an anal and obsessive vacation planner
DH, a willing participant
DD, a well traveled almost 9 year old.
Our trip consisted of 2 1/2 days in Yosemite and 1 1/2 days in the Monterey Bay area.
Day 1 Do you know the way to San Jose?
We live in Arizona so we decided to fly to San Jose and rent a car rather than drive to Yosemite from home. We fly Southwest Airlines and as usual had absolutely no issues. We left on Monday, May 25th, Memorial Day. Our flight was a little under 2 hours. After retrieving our luggage, (Boy, I sure did miss Magical Express!) we headed out to get our rental car. We rented from Hertz and again had no issues. We hit the road heading south towards Gilroy and stopped for lunch in Morgan Hill. We then started heading East. I couldnt even count all of the fresh fruit stands we passed going through the Pacheco Pass heading towards the Sierra Nevadas. After about 3 hours we finally hit Oakhurst which is the largest town just South of the park. We stocked up on some groceries and gas and then headed towards our hotel. We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge in Fish Camp. It is about 10 minutes outside the South gate of the park. We really enjoyed this resort. We reserved a cottage. Tenaya recently acquired a little resort adjacent to their property so we had to walk a bit between our cottage and the main building, but it wasnt bad. Our cottage had 2 queen beds, refrigerator, microwave and a gas fireplace. It was very quiet and comfortable.
After getting settled in, we went back to the lodge for dinner. We ate on the patio with the fire pit going. It was delightful. Tenaya offered flashlight nature hikes every night. I booked us for the one that night. There was really no moon to speak of, so I was looking forward to seeing the stars. I was not disappointed. We all met under the Port Coachere at 8:00 PM. Our guide, Jessica, started us out on what used to be the railroad bed of the Sugar Pine Railroad. While walking she told us about all of the plants, trees and animals that were indigenous to the area. Near the end of the hike, we turned off our flashlights and she showed us a few constellations. We were then given wintergreen lifesavers and were told to watch our partner while they bit into it. It created a green flash in your mouth that you could see really well in the dark. That was pretty cool. Then it was off to bed as we had a big day in the park scheduled for tomorrow.
Next: Yosemite, here we come!