July 2014: California trip--Part III: YOSEMITE!

We left the Hyatt Hotel and Union Square and drove to Yosemite for the weekend! It was a rather long, tiring drive, but a nice change from the city. We checked in our lame motel room and went to see the famous Sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove our first evening. They were AMAZING!

Monstrous Sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove near the south Yosemite entrance 

My mom and Mike walking around one of the protected trees in the area

The Sequoias are among other, smaller pines in the forest

Dead roots of a fallen Sequoia 

These monsters are so big and tall!

Sequoias have withstood forest fires due to their size and density

Mike and my mom pose near a group of gorgeous Sequoias

The name of this giant Sequoia is The Bachelor and the Three Maidens
I needed to take 3 individual photos to get the whole tree in the photo!

Photo 1 

Photo 2

Photo 3

This was the saddest scene ever! On our way up to Yosemite the following morning, we passed a sign that read: "Speed Kills Bears." Moments later we saw this poor bear who had been hit by a speeding van just minutes earlier! She had been dragged by the van's bumper, which had broken off and was on the side of the road.

Gorgeous vistas on our way up to Glacier Point in Yosemite

Mike with his sick wife--I had the flu during our whole Yosemite experience 

In fact, I found out a week later that it was strep-throat!

Half Dome and waterfalls

Me and my mom with El Capitan in the distance

El Capitan rises above the rest of the massive granite rocks

Glacier Point waterfall

Mike and my mom at one of the viewing stops

A friendly squirrel amongst the tourists

Cool tunnel leading to the south entrance to Yosemite

Beautiful Blue Jay we spotted near Yosemite

July 2014: California trip--Part IV

We took SO MANY pictures on this trip that we needed to cut the blog post into four parts! This is the last set of photos we took while in California.

Sea Lion at Pier 39 showing off for tourists

Like a bunch of beached whales, these sea lions lazily sun themselves on these wooden platforms
The temps were in the 60's and 70's the whole time--I LOVED the weather!

This white arch on Fisherman's Wharf was our landmark, as it was directly across from the Raddisson Hotel where we stayed. Pier 39 was just down the street from us, so there was plenty to do and to see while Mike attended his 2nd conference--this time at Livermore Labs, during our second week in San Francisco. Unfortunately, he had to commute to and from the conference every day in the busy S.F. traffic.

Our lovely hotel room at the Raddisson Hotel on Fisherman's Wharf

Fresh crabs could be seen everywhere on Fisherman's Wharf!

Love this guy who posed for us behind the restaurant counter!

Choose your crab, and they cook it for you

There's my mom near the long row of crab restaurants

My mom and I decided to ride the duck boat again, this time in San Francisco!
It was one of the highlights of our trip like it was for us in Seattle last year

Our hunky "Captain Dan" who drove our boat

The San Francisco skyline as seen from our boat

Treasure Island seen from our boat

Boudin's Bakery caught everyone's attention with this awesome alligator-shaped bread 

Baby turtles and teddy bears made out of bread dough were also part of the display

Me and my mom near a San Francisco cable car 

The Powell & Hyde Street "Turnaround" where my mom and I rode the cable car

Inside an old San Francisco cable car for the first time!

You can't tell by the look on her face, but this was FUN!
I actually took the shot before we started moving

The ride on the cable car was great, but the endlessly long line
for the return trip took hours and dampened our spirits a bit

An Irish pub-style restaurant where we ate breakfast on the last day in S.F.

The Powell & Market Street cable car on the turnaround we rode on our way back 

The old wooden turnabout on Powell and Market Street
Cable cars have to be manually pushed and turned around

Gorgeous hanging baskets 

And here it goes! These guys are strong!

My mom's poor little feet were sore and swollen from all the walking and standing

Poor Mama!

We still had a fabulous time in San Francisco!