By total chance,
Owen had created, organized and planned a Public Safety Day
for children to be held the morning after our arrival!
He was a little concerned that enough kids would attend,
but he needn't have worried:
it was a huge success!
Patrol cars, jet skis (lifeguard/rescue),
coast guard boats, fire engines etc
were there for the children to climb in and on.
The patient officers spent the morning explaining and visiting.
Of course I liked the park patrol horses....
That smart son of mine had thought of it all.....
the kids were kept at a safe distance while a helicopter came in for a landing!
and then it was swarmed by the kids for a close up inspection.
Wspent an hour or so at the park watching Owen do his job
and the kids play
(and on this day it was hard to tell one from the other!)
Then although we'd only been in SF for one night and one morning,
it was already time to leave.
We were coming back,
but first we were going to spend a few days in the mountains with Cathy and Otto!
Cathy picked us up at the end of the BART line,
and we talked nonstop on the drive to their cabin in Sonora.
The talking continued into the wee hours of the night
and the next morning we bumped and wound along one lane roads
seeing spectacular gorges, mountains and river channels on our way to Yosemite.
Nothing prepared me for the grandeur of the park.
It seemed that I was looking out at a photoshopped "green screen"....
Seriously, does this even look real??
My camera broke a while ago and these are all iPhone photos!!
Imagine if I'd have had a "real" camera!
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| Yosemite "Tunnel View" |
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| Tired but Smiling Hikers @ Vernal Falls Footbridge |
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| Bridalveil Falls |
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| Cathy, Joe and I on Swinging Bridge |
We had drinks and ate on the patio at Yosemite's Ahwahnee Lodge
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| Ahwahnee Lodge Common Room |
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| Ahwahnee Ceiling Detail |
Sort of like Hogwarts isn't it?
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| Ahwahnee Dining Room |
A trip to Columbia (an abandoned mining town),
cooking/eating/drinking
and lots more talking filled the next two days.
You never run out of things to say to dear friends....
We debated and discussed
the problems of the world and our families
the whole way back to San Francisco.
Part Two to follow!
I spent a few weeks in Yosemite every summer of my youth. I love it. I think the crowds are worse these days. It looks like your son organized a great event. You can't go wrong with horses and helicopters.
ReplyDeleteNothing like some gorgeous natural sights to get your heartbeat up. I LOVE these shots and that area of the USA. Just love it and all of it's grandeur.
ReplyDeleteEverything is breath-taking! I was like a kid jumping from one snap shot to the next! And I know what you mean by thinking these sights must be photo shopped. Nature is overwhelmingly perfect.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I would have made a bee-line to the horses, too. :) And cats -- did they have cats? Roses? LOL
Yes, sort of like Hogwarts, and are those live burning candles as well? The iPhone takes great photos, so not having a camera didn't seem a hindrance, Grace.
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