hello all, after again a good night's rest and a delicious breakfast (I tried the pancakes today...mmm!) we headed for Sequoia National Park, which was quite a drive, but before we were there, we calculated our route to Lone Pine and we were in for a surprise: there is no road through Sequoia, so we had to drive all the way back and all the way down and then up again, which would take us about 5:30 hrs !!! Well, ok, so be it. the area of the Sequoia park is again beautiful though different from Yosemite-area. We drove on a terribly curved road very highly up to the parking lot to see the General Sherman Sequoia tree... man! beautiful ! Unfortunately he is dead in the top, but as he is not completely dead, he keeps on expanding...it is amazing! The entire woods around the General are very fairy tale-like, with the huge sequoia's, which grow very straight and look like they just stand ON the ground instead of having roots. very weird ! they also feel strange, not like a normal bark, but more dry, more "furry" if you like, strange. After the stroll to the General, we drove all the way back, admiring the views of Moro rock and all the other rocks, some of them reminded us of a Lord of the Rings-scenery. And then we set off for Lone Pine, which is a huge tour, because there are no roads crossing Sequoia National Park. We stopped for dinner a bit before Mojave, and had a Whopper at a Burger King, our very first hamburger since we have arrived in America. Blègh! that was not our thing. Either we ran into a wrong Burger King or we just aren't hamburger-lovers... Anyway. At about 20:30 hrs we arrived at The Portal and saw that there was no vacancy anymore, so thank God we made the reservation by phone this morning, because driving on these pitch dark ways is not really my favourite !! Oh yes, temperature today raise to 104°F, being about 40°C !! Not bad huh?! Tomorrow we will be heading for Death Valley, and as it is in the middle of nowhere, it might be that we will not have internet access, so it might be that we will not be able to update our blog. Everybody, it is 9:30 pm now, our bedtime Goodnight !
Hey all, sorry for the delay in reporting, but yesterday evening the Bloggen-server must have been out of order or so because we could not enter any messages... The breakfast at The Bug, is perfectly fit for an "adventurer", for less than 10$ we could have scrambled eggs, bacon, baked potatoes, fresh fruit (strawberries, pineable, melon,grapefruit,..), youghurt, pancakes with maple syrup, muesli, orange juice,... delicious ! After we kind of stuffed ourselves, we headed for a hike in Yosemite. We first passed Bridal Veil Falls, which really look like a veil, surely in this time of the year, when the rivers are close to being dry, still, it was lovely to see. We went further in the park to Glacier point (about 40' drive - this park is HUGE!!) where we arrived about 10:30 hrs. After a look at the stunning view of Half Dome, we started the hike which a ranger at the Visitor's Center had suggested us. (if I éver see this guy again!!!) After we packed some water and some muesli bars, we left the parking lot. (and after an experience with the park's toilets, which are nothing more than a huge bucket with a lid, turned upside down on top of a large hole, no flushing possible of course, need I say more?! ) So we went down on the 7,4 km trail, curving down steeply towards Yosemite Valley, with breathtaking views along the way, with small blue lizzards crossing your path and squirrels having a look at you, we even saw a deer with her cubs !! No bears though...We arrived about 2,5 hours later in the valley, and were looking forward to a cool drink and maybe a sandwich...NOTHING there ! I wanted to take the bus back up, but my dear husband thought it was not "real", not a real challenge if we would not go up again... OH MY GOD!! this was a hike that was definitely not to be underestimated ! we started off again in the Valley where it was extremely warm ( 30°C or even more) and no wind at all, after 100 m, I was sweating like a horse which ran a full race !! Anyway, grabbed our courage and went on. Nowhere on the entire hike there is a flat part, it keeps on going up, in two curves you easily go up 20 m! Never mind the breathtaking views, this hike made the Samaria Canyon look like a walk in the park! Fortunately there was some wind and we packed enough water, after 3 hours we were back where we started (abt 7000 ft above sealevel and abt 3000ft higher than the valley), kind of crawled into the store for something to drink and I even had the courage to climb up a bit further to look at Glacier Point and the stunning view of all the rockformations and peaks! What a day! We were back in the hotel at 7:15pm and the shower was one of the best we ever had! We had a light meal and went to bed. Today we are heading for Sequoia National Park...further reporting tonight !
hello all, after a night under a starry, starry sky, we woke up too early, but could see all the stars of our milky way and could see the sunrise above the mountains and breathe in the crisp, pure air of Nevada. We had a copious breakfast in our B&B - www.bstreethouse.com- consisting of sparkling pommegranate juice, orange juice, coffee, tea, scones, muffins (homemade !!), strawberries, honeydew, melon, youghurt, eggs with herbs, turkey-apple sausage and baked potatoes with dill, which actually was our breakfast, snack and lunch-in-one! The chat with the most charming owners kept us a bit too long, but finally we headed for Yosemite National Park, a drive of 4,5 hours. And what a drive ! Wow! Beautiful scenery (Pocahontas-like) enrolled before our eyes with deep blue lakes, steep mountains, rocks, huge trees, ... it made us feel very humble. In the park we left our car at a parking lot and took a hike to the sequoia-trees at Tuolumn-Grove.Amazing those trees which are about 2500 years old, makes you very quiet (again!) Then we passed The Dome and El Capitan in the centre of Yosemite Valley. If you look at El Capitan you can hardly believe that people actually climb it as a HOBBY !!!! (cfr Mark Herremans) In the evening, we drove further to Midpine, to our room at Yosemite Bug Lodge and Hostel (www.yosemitebug.com) which is a lovely space in the middle of the woods, our room is in a kind of chalet, but when you enter it is like a luxurious hotelroom!! I love it ! The only thing is: it is very, very hot here and inside the rooms too. We are having a -very Far West- fan, but in spite of all its efforts, the rooms feels like a sauna on high speed!!!! Tomorrow, we will go back to the park for a hike of about 6 to 8 hours, don't know whether I'll have the energy to write tomorrow night, but let's see then !! :o)
hello everybody ! it was with pain in our hearts that we left San Francisco this morning. This is an awesome city (to use an american word) and we are vèry fond of it. We like the atmosphere, the people, the way of living,... the only thing that we lack is ...money !! Housing is extremely expensive in SF!!! Anyway, we took the 45-bus this morning to Union Square and observed the people on their morning journey to work (interesting!) and went to the Hertz office to pick up our car. We were helped (??) by a big asian woman, got our car and took off. Now the steep, vèry steep hills of SF were for us to be conquered! But Marc managed well and after a short while we passed the Golden Gate again (which was now completely hidden in fog, very dark, very wet, very bad weather-like, but that is just not the case because at the same time the city centre was already sunbathing, very weird! you get up, look at the sky, decide that it is autumn, dress warmly, take the buss and look like a lunatic when you arrive at the center where it is full sunshine...!!) We drove to Muir Woods and had our lucky day because today the 10$ p.p.didn't have to be paid (because is was 100 years Muir Wood or something)It is a very small park, but so lovely, so peaceful, so quiet....After that we drove to Napa City and were very surprised of how "cultivated" it looked. But that was nothing in comparison with Sacramento!!! This is the capital city of California and the old town comes straight from a Western movie ! It is amazing, it feels like getting into Disneyland !!! And still all the shops are open, restaurants are, but it is so surreal... We had a nice dinner at the side of the river, with a glass of champagne to celebrate that we made it to America (after the bad take off, remember?) and some nice Chardonnay of the region. We made a stop in a candy shop (no 50-Cent around, sorry !!!) and bought a few candies for on our way. Ah yes, we also found a Wallmart where we bought a cooler and some drinks and some cereal bars, now our journey can begin!
Tomorrow we are heading for Lake Tahoe and Virginia City, but now we will try to get some sleep in our beds next to the highway... sleep tight, till tomorrow!!!
After a good night's rest, we could "collect" our breakfast at the hotel's reception: juice, coffee, pastry and muffins. All so sweet...for us this is no real breakfast, but it for sure provides you with all the sugars you need for the entire day! And then we took off for a stroll to the Golden Gate bridge, which was unfortunately covered in fog (due to the cold water of the Pacific and the warm land temperature) When we took the bus 45 to go downtown, we realised what a hùùùge walk we have done yesterday! Completely nuts that we didn't take any bus !!! We drove to Union Square and passed China Town, of which half the population wanted to be on our bus, we immediatly thought we were somewhere in Asia! Anyway, got of at Union Square, took a look at Macy's, Bloomingdale's, bought some fruitjuice and took the hop-on, hop-off sightseeingbus, which brought us past the most interesting places to see in San Francisco: Chinatown, financial district with the Transam pyramid, Fishermans Wharf and then via Lombard street to the Golden Gate bridge where we almost froze and were blown away ! it is frigging cold out there on the bridge. We stopped on the other side for some pictures of the skyline of SF. Beautiful ! It is such a lovely city, not too many too high buildings, lovely with the steep streets and the old cable trams, we could easily live here ! We feel so at ease, so comfortable, no problem whatsoever. We took the tour again to get off at Fisherman's Wharf, we walked to pier 39 where we watched the sea lions who made Fisherman's Wharf their home. The area is also known for delicious seafood, so of course we had to taste that: shrimp salad for Marc and half a crab for me, washed down with a glass of wine...there are worse things in life !! This city is so big and so lovely and there's so much to see and the houses are magnificent, what an experience !We both love it here and feel sorry that we have to leave tomorrow.Unfortunately the SF night life will be for another time, we are both nackered again and will hit the sack....
Italië 2024
hello all, after again a good night's rest and a delicious breakfast (I tried the pancakes today...mmm!) we headed for Sequoia National Park, which was quite a drive, but before we were there, we calculated our route to Lone Pine and we were in for a surprise: there is no road through Sequoia, so we had to drive all the way back and all the way down and then up again, which would take us about 5:30 hrs !!! Well, ok, so be it.  "Wink"){kind=icon}
 "Laughing"){kind=icon}
hello everybody ! it was with pain in our hearts that we left San Francisco this morning. This is an awesome city (to use an american word) and we are vèry fond of it. We like the atmosphere, the people, the way of living,... the only thing that we lack is ...money !! Housing is extremely expensive in SF!!! "Twisted Evil"){kind=icon}
 "Confused"){kind=icon}
