San Francisco and Senoma

 

San Francisco was an interesting place.  In some ways, it was just like any other major city with a Tiffany & Co. and a Cheesecake Factory.  However, in a lot of ways, it is quite unique.  The hilly landscape, painted ladies (victorian townhomes)and the bay covered with a blanket of fog give the city its character. It was very odd though.  I looked on the T.V. trying the find Wake Up San Francisco starring Danny Tanner, but I could never find it.  Crazy. :) 

 

 

Pacific Ocean

Sea Lions lounging around. 

 

Alcatraz...very creepy.

 

 

Crabs in front of a restaurant on the wharf. 

 

 

 Golden Gate Bridge.  Beautiful art deco design.

 

 

 Bridge to nowhere?

 

 

Legit chinese food.  So good!

Conservatory of Flowers.  Really interesting building.  Not only held lots of beautiful flowers and butterflies, but it was also very humid in there.  Reminded me of home.  :)

 

 

 

Sonoma!  What a lovely town full of interesting shops and wineries.  We went on a wine tour and learned all about the wine making process.  Much more complicated than I would have ever thought.  Even though there were no ripe purple grapes on the vines, it was truly a beautiful part of California.  

 

 

Cave where they store the wine. 

 

 

 

 

 A baby hanging out at home.  Sweet!

 

 

 

 

Las Vegas and Yosemite

Day 3 - 4

After leaving Arizona we made our way to Nevada.  We made a pit stop on Hoover Dam, one of the hottest and windiest places I have ever been.  

Then we headed to Vegas.  O, Las Vegas!  It seemed like the whole city was one big party.  It’s definitely a place to see, however New York is still my favorite city. 

I most enjoyed checking out the Venetian Hotel.  The Venice reproduction was such a lovely reminder of how beautiful the real place is.  Also, I was excited about reconnecting with an old friend of mine there…Gelato!!!  O how I missed it!

Inside the Venetian

The Luxor where we stayed. 

The highlight of my time in Las Vegas was, hands down, seeing Elton John preform at Caesar’s Palace.  Every song he performed was epic.



Joshua Tree we passed when we left.

Day 5 - 7

After being in the desert, I found myself really tired of the tan landscape and craving the color green.  Our next stop did not disappoint.  Yosemite was more than I could wrap my head around.  Massive rocks go up forever as if they were walls that reached up to heaven.   Waterfalls are everywhere.  Some thundering down and demanding your attention, others are more humble and run along in a trickle.  The most of time we were there, clouds hovered in the valley which did hide some sights, however they left a bit of mystery and wonder to Yosemite.  Since it was spring, we saw some lovely flowers during our time here, too.  Dogwoods line all the paths and meadows are covered with wildflowers. 

While the sight of El Capitan was extremely daunting, I found myself equally in awe of the Mariposa Grove where the giant sequoias grow.  It’s crazy to think about how these trees can live around 2000 years. 

 First day there. 

 Second day there.

  

 Fungi!

Last day and we can finally  see all of Half Dome!

In addition to the landscape, the animals did not disappoint either.  We had TWO bear sightings on two different occasions!