Yosemite Day 2- Toulumne Meadows and Tenaya Lake

Our first night at the lodge, we talked with our neighbors who suggested driving out to Toulumne Meadows for a relaxing day. We took their word for it and headed out to check it out!
Charlotte started off happy but grew angry quickly when she realized that I wouldn't carry her the whole time!


Charlotte loves to "brush it off" when she falls...
Chris and I left her in the meadow when she refused to walk with us. She yelled and yelled, and finally walked over to where we were sitting. There wasn't a tear on her face.

We actually had cell service in the meadows, since there was a Yosemite hotel nearby, so of course I had to use mine!
On our way into the meadows we passed an awesome lake that we thought would be perfect for spending the afternoon at. We drove back and although it was much more crowded than when we drove by earlier, it was still far from packed. Charlotte liked checking out the water and the sand!

Daddy took her in to see the water.
He tried to get her feet wet but she wanted no part of it!
She was still a little grumpy from her terrible time in the meadows!
We changed her into her swimming attire and let her explore the water herself, with her bucket. She liked this idea much better!
There was a log resting in the water and I asked Chris to get it out for me so we could sit on it. Charlotte thought it was so much fun to sit on the log!


A lady next to us asked if we wanted our picture taken! Even Charlotte smiled!
Checking out her belly...
Can you see Chris' feet out there in the middle? He went for a few swims in the lake, it was chilly, but not too cold!
Charlotte got very excited once he returned to shore!
We had a really relaxing afternoon by the water, and almost went back the next day! After we got in the car we drove back to the meadows before returning back to the lodge to get some soft ice cream at the general store! It was delicious!

Yosemite Day 2 Hetch Hetchy and Lodge

The second half of our day we spent riding in the car while Charlotte slept. We decided that instead of driving further while she was sleeping, to drive to towards the lodge so when she woke up we would be close by. We made it to Hetch Hetchy, with is a reservoir located just a little ways past the lodge. It is still part of Yosemite, but outside the park. Charlotte woke up just as we got inside the gates, and we decided to keep going anyway. The drive down was incredible, and we even saw a bear cub crossing the street! Charlotte hung out in her stroller while we checked out the scenery!We walked through a tunnel to get to the trails. It was pretty neat. I thought this tree was really cool.
The picture of us in front of it didn't come out as neat, but oh well!
The reservoir provides San Francisco with its drinking water!
We went back to the lodge and walked down to dinner. The sun was starting to set and Charlotte thought her shadow was pretty neat.
We got smart this time and ordered our dinner "to go" and sat literally 1o feet from the dining patio, and ate while Charlotte played. Then we walked over to the swings and spider web!
Daddy hung out in the middle of the web while Charlotte played all around him!
When it was time to go back to go to bed, Charlotte had other plans. She tried to climb up into someone else's cabin...
Smelled the grass...
Hung out in the teepee...
Can you find Charlotte? This was the recreation center at the lodge and the restaurant. Charlotte had a blast running all over and watching people play ping pong!
Goodnight, time for bed! The cabin on the right was ours!

Yosemite Day 1

We set off on Monday for our family trip. Chris had leave and we decided this time that we were going to explore California as a family. Our first stop was Yosemite. Neither of us had ever been! We got up at 4:00 and brought Dad to the airport before heading out. Luckily Lisa told us just when to leave and we missed the L.A. traffic! We stopped at a little restaurant in Bakersfield for breakfast and then continued on our way. Chris and I had fun guessing what was growing on the side of the road, since we were in agriculture land! We decided on the way that since we were making good time, and we were going to be at the south entrance to Yosemite that we would see the Mariposa Grove and the Giant Sequoias on our way to the hotel. We decided to have lunch on our walk in, and put Charlotte in the hiking backpack Lisa let us borrow! She loved it!
The trees were incredible, and we didn't even see half of the grove!
We stopped for a lunch break a little ways in. Charlotte was very happy to be out and able to run around and get dirty!
Before we left, I got a flexible tripod for my camera and we tried it out for the first time! Charlotte didn't want to be in the picture!
This time we made her...
After we were finished eating, we continued walking to see more big trees!
The California Tunnel Tree.
We wanted to get started to the lodge, so we walked back down the car. Charlotte thought being in the backpack was so cool and waved to everything we passed! We saw some deer in the woods and Charlotte started yelling to them and waving!
She thought pulling on Chris' ears was the funniest thing ever... Chris didn't find it too funny, but Charlotte's little giggle after she would pull his ears was enough to make us both laugh!
Another tripod shot in the forest.
The roots of the Giant Sequoias were incredible!
We got back in the car and made the never ending journey to our lodge. At least that is what it felt like. Between traffic and construction it took forever! Charlotte fell asleep in the car so we turned down Glacier Point Road to head out to Glacier Point. That took forever too... Chris got out when we got there, but I stayed in the car since Charlotte was still asleep. He took some pictures for me!
Driving through Yosemite was gorgeous but we were ready to get out of the car!
We finally made it to the lodge and had dinner. Charlotte had a blast running around. We had no tv, no cell phones, and limited internet. We had a great time just hanging out. After dinner Charlotte ran like a mad woman all over the grounds. She went into the general store and took the toothpaste off the shelves and tried to run away with it... she made lots of friends! We finally retreated to our cabin for the night. Our cabin was a duplex and we shared the front porch with a man from England and a woman from Sydney. Once Charlotte was in bed for the night, Chris and I sat on the front porch in the cool mountain air and chatted for a while with Meredith and Dave, then went to bed!

Fun with Grandpa!

Finally a new post! This one is from last Friday, I just didn't have a chance to upload the pictures before we left for our trip. We met Daddy on Coronado and went to the park so Charlotte could play!
Grandpa pushed her on the swing and she thought it was the greatest thing ever!
Eventually she got off the swing and moved on to the slide. It is a close second, but the swings are definitely her favorite!
A girl and her Jamba Juice!
Friday evening we took dad to Phils BBQ for dinner, except there is always a huge line, so our routine is to get takeout and then take it to the bay to eat. There were seagulls on the beach and Charlotte thought they were awesome. She chased them non stop.
Grandpa had to bring her back from the beach because the seagull was trying to lead her right into the water!

A wave back to mom and dad before continuing on to chase...
Hmm... how can I get up there...
Maybe if Grandpa helps!
Apparently her sleeve was good to chew on too...

Charlotte tired herself out by chasing the birds everywhere!
Eventually she got tired and started stumbling and tripping over her feet!
We went back home and Charlotte was especially interested in the roses, so instead of dealing with a fall into the thorns, I cut her her very own!
Smells good!
He loves me, he loves me not...
We had a great visit with Grandpa! Thanks for coming to visit dad!

Hiatus

Just wanted to let everyone know that there won't be a blog post for a few days! We are on a family vacation and have no cell service and our lodge has satellite internet that is very slow... so uploading pictures will be out of the question! Needless to say, I am taking lots of photo's and will have some for you soon!