Our March 1999 Central California Trip
These are pictures on our (Tom and Bonnie Kisko) trip to San Francisco, Stinson Beach, Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. (3/6/99 - 3/13/99)
1 - Top of Lombard Street.
2 - The bottom of Lombard Street.
3 - Tom and Bonnie riding on their first cable car ride.
4 - While walking around Chinatown, we found this wonderful ivory art piece in a shop window. Notice the dragon that is all through it!
5 - Painted Lady. This is one of dozens of old victorian homes in CA.
6 - The trolley car ride down the hill.
7 - Fisherman's Wharf. We had lunch in this area and walked around the shops.
8 - Lou's restaurant.
9 - Mural in the alley behind Lou's restaurant. It is really huge. You can listen to great blues while having lunch. This mural depicts that theme.
10 - World War II submarine.
11 - Pier 39 Sea Lions. They frequent this area-often staying year 'round since the fish are plentiful.
12 - Pier 39 Sea Lions.
13 - Pier 39.
14 - Pier 39.
15 - Pier 39.
16 - This is the Coit Tower. One of San Francisco's most recognizable landmarks, is is located atop Telegraph Hill. The tower, named for Lillie Hitchcock Coit, who left funds for a memorial to the volunteer firemen of the 1850's and 60's. It offers a panoramic view from the oberservation deck. The lobby is lined with murals from the Depression era.
17 - About Coit Tower and the area.
18 - Trolly Car - San Francisco
19 - Golden Gate Bridge. This is one of the longest single-suspension bridges ever built. At 4,200 feet, this landmark opened in 1937.
20 - Golden Gate Bridge and the bay, panoramic # 1
21 - Panoramic # 2.
22 - Panoramic # 3.
23 - Muir Woods.
24 - Coast on the way to Stinson Beach.
25 - Coast on the way to Stinson Beach.
26 - Coast on the way to Stinson Beach.
27 - Stinson Beach, CA. We watched the sunset. Beautiful! Now, as for the B&B where we stayed, that was another matter. We stayed in The Redwoods Haus Bed and Breakfast. Although in a good location, Bonnie found the hotel to be rather "dated". Most of the decor was from the 1970's, animal-printed, etc. Another strange items is that all over the house were containers with the word TIPS. We found this rather tacky!
28 - The Grand Hotel -- A shop in a little out of the way town called Bolinas Beach. Interestingly enough, in June we plan to visit the "Grand Hotel" in Mackinak Island, Michigan. The picture of this Grand Hotel is quite different from the one in Michigan.
29 - Auburn, CA. This is a sculpture of Claude Chana who first discovered gold in 1848. The town that was later to become Auburn.
30 - Tea in the Garden - This was an adorable tea room located in Placerville. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we were passing through. It would be great to visit this place another time.
31 - Lake Tahoe from Harrahs Casino.
32 - Main Street, South Lake Tahoe.
33 - Inn at Heavenly B&B. The room rate for this B&B was $105.00 (a little pricey). We were surprised to find that this was actually an old "motel" that has been converted into rows of rooms. I must admit, they really tried to make the rooms look rustic with the wood walls and the fireplaces.
34 - This is the inside the office and breakfast room. There is certainly a charm about the room. It was just not like the typical B&B we like to stay in.
35 - Snow-covered picnic table and swing..not your typical site.
36 - Lake Tahoe. This picture was taken from the top of Harrahs.
37 - Tom and Bonnie with Lake Tahoe in the background.
38 - Another view from the casino. We went to a great magic show in the casino.
39 - Lake Tahoe...beautiful!!
40 - Another view of Lake Tahoe.
41 - Tom with Lake Tahoe in the back. We had to wade through the snow to get this shot.
42 - Volkswagon with snow. We actually took this shot for our friends, Scott and Lynda. They are restoring an old VW. It was snowing when this was taken. We are leaving Lake Tahoe and heading for Yosemite.
43 - Scenic views along the roadway.
44 - Stream along the road.
45 - A bigger stream.
46 - Sutter Creek. Statistics: This charming town is situated on Hwy 49 approx. 45 miles from either Sacramento or Stockton at the 1,000-foot level in the Sierra foothills. Home of about 2,000 residents, it is a wonderful place to visit with a dozen or so shops (even a Tea Room).
47 - One of the locals (a Border Collie). Bonnie made friends with her and found her to be just as friendly as the people of this lovely town.
48 - Charming Victorian building. (the collie was located here).
49 - The Hanford House Bed & Breakfast and Inn. We stayed one night here and it was a pleasant experience. One charming part of the B&B is that former guests were allowed to write their comments on the walls and ceiling. It is an interesting experience to eat your breakfast and read up and around you.
50 - Road to Yosemite.
51 - Yosemite Valley, seven miles long and one mile wide, is the most visited section of the park. Excellent website for more information: www.yosemitepark.com
52 - The first of many in Yosemite.
53 - Bridalveil Falls (620 feet- the equivalent in height of a 62-story building). The Ahwahneechee called this place Pohono, which means "Spirit of the Puffing Wind." The views here are spectacular. You are often bombarded with a wet spray of water coming off the fall.
54 - Another shot of Bridal Veil.
55 - Bonnie standing along the path to Bridal Veil Falls.
56 - El Capitan. This is 3,593 feet from base to summit.
57 - Upper Yosemite Falls. Notice that as the water falls it turns into snow. It is known as the snow cone.
58 - This is the inside of the Ahwahnee Hotel dining room. With 34-foot-tall trestle-beamed ceiling, floor-to-ceiling windows, and many twinkling chandeliers, it is often described as the most beautiful restaurant in America. We did get to eat lunch here. We had hoped to have High Tea, but they were not offering it to people who were not staying at the hotel.
59 - Do not know who this man is. He happened to be standing in the huge fireplace, so he became a captive audience.
60 - Another view of the Ahwahnee dining room - very elegant.
61 - Ahwahnee is named after the original native word for Yosemite Valley, which meant "Place of the Gaping Mouth".
62 - The Ahwahnee, established in 1927, is a National Historic Landmark.
63 - Yosimite Lodge. This was our room. Many of the rooms and buildings were destroyed in the 1997 flood. They are doing an amazing job of reconstructing.
64 - This is a picture of Bonnie standing outside our room at the Yosemite Lodge. There are alot of giant Sequoias in the park.
65 - Yosemite Falls (upper and lower portion).
66 - This is just the lower portion of the falls. From where we were standing, you could not yet see the upper falls.
67 - At the other end of the fall, the water rushes over rocks and by large trees.
68 - Yosemite Falls. The two falls cascade -- dropping 2,425 feet, combining to make this the tallest waterfall in North America.
69 - El Capitan again. Rock climbers from around the world love to challenge their abilities upon this mountain.
70 - Half Dome is in the background. Half Dome rises an elevation of 8,842 feet. The Dome is stated to be 87 million years old. The legend goes like this: At one time, many birds, animals, and people lived in Yosemite Valley. One of them went to Mono Lake and wed Tesaiyac, a Native American woman, and decided to return with her to Yosemite. They began their journey, he carrying the deerskins and she holding the baby in her arms with the cradle on her back. When they reached the site of the present day Mirror Lake, they began to quarrel. She wanted to go back to Mono Lake, but he refused, saying that no oaks or other trees grew there. He would not listen to her when she said she would plant seeds. In despair, Tesaiyac began to cry and ran back toward Mono Lake. Her husband grew angry and ran after her. Tesiayac threw the basket at him, and it became Basket Dome. She continued running and threw the baby cradle at her husband. Today, we see it as the Royal Arches. Because they had brought anger into Yosemite, the two were turned into stone. He became North Dome, and she became Half Dome. Tesaiyac regretted the quarrel and began to cry, thus forming Mirror Lake. Today, you can still see the marks of those tears as they run down her face. And if you look very carefully at Half Dome, you can see it is fashioned after the way the Mono tribe looked - with hair bobbed and cut in bangs.
71 - This is one of the most photographed spots in the world. This view of Yosemite Valley includes: Half Dome, El Capitan, Sentinal Rock, and Bridalveil Falls.
72 - Us.
73 - We got to ski at Badger Pass in Yosemite.
74 - This is Bonnie on skis. Surprisingly enough, she actually did not fall.
75 - Bonnie screaming down the mountain..ya right.
76 - We came upon this Coyote while leaving Badger Pass. He was actually not afraid of the cars. It would appear that people have fed them because they often come right up to the car.
77 - Another view of the Coyote.
78 - Community church located in Yosemite.
79 - Community church located in Yosemite.
80 - Upper Yosemite Falls & the "Finger".
81 - Morning view of Yosemite Falls.
82 - Merced River along the "closed" road.
83 - Creek into the Merced.
84 - Bonnie (lower left) admiring the Merced River.
85 - Sherlock Holmes B&B in Crane Creek. Bonnie took this for an avid Sherlock Holmes collector.