Thanksgiving

I took off Wednesday and Wanda, Carolyn and I left home around 8 in order to rendezvous with Lisa and Katie at a Starbucks in Montrose. We got there rather quickly and after getting the final few items in a nearby Trader Joes, we headed up the Grapevine. Stopping in Fresno for lunch (In-N-Out) and gas, we entered Yosemite around 3:30 under bright and clear skies and turned into the Redwoods just a short distance passed the Wawona Hotel and checked into our three bedroom home in the woods.

That evening we dressed warmly and went over to Wawona for dinner. Salads and dinner were great, but the creme brulee sucked and they didn't charge us for it. Then back to the house for games and reading.

Thursday morning, Carolyn was first out of bed into the morning chill, and I snuggled deeper into the covers only to be awakened the second time around 8 with the smell of onions being cooked for the cornbread stuffing. By 10, Carolyn had done all her prep work and the turkey was cooking away and none of the others were even out of bed yet, so we took an hour walk to the Wawona waterfall.

The others were finally up when we returned and the preparation for a feast continued until we sat down with our bounty of turkey, mashed potatoes, yams, green beans, stuffing, gravy, corn casserole, rolls, etc, etc. All followed by pumpkin, pecan and mincemeat pies!

Friday, we were surprised to find a light rain falling on the day we planned our first valley visit. We bundled up (it was in the low to mid 40s) and headed to the sights. The clouds hung low over the mountains and obscured some of our views, but we walked up to the base of Bridalveil, went through the Visitors Center, watched a movie on how Yosemite Park came to be, walked through the Indian Village, and then finally shook off our rain covered coats as we entered the Awahnee Hotel and took up residence for an hour or so in the Great Room.



That night we had a replay of Thursday and then settled into rousing games of Catch Phrase with Lisa and me taking on the other three. We smoked them!! Lisa and I gave each other simple, calm descriptions while Wanda, in particular, tried to tell stories until the buzzer sounded. It was pretty funny with clues like "this is something I don't like to do" - not really specific. But we all had fun.

Saturday, we drove the short distance to the Mariposa Grove and walked around the giants again with clear and cold skies. On the way back, we stopped to wander about the historical area by the Wawona with old cabins and a covered bridge. That evening it was more turkey, and then Balderdash where Carolyn was the winner as she fooled us into choosing her definitions after she got making up funny answers out of her system.




All in all, a very Happy and Enjoyable Thanksgiving! And by the way, we came home with plenty of turkey, stuffing and mashed potatoes, but no pies!

Wagons Ho!

Carolyn has been buying and setting aside enough supplies for a month it seems, as she prepares for our upcoming Thanksgiving in Yosemite with Wanda, Lisa and Katie.

Table settings, wine and champagne, a huge 22 pound turkey, and myriads of other goodies sit packed in a picnic basket and a large storage container awaiting transport. I'm only hopeful that all will fit in my car's trunk along with the requisite luggage for our lengthy four day stay in a three bedroom 'cabin' which is next to the Wawona. That, and that the turkey will actually fit in the cabin's oven.

There are plans for walks in the Valley (or maybe even a bike ride), hikes to the waterfalls, taking photos, reading, eating too much and playing games. We leave tomorrow, Wednesday, and return on Sunday - pray for our safe travel.

We hope that your holiday is also filled with family, friends, fun and feasting. HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Sailing

What had been Autumn a few weeks ago turned to summer this past week. A light Santa Ana wind warmed So Cal up and blew the smog out to sea. On Sunday, as we drove down the freeway to Dana Point, the Mini registered that it was 86.

As we turned off the 5 towards DP, the sun sparkled off the ocean and the seas were flat as boats left the harbor to enjoy a July day on the 20th of November. We readied the boat, storing canvas covers and putting out the seat cushions when Dennis suprised us on the dock. He and Gloria had just returned from a wedding in Santa Barbara and we had expected that he wouldn't be down this weekend. We welcomed him aboard and after getting the engine to start, we were off for a leisurely sail punctuated by wispy clouds and a brilliant sunset that turned the sky red. We even saw a huge pod of dolphin off of our starboard bow racing after some unseen delicacy. Unfortunately, a little too far off and quite a bit faster so we were unable to get any photos.