well, we did it. we took the plunge and left ellie home with grandma and grandpa for a weekend getaway to gorgeous yosemite for our fourth wedding anniversary (and our eleventh anniversary of being a couple). we were nervous, excited, anxious and thrilled all at once. we told ellie grandma would be putting her to sleep “TWO TIMES” and then we’d be home. she didn’t seem to mind that idea, so off we went on our grand adventure.
we arrived at hotel charlotte in groveland in the late afternoon of the 23rd, checked in, kicked around our room for awhile and then walked across the street to the iron door saloon where we had a few drinks before we ordered dinner.
everything was great – the food, the drinks and the time we spent together. it was a wonderfully relaxing start to our weekend away. the next day we awoke bright and early, had breakfast downstairs and headed east toward the valley. we stopped several times at little turnouts along the way to simply admire the views and snap a few pictures. one of our favorite roadside attractions was cascade creek. i like how it’s super wide with tons of loud, crashing waterfalls, but it’s still only a creek. soo pretty.
the first place we stopped when we reached the valley floor was bridalveil fall. it’s not a very long walk from where you can park to the base of the waterfall, and the closer you get, the wetter you get. needless to say, i only wore my tennis shoes until we got back to the car and headed toward our next destination. luckily i brought my flip flops, too :)
after bridalveil we went to a bridge that i can’t remember the name of (boo) over the merced river. the river was suuuuper full because of all the late season snow, so part of the trail was flooded and we couldn’t cross over. i stepped in it just to see how it felt and OMG, despite the 75-degree weather, i could have gotten frostbite right there. it was like freshly melted snow. BRR!
after the river (and the amazing view of yosemite falls) we stopped at yosemite village and bought sandwiches for our picnic lunch. we sat and ate on the bank of the merced river with a nice view of bridalveil. how amazing are waterfalls??? i mean, really, and yosemite is full of them!
after lunch we headed upward and out of the valley to take in the view from glacier point. neither of us had ever been up there, so we were really looking forward to it, and it was totally worth the hour-long drive.
after we took about 100 pictures and stared, breathless, at the view for awhile, we got ice cream bars, took a bathroom break and started the long drive back down.
since we arrived back on the valley floor with plenty of daylight left, we thought we’d attempt to find a parking place and walk to the base of lower yosemite fall. luckily we did, but it was quite a walk. we never would have done it had ellie been with us, so of course we took advantage of the alone time and said LET’S DO THIS.
it was amazing! so loud and windy and, once again, we got soaked. it was the perfect final stop before saying goodbye to yosemite and heading back to groveland, where we repeated the first night’s activities with dinner and drinks at the iron door saloon, only this time with live music :)
we headed home saturday morning and were greeted with open arms by little girl who was just as happy to see us as we were to see her. as much as we missed her, it was so nice to “get away from it all,” as they say, and just spend time together as a couple. and as lovely of a time as we had, it was also good to hear how well-behaved ellie was for grandma and grandpa while we were gone. a successful trip all around.
happy anniversary to us <3