We got up at 4.45am!! Surprisingly I got out of bed straight away. Having a cold shower was not fun. I'm guessing they don't turn the hot water on until later. We were getting picked up at 6.30am to go to Yosemite National Park which is around 3 and a half to 4 hours drive from San Fran. Our driver was lovely and extremely informative along the way about all sorts of things.

I was really concerned on the drive that that we wouldn't be able to see anything when we got there as it was so foggy today but as we drove through the Sierra Nevada mountains (which were absolutely beautiful) we broke through the fog and all was clear, the sun was even shining. It put a big smile on my face to be back to nature and to be surrounded once again by the most breath taking natural scenery.

Once we got into Yosemite National Park itself the driver stopped off at a couple of good photos taking spots including the view of Half Dome. The views here were incredible and the sun was shining- it was lovely. We then drove on to Bridal Veil Falls. We could see it from a distance but none of our group could make it to the base- it was uphill and the hill was a thick sheet of ice. It was actually quite dangerous. We made it some of the way up by grabbing onto branches and whatever else we could. People were actually on their knees dragging themselves along!!

After this we had a couple of hours free time. We decided to walk to Yosemite Falls which are the tallest in North America. Again the walk to the base was up a hill covered in ice, we made it this time although I did fall over on the way up!!

It was lovely walking around in Yosemite National Park as again it is a place I have wanted to go to for years. I would imagine it is beautiful in summer too. The only thing I was a little disappointed about was the fact that we didn't have as much free time in the park as I thought we would. It was still worth it though. What made it especially worth while was right at the end on our way out we saw our first black bear!! The driver stopped and we all got out. It was across the river from us. It looked like quite a small one, it was so beautiful! 3 months in Canada and not a single sighting! Kelly said it made her trip. it was quite a special moment and a lovely end to a lovely day.