Day two...or was it three, finds us heading to Yosemite National Park. However, some backtracking first. We picked up the "camper van" Thursday in Redwood City...about an hour's Caltrain (think Metra) ride from San Fran. After a very quick instructional tour of how to pop the roof, work the stove, turn on the lights, etc...though we still haven't figured out how to turn on the little fridge, we were off with Lou (we had to give the van a name). To get a feel for Lou's drive-ability, we tooled around the hills of San Fran (he has a little trouble with hills) to a very scenic overlook of the Golden Gate Bridge. Then it was off to Oakland to meet up with Ted and Genevieve (of the Heavenly States) for dinner at a fabulous nuovo Mexican restaurant and our first night camping. In their driveway with the local "wildlife" that we observed out the window that night. Oakland certainly lived up to it's reputation.

Friday we headed out after a lovely breakfast with Mr.Ted at the Acme Bread Company in Berkeley. Angie drove this leg of the trip due to the "mountainous" terrain (i.e lots of "s" curves and elevation). Poor Amy was pretty white-knuckled but a trooper. .. and didn't even become a backseat driver (though it was challenging not to). Finally we arrive (after a brief detour...okay, missed turn that took us an hour out of our way) to our campsite at the North entrance of Yosemite. After a lovely meal of spaghetti cooked by Amy (yes, we've fallen into some roles....I was studying the map as she was cooking) we drove into the valley proper, passing numerous, gorgeous waterfalls and much majestic scenery along the way. After perusing of the valley store for cheesy souvenirs..it was back to base camp for the campfire. Mara...I forgot all your tricks. Needless to say, that didn't turn out as planned so we packed it in for the night. The next day found us up by 6:45 am (yes, even Amy...AND she even cooked breakfast!) Once packed up it was back to the Valley for some daytime exploring. This is when Amy found nature to be "neat". We watched some rock climbers for a bit (crazy people according to Amy) and then bid adieu to Yosemite. This blog entry really doesn't do it justice. It's honestly one of the most amazing and awe-inspiring things I've ever witnessed (Amy typing at the moment). However, in the interest of time and not to bore you to tears with endless ramblings about it's beauty, we've decided to abbreviate a bit and just strongly suggest that everyone go see it for themselves at least once in life. For those in Chicago, we really do get a bit removed from nature so when you see it up close and personal like that it truly is mind-blowing...makes one forget all about the little things, that's for sure!