2014 San Francisco Holiday

We are on holidays in the San Francisco area and I finally have some time to blog.
Day 1:
We spent the night in Hayward, just outside of San Francisco, so getting away in the morning was not too difficult.
We still have mountains of snow in Manitoba and also had the coldest winter I've ever experienced. I think the -50 with windchill on March 1st took the cake, so to speak.
Given that fact, anything above 0 Celsius feels warm and anything growing is a wonder.
At plus 17 Celsius here, jackets are unnecessary. And the scenery!  Almost heaven. Any guesses as to how often I asked Einar to stop so I could take pictures?

Needless to say, anything green or blooming was worth exclaiming over and or shooting with my camera.
It took a long time to get to Yosemite.  We will take a country road over a freeway any day... and that helps us slow down enough to learn to relax!
If the country roads aren't enough, there are always little towns like Coulterville to bring a smile to our faces.  It's charm is the 'ghost town' feel when you enter.  Old buildings and older buildings.  And charming folks at the visitors centre and the local coffee hangout.  If you ever have a chance, visit Coulterville!

We are almost in Yosemite now - this has been my number 1 priority on this trip.  The long trek through burnt out forest could be depressing, but nothing can ruin this day - it has been fabulous thus far.
Eventually we pass the charred rubble, and start to climb.  At about 5000 or more likely 5500 feet above sea level, we start to see snow.  We left our snow behind, but are okay with sharing snow with Californians.  In fact, they could have a lot more - I'd share more evenly if it was up to me.  
The snow didn't seem to add much chill to the air, and also didn't last long.  I think our highest elevation was just over 6000 feet, and when we descended again, the snow disappeared.  We stopped at a number of lovely pull-outs, waterfalls, short hikes, and felt rejuvenated at the end of the day.