a summer road trip has to start with a car! In this case a '67 VW beetle that we had just tuned up.
not well enough however, as it made it to the park entrance before having a case of vapor lock. The fix was quick, but it cost us a day of hiking in Yosemite.
Instead we hiked down to a stream close to a campground outside the park and took a dip, a welcome relief from the heat
The next day Keren decided on a hike from the central valley, the "4 mile hike", up to Glacier Point. $ mile, it turns out, is the height of the climb, not the length. (no, just kidding, it's only 4000' up)
at the top we had to pose for some photos, a little more fatigued than before, but enjoying the great view.
a shot of the central valley from the decent
keren takes a picture of Yosemite falls
The price paid for the long hike, measured out in blisters
From Yosemite we drove to San Jose through the Diablo Grande mountains
The goal was the 160 room mansion of Sara Winchester, dubbed "The Mystery House" because of its hodge-podge construction of winding passages and rooms.
Windows lead to other rooms, doors lead to walls, stairways to ceilings. Odd stuff was everywhere.
but there were several rooms done up in yellow, so I had to take shots of those
Ms. Winchester was a Tiffany glass fanatic, and here are a couple of examples from her "daisy" bedroom, where she was trapped during the 1906 earthquake.
some shots from the 4th floor roof showing the size and irregular roofline of the house.
From San Jose it was on to Santa Cruz, where we met up with my officemate, Wayne, and he can Keren performed their duet at "The Attic"
Headed back to Petaluma along route 1 we stopped at San Gregorio beach for some spashing in the surf.