Yosemite wrapup and Jamestown gold country cuisine

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June 3rd 2010

Published: June 4th 2010

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mr mink

Mariposa - house on Bullion St

Thurs. 3 June
I always seem to start with "I will try and keep the blog short..." but should this time as it is a.m. (10.15 f0r a change, not 1.30am) in Jamestown. This is a very cute old goldmining town I think - and the coupon for the Royal Carriage Inn - at only $38 + tax - had me think that saving money while I can is not too bad an idea. It is a very cute old hotel itself, but has good wireless so I am sitting in the breakfast room - only coffee and a packaged pastry thingy, but it will do. It has a real old style creaky timbered boardwalk outside which all adds to the atmosphere.

I got over to Yosemite much earlier (yesterday) which was a mistake really - I was much later in the day the first day and most of the crowds and tour buses had already gone. I was thinking of a further trip up to Glacier Pt to compare the view in full daylight - but there was a full 1/2 mile queue (stopped and going nowhere) to either go into Bridal Veil falls or to turn up that

rafters on river

they just happened to come along

road, whci also has Tunnel View a short way up - so I decided to jettison that idea and bypass them - you can see Bridal Veil from plenty of other places and perspectives in the park and I did get WET yesterday doing it, so no need to repeat. I ended up meandering around somewhat - so many waterfalls etc you lose track of them. Down around the camping areas - well booked out and full months in advance for the summer season - and ended up down at the stables where the horse treks go from - quite expensive - $80 for 2 hrs? - just as well I aint no Roy Rogers in the saddle. Went down to the visitor centre area - checked out the souvenirs in the village store - all those trinkets like key chains and bottle openers, which you get Yosemite on rather than Vegas! However did manage a quite good on sale $10 Yosemite T shirt - all the others were $22 and caps were $20 etc etc - and a couple of pastcards of sunset Half Dome which kinda compare with mine - but with the sky somewhat digitaly altered I

Bridal Veil - again

would suggest. Hey, the postcard man always takes them at the perfect time, so often no point in tyring to compete.

Went to the so-called Ansel Adams Gallery which was rather disappointing frankly - but got the best value thing there - a 2010 spiral bound daybook thing (I just use them for the pix for a week) so the fact it was late in 2010 was irrelevant - for only $5. The single postcards were smaller and $1.95! - and it had some subjects other than the classics, so that was nice.
Headed on out of the park at 6pm and got onto h'way 120 which heads NW sort of up over the mountain - goes up pretty steep - and another cursed minor spectacular waterfall on the Cascade River whwich had some minor spray heading down. I was heading on to Sonora but at Jamestown, 3 miles short, it was already almost 8pm and I decided to check out the Royal Carriage Inn - so here I propped.

Had my thoughts on a steak - but the steak house kitchen was closed at 8.30pm - so ended up at Azzo's right across the street. Whether as

Yosemite meadows

with boardwalk over them to protect

an Italian restaurant, or almost as a restaurant altogether, I almost immediately thought that this was almost the best restaurant so far! - maybe it was the tequila martini that started me off thinking that! - there some other ingredients in it as well, including cointreau or something. For a starter I had a warm spinach sald which was $8 - with tossed figs (there weren't any - they ran out she told me later when I checked menu) - candied walnuts, blue cheese and bacon balsamic dressing - now bit light on the blue cheese - more ricotta I think - the bacon maybe a little flavour in the pan that was all. Overall though for $8 one cannot complain. I was going to have a scallop dish but they had just run off the last serving - so it was a pan roasted chicken on ricotta gnocchi with tomatoes, red bell peppers and shitake mushrooms ($21). Once again slightly missing ingredients I think - did not really see any shitake mushrooms, but the chicken was almost perfectly cooked and it ended up being rather messy with the gnochi going everywhere on the plate, but very flavoursome. With that

Yosemite Falls

one of them - lost count

a San Luis Obispo Edna Valley chardonay for $7.50. The bottles were very cheap - from $16 to about $26 for this one, so I was tempted - but after the martini! I chanced my arm on the tiramisu - the most failure-some Italian dessert - and it was a disappointment after the previous. And an expresso at 10pm which I knew was a mistake, so I had to set my alarm for "breakfast". THE END for now.

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