Blogs from Midpines, California, United States, North America

Hello! we're back from our internet exile and can finally update you on what's been going on over the past 2 weeks (with photos as well hopefully!!) Hope you're all well back in England and enjoying Wimbledon etc. Thank you for all your comments, it's nice to hear from everyone (although I should clear up something from the last blog....technically Clio locked herself out of the room....I just couldn't let her in because I was asleep ;-) ) The final few days in San Fransisco were good, but I think we were more than ready to move on to somewhere new. We haven't got a huge budget for nights out in USA so we've had to find cheap and cheerful things to do on an evening (mainly sitting in the pool room or watching movies in ... read more

******************************** Unfinished blog better than no blog ******************************** The best view of San Francisco is either from the Marriott sky lounge of from the road getting out. San Fran stinks. Of every city I have been to, San Fran is the most turgid. For the first time ever I saw someone pissing on the pavement. Not against a wall. Not down a close. Just stopped midway in the pavement leaving a sticky stream for everyone to tramp through. The gap between rich and por is ridiculous, but all too close. Our Motel6 was in the rougher Tenderloin area; drunks, vagabonds and chancers abounded. In one block of 100 yards we were approached at least 6 times, each with their own unique tale of woe. 100 yards in the other direction was a car dealer specializing in ... read more

. Would we or would we not climb Half Dome… That was the question we had been trying to answer. But, in the end we wouldn’t know until we got there, and after all it’s supposed to be all in the journey, not the destination? Statistics Starting Destination: Midpines, California Ending Destination: Midpines, California Ending Destination GPS: N: 37° 32.581’ W: 119° 55.374’ Elev: 2645’ Miles Driven: 87 miles Distance Hiked: 17 miles Total Elevation Change: 4,400 feet Total Vertical Feet Climbed: 4,700 feet Getting Ready This is where our Type A personalities really kicked in… The night before we made sure that we made lunches, filled water bottles, packed our day-packs and set out what we were going to wear. The hike is advertised as 10-12 hours; and 12 hours is just about all the ... read more

. So started a new day… The weather was wonderful, sky clear, temperature warm and only a few clouds in the sky… Perfect weather for driving down the coast and then heading for Yosemite National Park, just one or two things to check before we go… Statistics Starting Destination: Fort Bragg, California Ending Destination: Midpines, California Ending Destination GPS: N: 37° 32.581’ W: 119° 55.374’ Elev: 2645’ Miles Driven: 361.4 Best Coffee Hut of the Day: The Jitter Bean Coffee Co. Number of pictures taken while not moving: 4 Getting Started Yesterday when we had been driving the Mattole Road Carl had pulled into a “turnout” to let someone pass; only they didn’t pass… They wanted to tell us that one of the brake lights was not working - we had kind of expected something like ... read more