Day 8 - Yosemite to Monterey

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Up early this morning and on the road towards Monterey. Took a rather long detour up to Glacier Point within the National Park and HOLY COW - What a view! From being way down in the valley looking up at all the granite mountains around us, to being on top of the world looking down on the toy village below. Phenomenal! Not for those of us who suffer vertigo - incredible sheer drops of thousands of feet from the lookout to the valley floor. We could also see thru the telescope from up there, to the insanely stupid people standing on top of Half Dome - looking over the edge of that monstrosity without the benefit of a baracade.

Back down we drive and then around the hills to the Maroposa Grove - a bunch of 2700 year old Giant Sequoia Trees. They were pretty impressive, but there's nothing going to beat Tane Mahuta in these Kiwi eyes. Granted, the Sequoia's are huge - but see one massive tree, seen them all....

Back on the road with TomTom in hand heading for Monterey on the coast. Bit of a non-event journey along really loooooooonnnnnng straight roads with flat plains as far as the eye could see in every direction. The trucks alongside are towing 53 feet long trailers behind them - we've decided EVERYTHING over here in the States has to be BIG! The plains, the trucks, the campers, the SUV's are all HUGE.

Arrived in Monterey around dinner time and just dumped the gear and headed out on foot to the Fisherman's Wharf. Kids managed to spot the sealions again, all hanging around the inner harbour and bathing on the jetties. Really cool to watch for a while. Had a seafood dinner (Ashleigh is developing a taste for seafood chowder and shrimps) before heading back to the Monterey Bay Lodge for the night.

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