Yosemite National Park

Back in May we took a short trip to California to visit our friends Jon and Elaine and spend a little time exploring Yosemite National Park. We both love national parks, and we didn't need another lecture from a German backpacker about how we don't appreciate the National Park System, so it was unacceptable that we hadn't visited Yosemite yet! Before heading out to the park we spent a couple days in the Bay Area catching up with Jon, Elaine, and Gwyneth and eating some wonderful food.

Our first culinary treat, It's-Its! Yummy cookie ice cream sandwiches from San Francisco.

Everyone loves ice cream!

We visited the the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve at low tide.

A starfish in the tide pools.

Look, our food is in a boat! A BOAT!

Yum! We've been to Ramen Shop a couple of times now.

Can't talk now... ramen.

After all that food Gwyneth and Uncle Ball (Gwyneth's word) needed a little nap. To be honest, Gwyneth was still awake and eating blueberries from a small cup she was holding.

A flower for Simon at Redwood Regional Park.

This is pretty much what Gwyneth always looks like, unless she's sleeping.

After a few days around Oakland, we started our drive to Yosemite on a Friday afternoon. We reserved a cottage just outside of the park at Yosemite Lakes RV Resort. We got a good deal and would recommend it if you're not able or interested in staying in the park, which books up months in advance. The cottage had no cell reception, but there was wifi down by the reception area.

Paul's ready for the trip! Lots of great local beer.

Gwyneth is ready too! This kept her entertained for about 5 minutes.

Elaine spotted this bakery from across a huge parking lot. She instantly knew it was a Filipino bakery based on the font. The font, people!

Our cottage for two nights, just outside Yosemite.

The tranquil view from our cottage area.

Not spacious...but very cozy!

Go home octopus, you're drunk!

Since it was a late arrival Friday evening, we went to the park on Saturday morning. The weather was really great! It was cool and partly cloudy. We spent most of the day in the park, stopping for a picnic lunch at glacier point. We were lucky and saw lots of wildlife and the views and hikes were all amazing. It was fun to spend time with Jon, Elaine and Gwyneth. David had just been to Utah with the crew so he was prepared for some of the challenges of traveling with a toddler... Paul took a bit of time to adjust. ^_^

We're here, you guys!

The classic vista of Yosemite from Tunnel View. Beautiful!

With Gwen at Tunnel View. Not pictured: the hordes of tourists all around us. Also, we felt a bit like we were Modern Family-ing Gwyneth in this picture!

Hiking up to Sentinel Dome.

Almost to the top!

Incredible views from the top of Sentinel Dome.

Gotta take a jumping picture.

Us on Sentinel Dome.

Hiking to Glacier Point.

We shared lunch and a local beer at Glacier Point. Track 7 please contact us if you want to use this photo for your advertising! :)

Gwenyth at Glacier Point.

A coyote came very close to us.

And then we saw some bear cubs!

Mama bear with her cubs.

There are a lot of beautiful waterfalls in Yosemite.

Another wildlife encounter.

Make way, deer coming through!

We took a short hike to Mirror Lake.

The view at sunset from Mirror Lake trail.

Gwen and Elaine being goofy.

Gwen wanted to take the shuttle bus!

She was excited but cautious about horses.

After visiting with the horses we went back to the cabin for the evening. Elaine had started some adobo chicken in a crock-pot when we first woke up, so we were excited to come home to all that delicious food. After we successfully tricked Gwyneth into going to bed (hehe, toddlers), we sat up and drank some of Paul's cache of beer and called it a night.

The next morning we got up a bit earlier and drove up Tioga Road to see the higher altitude portion of the park. The park is huge and distances can be deceptively far. Up near the top of the road at 9,000-10,000 feet it started snowing and was around freezing. We went for one short hike in the Tuolumne Meadows before heading down and out of the park and back to the Bay Area to catch a red eye home.

Driving up foggy, rainy Tioga Road.

There was snow at the top!

Hiking in the Tuolumne Meadows.

Great alpine scenery. But it was cold!

Natural soda springs.

View across the alpine meadows.

David was really excited to get a double dose of national parks and Jon, Elaine, and Gwyneth in April and May. This trip was really fun. We love visiting our friends! The Bay Area is such a fun place with great food, urban experiences and proximity to some of the best natural spots in North America. I'm sure we'll be back before too long to visit some of the other national parks.

Health Impact Assessment and the Bay Area (Minus San Francisco)

Last week I (Paul) had the chance to attend a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) training in Oakland, California. HIA is a process that evaluates the potential health effects of a plan, project or policy. It's kind of analogous to an environmental impact review, except focused on health. An HIA provides recommendations to increase positive health outcomes and minimize adverse health outcomes. The San Francisco Department of Public Health did a really great job running the training, and it will definitely be useful for my work.

Of course, I wouldn't fly all the way out to the west coast and not build in some time for fun. :)
I arrived a few days early and got a rental car to check out some of the areas to the south of the city, and ride a few roller coasters. My first stop was Gilroy Gardens, a really pretty family amusement park. There aren't any thrilling rides, but since Gilroy is in an agricultural area (it's the "garlic capitol of the world") there were some adorable fruit and vegetable themed rides. This is definitely one of the most beautiful parks in the US.

Beautiful, green Gilroy Gardens

Timber Twister, a family coaster

Gilroy Gardens has a lot of unique trees

Quicksilver Express, the "big" coaster. It was a fun ride.

Such a lush, beautiful park. Notice the mushroom-themed swing ride!

Another really neat tree

Ha! What an awesome name for a ride.

This is the "garlic twirl." Beats "tea cups" any day. :)

My next stop was the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. It was packed on a beautiful Saturday afternoon, with lots of people enjoying the sunshine and ocean breeze. I rode the three roller coasters, then drove up to my hotel in Santa Clara. I stayed at the Avatar Hotel, a really unique Silicon Valley hotel themed after avatars (the personal icons for online games and forums, not the movie).

Santa Cruz Beach

The packed boardwalk

The classic Giant Dipper, one of the 10 oldest operating coasters on earth

Beachside woodie!

They really went all out on the Avatar theme

A roller coaster photo mosaic in my room...

...made out of avatars, of course!

Veggie spring rolls for dinner  from Merit Vegetarian

Sunday morning I made the short trip to California's Great America, one of the two large theme parks in the bay area. It was a decent park; Gold Rusher and Flight Deck were great rides. Still, I only needed a couple hours to get all the credits, then I went straight to Orenchi Ramen for some lunch. It was really good, but I prefer Ramen Shop for bay area ramen. On my way up to Oakland I briefly stopped by Stanford University, which has a really beautiful campus.

Flight Deck. It used to be called Top Gun when Paramount owned the park.

Gold Striker is a fun new wooden coaster with  a tunneled first drop

The park entrance is very similar to Six Flags Great America in Chicago - both were built in 1976 by Marriott, but have subsequently been owned and operated by separate companies.

Part of the lunch time line for Orenchi ramen

Yummy tonkatsu ramen!

Stanford

Stanford

Stanford

I had to stop by the stadium. Home of the famously rude Stanford band. :)

Finally I made it to Oakland for my training. David and I have been to Oakland before, and loved it. This trip I had more time to explore different parts of Oakland, eat lots of great food, and try lots of local beer. My hotel was between "Old Oakland" and Chinatown, a great location in the heart of the city. At the end of the week after the conclusion of the HIA training, I met up with friends and spent a couple of days enjoying more of the East Bay before heading home. Once again, I highly recommend a visit to Oakland!

Beer Revolution. Fantastic local selection of beer!

Kari Sach Chearm, a delicious lamb curry, from Battambang restaurant

Downtown Oakland early in the morning

View from the workshop

Pacific Coast Brewing Company

Mango boba smoothie from Sweet Booth

Fox Theatre

Jupiter beer in Berkeley

University of California at Berkeley. I was here way back in 2005 for a conference.

Cal Berkeley

Downtown Oakland at lunch time

More beer at the Trappist

"Old Oakland" early in the morning. Very neat urban neighborhood.

Caffe 817, my go-to cafe for the week

Mural in Oakland Chinatown

Lake Merritt

Gwyneth is adorable!

Oakland has a strong sense of place and a lot of neat arty/crafty stores

The Temescal neighborhood of Oakland

Tara's Organic Ice Cream in Temescal, Oakland

Oakland Chinatown has awesome "pedestrian scramble" crossings. You don't see these very often in the US. These were added in the early 2000s, and resulted in a 50% decrease in pedestrian-vehicle conflicts.

Busy sidewalks in Oakland Chinatown

The Old Oakland Farmer's Market

Gwen's Djembe class in Berkeley

Awwwwww

Adorable babies!

Yummy snacks in Chinatown

Simon still has his snaggletooth!

Gwen loves beer

More ramen! This time from Sobo.

We went for a stair walk in Montclair, Oakland

Enjoying the view from our stair walk

Montclair Village in Oakland. Nice little fancy neighborhood.

More local beer

And one last beer from The Dock at Linden Street. Great food too, including a falafel waffle.

As you can see, I had a fantastic time in Oakland, and can't wait to visit again! The Bay Area is pretty awesome.