Mom & Dad visit the Central Valley

My mom and dad came for a visit to see us settled in our new place.  It was wonderful to see them and we had a great time exploring the greater Merced area.  They arrived Thursday evening and we took them to our favorite restaurant, Houa Khong, and to the Market on Main to purchase some delicious local produce.  Friday we ran some errands and relaxed in the backyard while Dad helped Sean with some backyard chores.  Then we headed out of town for some excursions.

Yosemite National Park
Friday night we watched some great videos produced by the National Park Service and available on Youtube called Yosemite Nature Notes.  It gave us a great preview of things to come.  Saturday morning we headed to the park on Highway 140.  First we hiked Inspiration Point Trail.

Then we headed to Mariposa Grove where we hiked the outer loop trail (and finished with ice cream bars at the Wawona Store).

We camped that night in the Wawona campground in the park.  I had brought a bottle of California wine, but, though we remembered the wine bottle opener, we had to improvise cups.

Saturday morning we awoke early to take in Sunday brunch at the historic Ahwahnee Hotel.  Delicious food in  gorgeous setting! 

Then we drove around the valley with stops to hike the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail and view El Capitan and Bridal Veil Falls.  The falls certainly weren't as spectacular as when Sean and I visited in May with all the snow melt, but they were still flowing more heavily than they would normally be this late in the summer. 

Finally we headed up the Glacier Point Road to see one of the most spectacular views in the park.  At Glacier Point you can see Half Dome, Nevada Falls, and Vernal Falls.

We headed home with a stop in Mariposa for a great dinner at a new bar and grill and a second stop at The Fruit Barn in Merced to stock up on fresh local fruit.

Monterey and Carmel
Monday we decided that Mom & Dad's car should make the trip all the way to the Pacific Ocean since it had left from the Mississippi River more than a week earlier so we headed to Monterey and Carmel for some coastal climate.  In Monterey we walked along the coastal trail and had lunch at C Restaurant along the water where we had delicious seafood.

In Carmel we toured the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo.  It has a rich history and a beautifully well kept garden. 

We also spent some time at the beautiful Carmel Beach where it was nice and sunny before the fog rolled in and prevented us from seeing much of a view.  The waves were crashing heavily on shore, though, which provided a show, and the sand was soft on our feet.

We stopped at Casa de Fruta on the way home because it is impossible to get too much fresh produce in California.  It was also fun to guess all the crops growing along the ride home. 

Wine Tasting in Lodi
For our last day together we decided to head up Highway 99 to Lodi for some wine tasting.  It is a great town with ever increasing wine growing.  Dowtown has interesting shops, like Cheese Central, and good restaurants like The Dancing Fox.  We visited the Delicato Vineyards tasting room, the Cellar Door tasting room downtown Lodi which is shared by 4 local vineyards, and Heritage Oak Vineyards. 

Wednesday morning Mom and Dad dropped me off at work on campus and headed off to drive the Tioga Road through Tuolmne Grove in Yosmite.  It was hard to say goodbye but knowing they would be enjoying one last day in such a gorgeous national park made it better.  I can't wait until they visit again.