Thursday, May 17, 2007

California - Yosemite

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been has to be Yosemite National Park. WOW! Words and pictures can’t begin to describe it. David and I spent a few days at the Teneya Lodge and took in all Yosemite has to offer. It is such a place of natural beauty but turned out to be a frightening place for us as well. Those of you who have a copy of my book have already read this story as the following is taken from my book:

This is a hair raising scary story. One year David and I had the honor of traveling to California on a business trip. We decided to extend the trip for some pleasure days and took a 3-day trip to Yosemite National Park. We thoroughly enjoyed the magnificent scenery and had a wonderful time. One night we decided to drive up a mountain to see a glorious sunset. I can’t recall the name of the area now but it was located inside Yosemite and was a popular place for sunset viewing. We decided to take a picnic supper and enjoy the evening. We ended up opting to stop by a Kentucky Fried Chicken and pick up some boxes for our dinner then we were off on the drive to the mountain top. When we arrived the place was packed with people. Big tour buses were everywhere and lots of vehicles. We found a place to park and since it was nearly sunset we decided to leave the food in the car for later. We walked out to find a good viewing spot and watched the beautiful sunset with everyone else. Once sunset occurred everyone packed in their vehicles and the place cleared out quickly. We returned to the car and drove a short distance to a nice overlook area and pulled in. We parked the car, got out and took our boxed meals and went to sit on a rock outcropping overlooking the valley below. The sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. We started eating and were thoroughly enjoying the night. Suddenly something occurred that caused the hair to stand up on the back of our necks. We both looked at each other and said we need to get out of here. NOW!!! We had not seen or heard anything in particular but at the same time we had both been overcome with a strong feeling that we were in danger and needed to leave immediately. We grabbed our food and ran to the car and left. We talked about how spooky it was that we had both been hit with the feeling of something really evil and the need to flee. We drove all the way back to the lodge where we were staying and all was well. We returned home a few days later and shortly afterward heard about a murder that occurred in Yosemite. A woman and her mother had been killed and their bodies burned in their car. The killer had apparently been stalking people in Yosemite waiting for the right moment to attack and kill. Of course we have no way to ever know if that was the evil we escaped from that night but it has always been in the back of our minds that perhaps we were being watched by that man. Neither of us have ever experienced anything like it before or since but that night a voice was telling us to get out of there and we listened.



David with half dome in the back ground

Linda with the beautiful scenic background

pretty scenery!

view of half dome

Linda and David in Yosemite

another shot of half dome

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

California - Redwoods and Pacific

Whenever I think of redwoods I naturally think of the Woody Gutherie song, This Land is Your Land. You know the line… "from the redwood forest to the gulf stream waters, this land was made for you and me…". On one of our trips to California we drove to the redwood forest, Mariposa Grove, to see the giant Sequoia trees. It was a beautiful day and the trees are truly magnificent! We couldn't help but notice a sweet scent in the air there. This particular trip to California was also my first time seeing the Pacific Ocean. We walked out on a beach and stopped to make some photos at the Muir Beach overlooks. The scenery here reminded me of some of the scenery I saw in Ireland. Beautiful!


David posing in front of a giant redwood tree

Linda in front of the same tree

Muir Beach overlook
Muir Beach overlook

Linda getting her feet wet in the Pacific Ocean

a windmill at the beach

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

California - Napa Valley

On one visit to California we went to Napa Valley. We took a train tour thru the valley and spent the day a various vineyards and wineries tasting the good wines. David’s sister, Carrie, joined us for the day. It was a memorable day and most enjoyable.


passing a vineyard on the train

David and Carrie enjoy a glass of wine on the train ride

Carrie, David and Linda standing on the back of the train



a picturesque view of a Napa Valley vineyard

Monday, May 14, 2007

California - San Francisco

David and I have been to California a few times and always enjoyed our time there. I will divide the various places into different blogs since I have quite a few photos I want to post. Today I will focus on San Francisco. What a lovely city! Great food, beautiful scenes, rides on the cable cars, music in the harbour, lots of walking... yes we enjoyed it all!



Ahhh... Yes.. the Golden Gate Bridge!

the seals basking down in the harbor

a view of SF from the Twin Peaks

just a pretty scene near the Golden Gate Bridge

David in prison??? That's him behind the bars at Alcatraz when we took a tour of the famous prison