Yosemite

The view of the Valley from Tunnel View

Yosemite has been on my bucket list since we arrived in California, but we kept delaying. I booked this trip back in December and scored a great deal of "buy 2 nights, get 1 free". After researching, I knew that we wanted to stay inside of the park, which limited our options. I really wanted to stay at the Majestic, but couldn't justify spending the money, so we opted for the Yosemite Valley Lodge and it was really perfect. I highly recommend staying within the park if you are able to get a reservation.

Our room! 

To make the most of our time, we decided to make the almost 4 hour drive at night after work and school on a Wednesday. The kids slept for most of the trip and it was a fairly easy drive despite the darkness. We couldn't see anything, which made it for an amazing experience to wake up to such beauty. 

We woke up Thursday morning and immediately started adventuring. On site, the lodge had a cafeteria called "Base Camp". The food was pricy, but very good and easy to access. We ate breakfast then started our journey to Mirror Lake. This was a 2 mile round trip hike on a paved trail. We took the double stroller and it was very easy. As we were getting out the car to get ready to make the hike, we saw two coyotes! Mirror Lake was beautiful and Charlotte had fun exploring. 

After Mirror Lake, we headed to the Majestic Hotel (formerly the Ahwahnee) which was built in 1927 and visited by JFK, Queen Elizabeth and Lucille Ball just to name a few! We hung out in the Grand Hall and let the kids play, caught up on emails and relaxed. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch in the Majestic Bar and then set out to Badger Pass to play in the snow. The kids took a nice nap on the drive up.

Badger Pass is about an hour away and is a ski area offering mountain skiing, cross country skiing and snow tubing. Tubing is offered at specific times, so be sure to check their website or call ahead to confirm. The cost is $17/tube. We arrived a little early and enjoyed some hot chocolate in the little restaurant before we tubed. The snow wasn't very fresh, so the tubes didn't slide as well, but we had so much fun!

We headed back to our hotel to attempt naps, but the kids had other plans. I took them up to the "Kid's Corner" in the lobby while Kyle rested. We had an early dinner in the Mountain Room (the sit down restaurant at Yosemite Valley Lodge) I told Kyle that being at Yosemite is like being on cruise in the sense that you literally see the same people everywhere you go. There are only so many places to eat! Dinner was yummy. Kyle and I shared a salad and steak. 

It was early to bed for us as Huxie isn't the best when it comes to sleeping in a hotel. 

On Friday it was back to Base Camp to fuel up for the day! After breakfast we let the kids play in the Kid's Corner and Huxie took a nap. We were scheduled for the 10am Valley Floor Tour, which in the summer time, is an open air tour, but because of the cooler weather, it is inside of a tour bus. Both Charlotte and Hux were free and they also gave a military discount, which made our tickets about $20/each. The tour was super interesting and informative and the bus made several stops for us to get out and take pictures. It was a great way to see the sights and I highly recommend it! 

After the tour, we ate lunch at the Base Camp and headed out for Yosemite Lower Falls. This is a super easy trail that is completely paved as well and offers beautiful views of the Falls. The trail is about 1 mile round trip. After the Falls, we continued on a dirt trail to get to the museum and visitor center. We attempted to watch the 25 minute film about Yosemite, but the kids had other plans. The visitor center had some neat exhibits and history and Charlotte got her National Park Passport where she will get stamps at all of the parks we visit. I had one growing up, too! 

Next stop was at the beautiful park located at the Yosemite Valley School. I had no idea there was a school in Yosemite, but this is where the children of park rangers and other staff attend. We played on the playground and had a beautiful view of Yosemite Falls. We walked back to the hotel and got ready for dinner at the Majestic! 

The park offers a free shuttle to get you around, so we decided to be adventurous and take it. Charlotte loved the adventure! It's a great way to get around when the park is busy and there isn't parking available. 

Dinner at the Majestic was nothing short of fabulous! Hux ended up sleeping through the entire dinner, but Charlotte really enjoyed the piano music and danced her way through dinner. Kyle and I had prime rib and it was fabulous! We ended dinner with their signature boysenberry pie. Although the experience was pricy, the ambiance is incredible and I highly recommend it. We waited for the shuttle (and saw a coyote) and it was back to our room for bed. 

We woke up on Saturday to a downpour! We couldn't see any of the sites and the park was starting to close some of the roads. We decided we better get on the road after breakfast. We had to take a different road out, through the south gate. As we were going up towards Badger Pass, the snow started falling! It was truly incredible! We made a quick stop and played in the snow! Charlotte's dream came true. We passed Mariposa Grove, which is currently closed due to trash/human waste from the shut down. It was a bummer to not see the sequoias, but hopefully we will get another opportunity. 

We made a lunch stop in Oakhurst at South Gate Brewing Company! Lunch was super yummy! Then it was off to the Children's Museum of the Sierra  right around the corner to let the kids burn off some energy before we finished the drive home. They had a blast. The museum was very interesting, but super affordable ($6/person) and Charlotte had fun in their hands-on exhibits. After the children's museum, we made a quick stop at Idle Hour Winery for a quick tasting before heading home. 

Such a wonderful trip! I would highly recommend Yosemite this time of year. Although we weren't able to see all of the sites due to road closures (Glacier Point/Tioga Rd/Tuolomne) the park was empty and we were really able to enjoy our time without a million other visitors around!