I found two movie clips from the day I were to Yosemite National Park in California, USA.
So this was the weather during that day I went there. I’m really looking forward to go there again!
Yeah, I’m back in jolly good Sweden now. I really enjoyed my trip to the USA. A bit different to switch the hot summer weather for below freezing temperatures and snowy weather. I think I have to wait a couple of months to experience the same warm weather here in Sweden. The trip back home went just allright, but very boring of course. I was supposed to try and meet a friend at the O’hara airport in Chicago on my way back home, but she failed to get on her plane from Boston in time, so no luck there. When I went thru the security check at the airport, I heard a voice saying “Turn around, young man!” with great authority. It was a man from the Homeland Security that demand me to stand still… so he could read my tshirt that I was wearing at the time. I had my blue t-shirt with the text “This shirt is only blue when I’m thinking of dwarves” on it. He said that he did not understand it, so I told him “It’s always blue!”. “So you always have little people on your mind then?” and I answered back “Yes.”. “Good for you!” and I was free to go.
Tired and longing for a shower I came back home to my apartment at 0015 local time. A quick shower and then 9 hours of sleep and I felt like a swede again.
US and A, I’ll be back!
Went up at 5 in the morning to get on the train to Merced to have a look around in Yosemite. When I arrived at Merced train station I jumped on the YARTS (Yosemite Area Regional Transportation System) to climb from approx. 45 meters to 1214 meter above the sea level.
And this the view thru the back window of the bus that I went with. So off we go!
It feels strange that you can go with a car into a national park, for me at least. They even have buses going around in the valley of the park. I jumped on a bus to ask the bus driver about the directions to a specific place and went along with the bus, when I started to think “Why am I on bus? Why am I on a bus in a national park?”. So I jumped off at the next bus stop and did what should do in a national park, started walking.
They are very proud of their garbage system, where you have to put the plastic bottles in one garbage can just for the plastic bottles, and so on. But it were just like back home in Sweden, where we have even more garbage cans for everything.
They have their own little village in the valley with everything that you need.
It’s a very different nature compared with Sweden, with very large trees and steep mountains. Even someone that don’t climb would like to grab on to those rocks and start to climb, I guess. It’s was very tempting!
I like my camera setup with my Nikon D70 and just a manual 50mm/1.8 lens with me. Manual exposure and also manual focus, it’s really fun I think.
On the top right you can see the Halfdome.
The water in the stream was not the cold that you can imagine, so I went in the water wearing my shorts to taken some photos. I were planning to get in there to get a bath, but I think to many americans thought I was to crazy just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. It was like a normal summer day back in Östersund I think. So I settled with getting water up to my knees at least.
In the valley you can get a nice view over the peaks around the area.
The upper Yosemite fall from the distance. I really would like to come back here to Yosemite National Parks to have a more closer look of all the peaks and water falls.
A small river bed near the lower Yosemite fall. A lot of squirrels around that area, but hard to catch with the camera, ’cause they are really shy. The only picture I got were on the furry tail of a squirrel leaving.
I used some logs as a bridge over the river bed. A really nice looking bridge what I think.
It’s not often that you can catch wild life like this with a 50mm. There were like 20 of them around me where I was located. I would have liked to see a bear and get it on camera, but then I would have prefered something more like a 500mm lens.
Later a small dog joined me, and by the looks, I think they both were equally scared.
Now some pictures of signs that I saw around the park. Too much signs and regulations for me. Let people think first, and then act, not to have signs all over that should tell you what to do and what not do. The only good sign is the last one!
A long day with many beautyful views made me want to go back to Yosemite. It would be nice to go back-country skiing there and of course I have to try to grab on to those rocks! Be aware all black bears, ’cause I will be back!
I went by train from Sacramento to San Francisco early in the morning. Arrived at San Francisco that welcomed me with beautyful summer weather!
Went around looking for a hostel that I found at the Internet. Went walking along the steep streets of San Francisco wearing just shorts and t-shirt. Did not find the hostel where it should be located thou.
So I continued walking and walking and ended up at Lombard street. So I looked at my map, that I got from an old lady at the train, and saw that I were just a couple of blocks away from the famous part of the Lombard street.
Then I went down with a cable car to Fisherman’s Wharf. Found a couple of camera stores there, and what I have heard the camera equipment should be much cheeper here in the US comparing to Sweden. I went in to four different stores along the docks. After my experience’s with that kind of camera stores, I would not recommend them to someone else! I asked for a wide angle lens at one store, and after some questions he said to me “Are you looking to buy, or should I break your balls?” so I continued. The store after that acted so I think they would rob me. Because the seller I talked with gave me a price on a lens and said that would only be if I payed in cash and I told him that I didn’t have that money with me. So I went to an ATM to get some more cash, because he gave me a very good price. When I came back he asked me if I had the cash with me, I answered yes and then I told me that it would cost me $100 more than he told me before. At that time I decide to leave the store and I took a fast walk, and looked for any followers, back to the hotel. At the hotel I left everything that I had with me and brought just $20 with me out to find somewhere to eat.
After a nice sleep at my hotelroom with two kingsize beds, videogame, 8 pillows I woke up and took a long shower. The bathroom was equiped with a massage shower and it was really good! Then I ate breakfast and checked out from to hotel and left for Pier 33 to get me a ticket to Alcatraz. The Alcatraz I really enjoyed and I spent 5 hours there at the island looking at exactly everything!
The first sign that met me:
Went on a guided tour at first held by a guard named Eric. He talked mostly about the life of the family’s who lived there during the time Alcatraz were a prison. How the social life was and what the kids living there enjoyed doing there at their free time.
Then I went in to the prison building for the audiotour. You got a pair of headphones and digital audio player with you and then I started walking. The audiotour was also really good with the voices from old prioners and guards telling me their story of Alcatraz. Here’s one the “checkpoints” during the route:
Some of the most famous inmates:
Behind the bars the life can’t be that easy, but at least they could read about if the compact car really will save them money.
So close, but also that far. San Francisco seen from Alcatraz with a german girl in front of me. This day was also nice, but a bit windy out in the bay.
“Play-Yourself Bridge Game”, but I don’t think the bridge will reach from the Alcatraz island to San Francisco.
This is the dining room where all the inmates at their meals. It’s said that Alcatraz probably had the best food of all the prisons in the US.
From here the guards had a nice look over at least one corner of the prison area.
The water tower next to the outdoor area for the prisoners. I really felt familiar from this part of the prison, because of the movie with Clint Eastwood “The escape from Alcatraz”. Here I got a great shelter from the wind and I stayed here for awhile.
Down in the “basement” where they had an exhibition with weapons that the prisoners had made and also some of the uniforms that the guards had.
This area were closed for the visitors, but hey, it look cool at least!
Then I checked out the movie in another room and a stop at the souvenir store I had to catch the boat and say good bye to Alcatraz. As I said, I liked it alot the time at Alcatraz and I took over 200 images at the location.
After leaving the boat, I went for a walk down the docks and had a really good portobello sandwish at the Ferry Building. It started to become more windy and the weather report warned about a huge rain storm coming in, so I took the Amtrack bus to Emeryville to catch the train back to Sacramento.
Hope you remembered to click the images to get the pictures in better resolution.
Time for sleep!
Hello!
Now I’m in San Francisco, staying at Holiday Inn at Fisherman’s Wharf. Really nice weather today and alot to see. Tomorrow I’ll visit Alcatraz of course and see what else I found. Really nice hotel with pool, gym and stuff like that. I don’t have my own laptop with me, so this is the picture that I can give from San Francisco:
Just came back from the karate practice where the smallest child of my cousin attend. The dojo is placed in a church near their home.
Woke up and got served a sandwish with fried egg and cheese, with several diffrent kinds of cheese on the side as breakfast. Jumped in to their minivan for a trip to Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Here’s a picture of Mr. Tillman trying to scare me away, dressed in his polarsuit:
A couple of hours on twisted roads with loads of huge, american cars at a high altitude.
The snow just got deeper and deeper!
In Heavenly we stopped for some american food at IHOP. Then I realized that american food is really fat! I got pancakes for free to my meal, and I thought it were a ball of vanillia ice cream on top of my pancakes… After one bite I discovered that the ball was pure butter!
Fun with snow (for some at least).
Now it’s time for bed and then wake up to another day with adventures. Today were really good and I have to go back to Heavenly some day. Nighty!
The Frankfurt airport was really crowded and not a fun experience at all. People everywhere and the worst security control on the whole trip.
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The plane from Frankfurt to Chicago was not the best either… People in every seat and alot of babies around me also. Not much space for your legs, so I had to sit with my knee’s pushed against the seat in front of me. The rescue for that trip were that next to me sat a really nice girl named Livia, from Romania. The hours went a bit faster due to our chatting thru the trip. Apparently she were heading to New Orleans, just to catch a cruise ship around the world, working in a shop onboard.
Then I arrived to Chicago O’hare where the que was running long to the U.S. customs. Now they got my fingerprints and a picture of me. Everything went fine and I ran and grabbed my bag from the bagage claim, to continue my journey with the next flight heading to Sacramento. Onboard of that plane I sat down in the next seat of a minister. He got a bit upset about my thoughts considering religious beliefs. But all ended pretty well (I guess) when he blessed me with the spirit of God. At the Sacramento International, the whole Tillman family met me and gave me proper mexican food and a couple of beers before they gave me a ride home and a proper bed to sleep in. It felt so nice to lay down and sleep, instead of sitting in a airplane seat.
So, I’m here now.
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I have to pack my stuff to go to Lake Tahoe now, so I will write my report later on.
Lake Tahoe <- This is what it looks like.
00:51 – Arlanda
Here I am, stuck between Östersund and Frankfurt. Arrived at 21:30 to Arlanda just to wait for my departure to Frankfurt at 06:25. I’m flying with Lufthansa to Frankfurt, but the one I really want to go with, is this top-of-the-line company:
I’m already adjusting to the american standard with food, so a visit at McDonald’s was just the way to start this journey. Actually, it was the only place that had open when I arrived.
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After my delicate dinner, I went down a couple of stairs and talked with a lady from Maroc. My high school hours in my french class really had a hard time to keep up with this french talking fast-speaker. Actually she was going to Östersund to practice the swedish language.
Woho! Just 5 hours left until I can check in to my next flight!