I'm gonna take you back a few years, 15 to be exact. The year was 1999 and we were actually doing a family trip to beautiful Yosemite National Park.
We had rented a vehicle large enough to fit all 8 of our bodies, but not necessarily all 8 of our attitudes!
The drive was 5 and a half hours and I was the driver. The passengers included Dave C., baby Dominic, my Mom, sisters Brigitte and Jet, brother Michael, and then brother in law James.
While most of our gang had already visited Yosemite in the past, so it wasn't our first rodeo. But there are always things that I want to do and places that I want to see! The rest of my family ya see are more laid back and take forever to get out of the house/condo/hotel room. And that wears on me. It doesn't quite work with my personality. They've even nick-named me the TRAVEL NAZI, which I suppose was/is fitting.
So anyhow, let me get on with the trip...
Our journey began in Orange County, California. We loaded up the van and drove up to Los Angeles for dinner and had all decided to partake in an ethnic cuisine that was new to each of our tastebuds.
We went straight to Little Ethopia and had a very memorable dinner eating with our hands. The food was very unique and we had all enjoyed our meals. The only problem was that Michael might have ate too much of the "sponge bread" (Injera) and it had kinda messed with his stomach... I'll leave the rest to your imagination! Too gross for me!
Our road trip had continued and we arrived to Bass Lake, which is located in the Sierra National Forest approximately 14 mi from the south entrance of Yosemite National Park. Our "home" for the next few days.
We would check in, settle down, get little sleep and then stay on schedule to get into the park!
So anyhow, let me get on with the trip...
Our journey began in Orange County, California. We loaded up the van and drove up to Los Angeles for dinner and had all decided to partake in an ethnic cuisine that was new to each of our tastebuds.
We went straight to Little Ethopia and had a very memorable dinner eating with our hands. The food was very unique and we had all enjoyed our meals. The only problem was that Michael might have ate too much of the "sponge bread" (Injera) and it had kinda messed with his stomach... I'll leave the rest to your imagination! Too gross for me!
Our road trip had continued and we arrived to Bass Lake, which is located in the Sierra National Forest approximately 14 mi from the south entrance of Yosemite National Park. Our "home" for the next few days.
We would check in, settle down, get little sleep and then stay on schedule to get into the park!
My little love bug Dominic
Me and Jet - keeping warm
The drive into the park was rather a bit of a foggy one and my fam bam was a total nervous wreck and really wrecking my nerves while they were at it!
You really have no clue what I am taking about unless you come from an Italian family. Apparently I was scaring them to death with my driving. Apparently I wasn't a good driver. Apparently they thought I was going to drive us off of a cliff! (God Forbid)
So after the drive in, a few tiny hikes and some down time, that would be our day and we would resume again tomorrow.
You really have no clue what I am taking about unless you come from an Italian family. Apparently I was scaring them to death with my driving. Apparently I wasn't a good driver. Apparently they thought I was going to drive us off of a cliff! (God Forbid)
So after the drive in, a few tiny hikes and some down time, that would be our day and we would resume again tomorrow.
 My mom and Michael and a Buck  Brigitte and Michael in the water |  Me, Dominic, Brigitte, and Michael  This kid loves climbing rocks! |
Well tomorrow came and we all piled back into the trusty rental van. I drove us back into the park and had gone over the planned itinerary with the gang. It wasn't exactly quite to their likings and instead they opted to just hang around the meadows and wait for us (Dave, myself, and Dominic) to go to Glacier Point. And so we did.
We had a great time and saw this amazing park from this overlook at an elevation of 7,214 feet that has a commanding view of Yosemite Valley, Half Dome, Yosemite Falls, and Yosemite’s high country! It was quite beautiful! Once we arrived back at the valley I was scolded for taking too long! UGH
Dave and one HUGE tree!
And so the days went, my little group would go off exploring on our own most of the time, the rest would come out on a much more relaxed schedule and we somehow made it work.
I'm a proud tree-hugger
I didn't kill anyone with my driving or run them too ragged with my militant schedule keeping, and they didn't torture me with staying on their lack of any schedule. But I somehow have a feeling that this was a glimpse into the future and this might have been the tip of the Iceburg when it comes to getting my family to accept my invites on my travels...hmmm wouldn't you agree?
-T
-T
