Yosemite National Park, Once More

We arrived at SFO the evening of August 13th, got Le Sport out of storage and ready to roll on the 14th, and departed the 15th for Yosemite, for nearly a week of camping with grand-daughter Penelope. Not for the first time, but at 8 years old, she remembers little of our several previous visits. She's a great little camper. Somehow, for us, the jet-lag never got too bad. Vicki had gotten reservations several months before.

One of our more interesting campsites ever...right on the Merced

With an unobstructed (by other campers, buildings, etc.) view of  Half Dome

Ready for an outing to nearby Happy Isles

Muir's happy place

Reward for being such a good hiker...small cup, one scoop; seriously

The Yosemite shuttle system got us where we wanted to go; in addition to the several
hikes, we saw a couple films, did a junior ranger interpretive walk, visitor centers, and,
of course, some shopping; oh yes, we also temporarily adopted an engineering graduate
student from Toulouse, letting him pitch his tent on our site; his English was pretty
good, but not as good as Penelope's French!

On a long walk from Cathedral Beach to Bridalveil Falls

With Grandma

El Cap in the background

Our campsite was nearby the Lower Pines anfiteatro, where P and new friends
spent some time

Rehearsing for an upcoming production

Alpenglow on Half Dome

Nicholas' tent in the middle ground

On another hike; don't know where this pose came from

En route to Yosemite Falls

Thus

Families gathering for the evening's production

Acting, singing, dancing...a talent show

Fellow cast members

Le Sport...luxurious by comparison with the Spartan Le Duc, now parked somewhere
near Edinburgh

On the way back home, we stopped for a look at the big trees

And another hike

Nice to see Yosemite not burning

Ginned Up

I swear it was not going on when we were in the UK last, in 2016. Friends who were then big-time wine aficionados now are into the flavored gin thing. It has spread even to Scotland, whose interests you'd think would have discouraged gin. But no. I started documenting all this while we were still in the south. I wonder whether anyone has looked into the conjecture that this may have something to do with Brexit?

Click to enlarge and you'll see the cathedral is offering a gin festival

Bonus recipe: store your bottle of Bombay Sapphire in the freezer. When thirsty, pour into a large chilled martini glass, gently swirling (not stirring nor shaking) anti-clockwise. Be careful not to spill. Add one large olive, patted dry. Be amused at the now frozen olive. Enjoy! Responsibly...

English Out-Takes

In no particular order...

Tea apparently an afterthought

I'm thinking perhaps my extensive collection of fridge magnets might qualify me
for a plaque like this; ..."oboist and international fridge magnet collector"...

England, where fruit-cake is never out of season

A serious problem: lead is sufficiently valuable that thieves
will rip it right off an old church's roof

Among the many one-lane roads we traveled: sometimes to get to something
really obscure; sometimes because Tom Tom thought he could save us 1/10th of
a millisecond

Ditto, and also some serious holloways

Who says British food is dull?

At a fish-monger I liked 

Recommended North Sea bathing attire

Let's see: $3MM in Palo Alto will get you a 3 bed/1 bath ranch
on a 1/10th acre lot, next to the freeway, last updated in 1965,
as is...

Up-cycling

Seriously...

Letchworth Garden City; and we were there...

Quick release holy water

Hydrangeas and bougainvillea soon to block entrance to this flat...the Brits do
love their plants

As many gardens as we visit, I'm always grateful to pass a whole season without
a bee sting

And they do love their toasties

And...

Sporting my new pants; and cap; so European...

Interestingly, the church in which Vicki and I were married,
in Miami, was originally a cinema; plushest seating of any
church there; as I've observed before, many churches in
northern Europe are moving more in the direction of
community centers, which is in part what they were in days of
olde...

And they do love their dogs

Contactless payment everywhere in the UK

The Normans really frowned on smoking

Sic transit, Gloria...

"No cave painting here"

Redwoods? Sitka Spruce?

First Medieval depiction of toilet paper

Sort of like OSHA