Went on a road trip to norcal this last weekend for a friend's wedding in Richmond and then ventured into Yosemite National Park for a day. We left 9pm on Friday and arrived at my friend's house in Palo Alto around 3:30am. Palo Alto is a lot like Irvine in that it is a suburban town near a campus (Stanford) and there is an abundance of trees and verdant shrubbery.
We rented two Mercedes C300s from the Enterprise at Fletcher Jones because we had a group of six. We got a good deal and it was actually over $100 cheaper to get these two cars over the weekend rather than a standard minivan.
Woke up at 6:30am to attend the morning ceremony at Richmond. There were a lot of tasty homemade dim sum snacks to nibble on during the morning.
The groom is a fellow enginerd and a good friend of mine from college. This is a picture of him with the bride's family.
After lunch at the house we took the subway from Richmond to downtown San Francisco for some sight seeing. The first stop was Union Square, one of the largest shopping and entertainment districts in the country.
The iconic Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest skyscraper in SF.
The China Town in San Francisco dwarfs the one in LA. It was one of the first settlements of Chinese immigrants in the western United States.
We eventually ended up at Fisherman's Wharf by the shore.
Almost every restaurant on the wharf serves a variation of fresh cooked seafood and clam chowder. The crab is quite pricey at around $12/lb. steamed.
You can get a nice view of Alcatraz Island from the wharf.
We took the cable car back up to the Union Square subway station. It was my first time in a cable car and it was interesting to see the driver navigating through the fussy streets.
We rushed to the restaurant in Alameda for the wedding reception. We were late and I had to change into my suit in the front seat of the car. I was one of the designated drivers but our table still managed to finish off 7 bottles of wine!
The next day we headed off to Yosemite National Park. On the way, we saw a couple of wind farms generating clean energy from wind currents.
It was a very scenic drive up to the park.
There were a lot of twists, turns, and elevation changes on the drive. It was hella fun navigating the road with the Mercedes but a little scary during the night.
Yosemite is a very beautiful destination with some gorgeous views.
Some roads were closed due to icy conditions.
An area by the river banks.
The Merced River flows through the park.
I don't remember the elevation but we were high enough to see clouds forming near the mountains.
The Bridalveil Fall during the offseason.
Bronze statue of an old spectator inside the visitor's center.
Some tall grass that reminds me of MGS3.
Yosemite Falls is one of the world's tallest but was mostly dry when we went.
A very serene area untouched by man.
The leaves were just starting to brown.
I would say that the Grand Canyon was more impressive but Yosemite is more beautiful.
We rented two Mercedes C300s from the Enterprise at Fletcher Jones because we had a group of six. We got a good deal and it was actually over $100 cheaper to get these two cars over the weekend rather than a standard minivan.
Woke up at 6:30am to attend the morning ceremony at Richmond. There were a lot of tasty homemade dim sum snacks to nibble on during the morning.
The groom is a fellow enginerd and a good friend of mine from college. This is a picture of him with the bride's family.
After lunch at the house we took the subway from Richmond to downtown San Francisco for some sight seeing. The first stop was Union Square, one of the largest shopping and entertainment districts in the country.
The iconic Transamerica Pyramid is the tallest skyscraper in SF.
The China Town in San Francisco dwarfs the one in LA. It was one of the first settlements of Chinese immigrants in the western United States.
We eventually ended up at Fisherman's Wharf by the shore.
Almost every restaurant on the wharf serves a variation of fresh cooked seafood and clam chowder. The crab is quite pricey at around $12/lb. steamed.
You can get a nice view of Alcatraz Island from the wharf.
We took the cable car back up to the Union Square subway station. It was my first time in a cable car and it was interesting to see the driver navigating through the fussy streets.
We rushed to the restaurant in Alameda for the wedding reception. We were late and I had to change into my suit in the front seat of the car. I was one of the designated drivers but our table still managed to finish off 7 bottles of wine!
The next day we headed off to Yosemite National Park. On the way, we saw a couple of wind farms generating clean energy from wind currents.
It was a very scenic drive up to the park.
There were a lot of twists, turns, and elevation changes on the drive. It was hella fun navigating the road with the Mercedes but a little scary during the night.
Yosemite is a very beautiful destination with some gorgeous views.
Some roads were closed due to icy conditions.
An area by the river banks.
The Merced River flows through the park.
I don't remember the elevation but we were high enough to see clouds forming near the mountains.
The Bridalveil Fall during the offseason.
Bronze statue of an old spectator inside the visitor's center.
Some tall grass that reminds me of MGS3.
Yosemite Falls is one of the world's tallest but was mostly dry when we went.
A very serene area untouched by man.
The leaves were just starting to brown.
I would say that the Grand Canyon was more impressive but Yosemite is more beautiful.
sounds like fun! sweet cars too
ReplyDeleteYeah, Yosimite is ridiculously stunning & visually beautiful! our family went there a couple of years ago. Driving on the road is kinda scary.. when your way up high, hundreds/thousands of feet above normal ground level