(Photo) Tunnel View at Yosemite.

Piece 1: Yosemite National Park/Mariposa Sequoia Groves. Located in the east-central part of California within the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is Yosemite National Park.

We visited in late May and there was still snow on the ground at the northern entrance.

There are lots of great views as you drive into the center of the park (Yosemite Village). We only had one day to explore, and the Yosemite Valley Floor Tour was a great way to see (and learn) a lot in just a couple of hours.

The guided tram ride provides great views of and narration about some of the park’s most notable features (including Yosemite and Bridalveil Falls, the majestic Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations, and the Tunnel View scenic vista).

What we experienced in and around the Village area was just a fraction of what’s available to visitors there; such as hiking, biking, camping, and (for the really adventurous) climbing.

Our next stop was the Mariposa Sequoia Groves, which is on the southern perimeter of Yosemite.

There is a Welcome Plaza with parking and a shuttle service to the Groves (about a two mile trip) where visitors find several trails of “varying challenge”.

The Big Trees Loop Trail is an easy walk (less than a half mile) and wheelchair accessible. We opted for the Grizzly Giant Loop Trail, a moderately difficult two-mile hike that extends beyond the Big Trees Loop and features notable sequoias such as the 3,000-year old Grizzly Giant and the California Tunnel Tree.

Many of the old growth trees we saw had char marks around their trunks from prescriptive burns, used to manage undergrowth that can fuel wildfire.

Yosemite and the Mariposa Groves are unforgettable experiences.

California Pacific Coast Highway

Piece 2: California State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway). After our visit to Yosemite, we drove west to access the Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) for our drive south to Los Angeles.

The views along the PCH are spectacular. The only problem is that the curvy road demands the driver’s full attention, so it’s hard for that person to fully enjoy the ride. If there is more than one licensed driver in the car, it’s a good idea to switch intermittently.

We noticed a number of cars getting off at a rest point, and out of curiosity we followed them. So glad we did! A herd of sea lions had gathered there.

We stopped at Pismo Beach overnight, and I enjoyed some fish tacos for dinner. Yum!

Matterhorn Bobsled Ride (Disneyland)

Piece 3: Greater Los Angeles Area. Arriving in Los Angeles, we first went to Burbank for the Warner Brothers (WB) Studio Tour.

The one-hour WB tram ride tour begins with the backlot (featuring sets used in many movies and television shows). We particularly enjoyed seeing the New York Street set where scenes from classic films like “Auntie Mame” and “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane” were shot.

The tour then moved on to the “front lot” or soundstages. We saw where the popular show “The Big Bang Theory” is taped and the large water-filled stage where scenes for the disaster film “The Perfect Storm” were shot.

Lastly, the WB tour stopped at Stage 48 where visitors can see the set of Central Perk (the coffee shop featured in the long-running show “Friends”).

We then got back into our rental car and headed toward Hollywood to see the hundreds of celebrity handprints, footprints, and signatures immortalized in the concrete forecourt of Grauman’s Chinese Theater.

Our final destination was Disneyland (in Anaheim CA), southwest of Hollywood. We had been to DisneyWorld (WDW) in Florida, and looked forward to comparing the two.

Disneyland is like a condensed version of the Magic Kingdom (WDW) but has some unique attractions like the Matterhorn Bobsleds, Pinocchio’s Daring Journey, the Alice in Wonderland ride, and Sleeping Beauty Castle.

There is a second park next to Disneyland called California Adventure, which is kind of a mashup of WDW’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT.

We got tickets to both parks; a great day of Disney fun!

NOW…READY TO START PLANNING YOUR NEXT ADVENTURE?

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