California Dreams
The Idea to do a road trip to Las Vegas on Thanksgiving weekend was impulsive and thrilled.
We arrived to Sacramento, CA, about 8pm. In spite of beautiful views along the road, twelve hours of driving were exhausted. After some troubles of missing exits and turns, we finally found our hotel which we had reserved on-line. It was our first encounter with a “road-side” hotel, and it didn’t leave a good impression. The smell of detergent and smoke was so strong that we had to leave the door slightly opened for the whole night (the room supposed to be non-smoking…). Our picky daughter brought blankets from the car to sleep on and cover with, and, we all slept in our clothes which actually saved us time in the morning. Besides, our neighbors seemed to be nocturnal people who slammed the doors, laughed, and shouted at each other all night long.
At 5am, we swiftly left the motel and hit the road. In the dark of the early morning, we were driving by endless orchards. To say the truth, our daughter and I were sleeping while Yury was driving. He woke me up several times to give him driving directions. Each time I woke up, all I could see were the silhouettes of the orchards on the dark blue background of the sky.
With the first morning light, we arrived at Copperopolis, CA, driving by the beautiful Tulloch Lake, where Galina took over the driver’s place and drove the car under her dad’s supervision. I kept sleeping on the back seat. Copperopolis, CA
When it was my turn to drive, Yury and Galina, exhausted and tired, fell asleep. I was all alone to benefit from the attractiveness of the Yosemite Park! Several times I stopped to take pictures, and they grumbled half-asleep at me for bothering Their Majesties.
Tioga Pass,Yosemite Park
Tenaya Lake seemed to appear from nowhere, shimmering under blue skies and reflecting the greenery of the trees and surrounded by mountains of pure, solid rock. Once again, I stopped the car. In an instant, a hailstorm of resentment poured down on my head from my loved ones. However, this time I was persistent in my intentions to wake them up so they also could take a look at the breathtaking scenery.
Tenaya Lake at Yosemite Nat.Park
As soon as I stepped out from the car, a piercing wind nearly struck me down. It was so cold that it was impossible to stay outside more then couple of minutes. Amazingly, my husband was captivated by the beauty and got out of the car too. Immediately, the cold struck through him. We retreated back to the warmth of the car and observed the magnificence of the mountains through our car windows.
