We had to make a quick pit stop to pick up an adapter so that I could recharge the laptop battery in case we weren’t near civilization for a while. Well…it was supposed to be a quick stop. We exited with high hopes that there would be a Best Buy or something around. We were sadly disappointed. *sadly disappointed faces* So we stopped at a friendly local gas station in Sacramento for some directions. Unfortunately, the cashier spoke minimal English but Matt was able to deduce some semblance of directions for a Walmart. 
Many minutes later (and I mean MANY minutes later) along with a few hysterical “That’s it! It’s cutting too much into our driving time!!” from me, we did manage to find it. (And we even passed by the Campbell Soup factory too! Not that we went in but that’s not the point. I had Matt take a picture of the tower out the window. *laughs*) The adapter was purchased with a quickness, a better coffee was snagged for Matt at the nearby Starbuck’s and then we were finally on our way. Well, for all of two miles until we pulled over for gas.
I do want to mention at this point that Matt and I have made a pact not to wash the exterior of the car until we get back home from the trip. *evil grin* The only exceptions to the rule were the front windshield and the two front windows because it would probably be a good idea to be able to SEE while driving. The back window was not even remotely considered since, due to our abundance of stuff, we can’t see out it anyway. I offered to wipe the windows down while Matt was pumping gas. I was surprised to see the amount of bug carcasses we had accumulated so far. *ew…* But now that it was clean again, LET THE BUG SACRIFICES START ANEW!
As I was driving, I saw Matt pulling something out of his wallet and crumple it. I figured it was a receipt until I realized he was pulling his twenties out of his wallet, one by one, and then tossing them onto his lap after crushing them in his fist. What in the world?!? *totally confused* He tried to explain that he was doing it because the twenties were so new that they were sticking together therefore he was wrinkling them up a bit. *utterly astonished* I LOVE new bills. The crispness is my favorite part and he was CRUSHING them! *cries* ( I would have traded you, darn it!)
Suddenly, I distracted from my internal weepfest by a wretched stench. *gag* Laughing, Matt pointed out that we WERE passing by Los Banos. BANYOS?!? Hmm…makes sense. *grin* ANYWAY. Onward, my companions, onward. So we trekked, for miles and miles and miles. Finally, Yosemite National Park was nearly upon us. We figured our best bet for groceries and such would be in Mariposa and therefore a stop was made at the Pioneer Market to round out our supplies. At this point, we had two choices of how to enter the park. Wawona had been highly recommended by Maya (SO sorry if I spelled your name wrong!! *potentially super embarrassed*) and so we veered in that general direction.
It was kind of exciting to break in our new ‘Annual National Park Pass.’ *giddy* We asked the Ranger where the best place to camp would be. We were promptly informed that all the camping sites inside the park were full as he pointed to the bright red ‘FULL’ sign that was plastered over the marker indicating the way towards the camp sites. *not terribly surprised since it WAS the weekend* In any case, we decided to head into the park a bit to see some of the sights before heading out of the park to find a place to camp for the evening.
The ground was carpeted in purple. There was lavender growing everywhere! (At least, I think it was lavender. I could be totally wrong… *shrug*) We drove until we passed through the Wawona Tunnel and then we had to pull over to take in the view. It was spectacular. From our vantage point, you could see nearly everything. Matt pointed out Half Dome, El Capitan, Bridalveil Falls as well as the valley. Everything was going well until an overly large tour bus showed up. *RUN AWAY! RUNAWAY!!* And so we did, back out the way we came.
Our home for the next two nights was located just outside of Fish Camp at the Summerdale camp site. The people were super friendly and Matt said they had the cleanest outhouses he had ever seen. (I don’t really know what that all entails but I am inclined to believe him. In any case, I had no cause for complaint. *smiles*) After setting up camp, we went back and hiked around the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoia. It was so cool! There were deer in the parking lot, a tree with a hole at its base big enough to walk through and…the Grizzly Giant. It was so huge that its upper branches could have passed for large trees.
We managed to catch the tail end of sunset on our way back to Summerdale. It had been a good day.
Mileage: 301
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