Dear Family, Friends, and Diary,
This is the story of Marianne's birthday at Wawona in Yosemite National Park. But, first, I need to talk about that elephant-in-the-room.
Over the last three weeks, Marianne has gone from detecting a lump in her breast to doctor appointments and a biopsy that confirmed it was cancer. Yesterday (24th) we met with her treatment team. The short of it is that she has an inter ductile invasive carcinoma, detected relatively early, and classified by the medical staff as curable - not just treatable, but curable. If all goes reasonably to plan, she will have a lumpectomy in early November and a couple months of recuperation. Not the holiday season we originally planned, but hopeful for 2020. Stay tuned indeed.
After the meeting with the medical team, we headed up to Yosemite National Park, about an hour and a half away. Our first stop was at The Corner Bakery for cookies. Reward for being resolute.
The drive was ordinary, despite the navigator warning about an accident. We have determined that the Jeep's accident-warning system is completely bogus, so we just ignored the suggested detour and carried on. (Maybe that's our new theme? Carry on.)
The hills showed lots of color, although I could not take pictures in the evening light. That's Friday's job. Just for practice, I did try some color at the hotel. Nothing to write home about.
At the Victorian-era Wawona, we checked-in and settled into the lounge for a listen to Tom Bopp's piano and crooning. He's almost Victorian himself. We dined in the lounge, since we did not want an hour-and-a-half wait for dinner in the dining room, as quaint as the old setting is.
After dinner, we walked back to our room in the dark, with paths lit only by reflection from buildings lights. Nice setting
Then, without television or cell phone coverage, it was early-to-bed. (We did have the advantage of one of the few rooms at Wawona that "enjoys" wifi.)
Our Friday plan was pretty light. Breakfast. Putter. Walk. Lunch. Porch reading. Porch wine-ing. And celebrating Marianne's 74th birthday.
Yosemite National Park is a crown jewel in the park system and most visitors feel compelled to tour from dawn to dusk - driving, hiking, climbing, generally being active. We have done that, but this trip was simpler. An advantage of living in Fresno is that we can go to Yosemite often and can accomplish the "required" stops, a little at a time.
When traveling, my morning ritual is generally the same: Up early, work on pictures and yesterday's diary, and a slow breakfast with Marianne. The old Main Lodge is a particularly tranquil place to start and these spaces will be crowded most of the day.
Breakfast in the old main dining room is a treat. The sense is of a space that has changed little in 140 years. So what if those big windows are a bit drafty? The menu is pretty much National-Park-standard, not extensive, not inexpensive, but good enough and generally served by young people who are enjoying their summer adventure as park workers. At Wawona, many of the staff enjoy year after year of summer adventures.
Part of my own task for this trip was to practice with my new camera, including using reminders I had been given in my photography class a week ago. The Leica camera is both simpler and more sophisticated than my normal equipment. I like the simplicity of a single, non-zoom lens. Less fiddling. Nevertheless, I am trying to move toward more manual control, something in the "Leica spirit".
My first excursion was a walk out behind the Main Lodge (1879), Clark Cottage (1876), Little White (1884) and finally, our own building, The Annex (1919).
By 11:00, it was warm enough for a comfortable hike on the Meadow Loop Trail. The three-and-a-half mile loop is an easy two-hour walk, plus extra time for a constantly-distracted photographer. With all the fall colors, distraction was almost constant. We have hiked this loop trail a few times before, but never has there been this amount of color along the way.
Trees. Individual trees. There were yellow ones, orange ones, red ones. Someday I will learn proper names, but for now color will have to be enough naming.
Looking up, a big evergreen (Sugar Pine?) offered an interesting pattern rather than color, and my photography class had suggested both differing perspectives and searching for patterns. Do I get homework credit?
Most of the Meadow Loop Trail is through and under trees and it is hard to see the meadow itself. In the 1800s, this meadow was the center of the community, with pasture land and farm fields, and small houses along the road we were using. In the early 20th Century, the meadow was also used as a landing strip for the adventurous.
The meadow and forest land are both being transformed into more natural states, with fallen trees left where they lie and visitors discouraged from going off the trail. These first two pictures are different views of the same spot, a photo-perspective experiment. Naturally, sometimes one needs to sit on an off-trail rock to rest.
My recent photo class also suggested "look down" and "look close" and "look for patterns" and "find water". OK, I did. More homework credit? Fun to do, in any event.
Our three-hour trek behind us, we returned to the hotel for lunch and an afternoon of sitting on the veranda. It was a perfect way to spend the time, better than all that climbing and hiking and struggling the thousands of other Yosemite visitors were doing. When bar service started at 5, we ordered and sat until it was too chilly.
Finally, we settled in at the "game room" in our Annex building. The space is one of just two areas where wifi exists at Wawona, so there are alway a few tourists catching up on their modern lives. As did we. We enjoyed a chat with a pair of German visitors, giving our advice for their see-everything-in-the-West-in-ten-days excursion. Good for them, but we're glad we can enjoy a simpler Wawona visit.
Saturday was straight forward: diary, breakfast, pack, and drive "down the hill". We returned to our normal, our new normal.
Stay tuned
John and Marianne