Day 10 - Yosemite NP Day 3 - The Majestic

Today was a rest day. We slept in with only two goals for the day: have lunch at the Majestic Yosemite Hotel and do laundry. But first, Michele's toes were in a bad way from yesterday's hike. Despite the change of shoes, three of them ended up with angry blisters. Rob did some triage and went to the bike to get his large first aid kit. He dressed and bandaged them together so she could walk.
 
We met up with Tom, Julie, Hui Bok and Mike for our 1pm lunch reservation at the Majestic Hotel. The Majestic is large and beautifully decorated.

Right away Tom noticed a sign that indicated we must behave in this fancy place. Julie's reaction was priceless.

Rooms were $500+ a night during our time here which is why we opted for a dining room experience instead. Tom and Rob walked around the inside and took pictures while we waited for our table. Julie and Michele hit the gift shop.

Rob has looked forward to dining here for the past year. So, when they gave us a kiddy-sized table set for four to seat SIX adults (despite the reservation ahead and three VERY large tables going unused), we had a problem. Rob had a tense conversation with at least five of the staff, then inspected and rejected a few tables. Awhile later we were seated at the empty 10-12 person table with plenty of room. Now, that wasn't so hard, was it? In the end, they were quick with our meals, the food was good, and we all splurged on dessert.
 

After lunch Rob and Michele went to the Housekeeping area and washed clothes. It is located in a camping area that Michele termed the refugee camp. The tents are brown with permanent walls and cement patios. Some of the occupants added black trash bags for privacy and others looked like hoarders. "This is why I don't camp," said Michele under her breath. There were mostly 20-somethings and young European families, and everyone seemed friendly and fairly happy to be there.

While the clothes were washing, Rob created a route for tomorrow's scenic ride as well as modifying our itinerary for the ride to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park on Wednesday.

With all that behind us, the day was capped off with tasty 12 year old Pappy Bourbon (courtesy of Mike) shared amongst friends and a late dinner at the Yosemite Valley Lodge's bar. Our waitress asked if she could close out our tab since she had to drive home to Merced and wanted to beat the storm. We looked up Merced and it is 1.5 hours ONE way! On dark, winding roads.

As Rob and Michele made their way back to the room, the lightning and thunder picked up in intensity. Suddenly a VERY bright flash went off followed by a deafening crack of thunder. Michele screeched "What the &$%# was that??" She bolted. You would have never thought she had sore toes or legs from the previous day's hike. Rob was laughing hysterically at her sudden burst of speed.

From Michele's point of view, just as they walked between two huge redwoods she experienced a "flash bang". Like those military weapons. She ducked and yelled, then ran for her life. She could hear Rob laughing like a fool (yes, a fool because he wasn't alarmed when he should be) and yelling after her, "What about your feet? You'll hurt them!" It didn't matter, she was getting back to the room before flash bang #2.

Both survived the trip back to the room for the night.

Tomorrow we hope for a more serene day. We will ride to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir in a different area of the park and have lunch at the Evergreen Lodge.