while you're ahead...

– 107 – postcards from Yosemite

Monica Dunkley

July 19, 2017

I might be just a tad in love with this place.

Ok, a lot.

It’s so beautiful.

Today we drove along the North road, the one that takes you up up up to the Tioga pass (I believe it’s called Tioga road… no really…); a completely different environment and look about the place.

That’s our car up there, if you squint you can see it… and this photo was taken about 30 seconds before I had a bit of a screaming fit with the boys because they were too lazy to get out and were insisting in taking pictures from the windows.

How lazy is that?

So the next stop they all got out. I can be very persuasive sometimes.

Can we all agree it was worth it though? Please?

Our destination was Tenaya Lake, right at the other end of the park.

We even found snow… well a small patch…

Because the boys refused to walk around the lake with us (‘what’s the point’ was their poor argument) we decided to add a stop to our return journey: Toulumne Grove, to see some seriously big trees.

So instead of a flat easy walk they got a hilly one… that’ll teach them.

Another fabulous day.

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– 106 – postcards from Yosemite

Monica Dunkley

2 comments

July 18, 2017

We got a really early start to beat the crowds and make sure parking wasn’t a problem…and it worked out really well.

Oh my this place is so wonderful.

We have three days in the park so today we stayed in Yosemite Valley. First up we hiked to the lower falls although calling it a hike.. it’s a bit misleading… it’s very easy and very close to the parking areas.

Having said that, it’s still beautiful and worth the short walk. (By the way… the air smells amazing out there)

Milk weed (strictly linked to the life cycle of the Monarch butterflies. We saw a few… I didn’t know they were so big!)

We then had the genius idea to hire bicycle which allowed us to complete the valley floor loop AND to avoid taking the shuttle bus, which is a great service (we jumped on it on the way back to the car after dropping off the bikes at the end of the day) but at this time in the season it gets really crowded, especially in the afternoon.

We cycled around the bottom the valley, there’s a beautifully maintained cycling trial and its really easy…

We left the bikes on the rack at the beginning of the trail and hiked to Vernal Falls… and when I say hiked… this time I mean it.

Oh boy.

We made the rookie mistake to simply look at the distance of the hike (a mere 2.5miles) without checking/enquiring/finding out about the elevation… yup.

Mistake.

Beautiful. Stunning. Incredible.

STEEP.

Especially the last part… the Misty Trail… 300 huge steps going up and up and up… the legs turned to jelly, you got totally soaked (and I don’t mean damp, I mean SOAKED) from the spray of the water as bounces off the boulders in its path.

Fun. But STEEP.

I can honestly say my calves and butt cheeks won’t be thanking me tomorrow.

In an attempt to cool off and rest we made Mirror Lake our lost stop.

The water was freezing so … no swimming for me, although plenty of people were. Bonkers.

Honestly? Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been fortunate enough to visit… I really wish we had more time to explore it…

… black and white, in honour of Ansel Adams…

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– 105 – postcards from California

Monica Dunkley

1 comment

July 17, 2017

On the road.

My favourite.

Driving holidays are my favourite, especially when you have no clear plans and get to go where you want. When you have kids is a little tricky but even when you have a plan and a destination nothing stops you from taking the occasional detour, right?

Case in point A.

After being dropped off by Yuri from Moldova to the car rental place (‘unpronounceable from Uzbekistan had picked us up when we first arrived… I love how international the whole thing was) we headed East towards Yosemite.

All was going well when we spotted this from the highway:

In hindsight, not the cleverest thing to do in 100F…but hey… it was … interesting…

there was dancing… and if you needed a broken religious statue you were in the right place…

or broken windows…

or heads…

… they did offer free outdoor showers though…

We bought some really fresh fruit and some amazing roasted peanuts, so not all was lost.

When finally hit the open road, things got a little more interesting.

It felt good to be out of the city.

Under immense skyes.

In wide open spaces.

Especially when we abandoned the main road for a tiny backroad…

It was kind of perfect.

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– 104 – postcards from San Francisco

Monica Dunkley

1 comment

July 16, 2017

SF Moma… one of the best museum I’ve seen. We arrived as it opened at 10am and already people were queuing outside. The majority were there for the big Edward Munch exhibition which we didn’t have time for so the permanent galleries weren’t too crowded.

In the atrium there’s this magnificent sculpture by Richard Serra which I had seen popping out on my feed recently.

Amazing.

Even the boys were quite taken by it. It’s impossible not to be fascinated and enchanted.

(They might look distracted in this photos… but they are into this a little bit at least… honest… and the way you can tell this is a staged photo? They would never sit so closely together ‘in real life’!)

There were so many beautiful artwork (and they let you take photos too!) that we could have stayed so much longer..

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Next we had a picnic in the park opposite the De Young museum (housed in the coolest building)

Next to this is the super cute Japanese Garden (small entry fee)

… the only thing.. it was super super crowded (not the best idea to go on a weekend, but beggars can’t be choosers … It beautifully curated and designed etc. it’s just that the hundreds of people kind of destroyed the zen like peace it was probably meant to conjure…

We then retraced our steps to the De Young because cleverly we had booked tickets for the Summer of Love exhibition. Very interesting, I totally recommend it if you’re in the area. (Also ridiculously crowded… though, so go midweek).

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From the top of the observation deck on the 9th floor of the De Young tower we could see that Karl the fog was nowhere to be seen today and made the decision to jump on a bus and head towards the Golden Gate bridge whose sights had eluded us for the past couple of days.

A kind local gave us directions…

It wasn’t her fault that about 4 million people had the same idea as us…

Let’s just say that if the bus had been delayed another millisecond there would have been mutiny in our ranks… it was a close call.

Let’s all agree that a certain 11yr old had reached an impasse with the jet lag and completely lost any sense of humour. “I don’t want to be here, I didn’t ask to be here, what’s the point of all this ? It’s just a bridge, why is it even famous?” seemed to be the mantra of the day.

And leave it at that.

BUT…

… once we got there… it was worth it.

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The view was spectacular, the bridge ahead of us in all it’s glory and not shrouded in fog and whales swimming in the bay in front of us. WHALES!

I love whales.

Couldn’t have asked for more for our last night in the City.

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– 103 – postcards from San Francisco

Monica Dunkley

2 comments

July 15, 2017

First up Alcatraz.

(Karl the fog kept us company… sunny on the mainland, cold and grey on the island)

It was a very interesting visit, even the boys were enthralled and fascinated.

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It seems incredible (and very cruel) to have a prison so close to the mainland (just over a mile) and yet only three people managed to escape from it…

The rest of the day we … walked… and walked… and walked some more…

… to Pier 39…

… then to North Beach

… to the church of St Peter and Paul… where Joe di Maggio and Marylin Monroe didn’t get married but had their photos taken on its steps. (They both married before and therefore a church wedding was out of the question, to the registry office they went).

… to the Citylights bookstore…

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On the recommendation of the cashier in the bookshop (of course I bought a book… ‘Dharma Bums’ by Jack Kerouac, it seems appropriate somehow) we had lunch in Chinatown at this place: House of Nanking on Kearne Street.

Really, really good.

And then we walked some more… a lot more actually…

Tired but happy.

PS No 2’s suitcase has arrived.

PPS We bumped into No 2’s games teacher and his family today… small world or what?

– 102 – postcards from San Francisco

Monica Dunkley

3 comments

July 14, 2017

Day 2.

The day began with a tour of the city aboard of a 1972 yellow VW van called Jerry. The company which runs this type of tour is called Vantigo, and it’s the perfect way to get an over view of the city and get to see the main sights.

We drove all over the place and stopped a few times for photo ops… North Beach… (don’t call it Little Italy… you’ll give away your tourist status… big faux pas)

pass the super famous City Lights bookstore (oh Jack Kerouac…) to reach Coit Tower, the weather was great at this point and the views superb

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Then back on board, through lovely streets down by the marina

… all the way to the Palace of Fine Arts in the Presidio area.

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Then the big boy… The Golden Gate Bridge… the weather at this point had turned somewhat, something that apparently is quite common… the fog had rolled in and the temperature dropped…

It didn’t make the sight less amazing.

Just in case you didn’t know the fog is called Karl and has its own Instagram account Karl the fog. I’m not sure how ‘official’ the name is… but… it has way more followers than me!

(No 2 is in his slippers because that’s how he travelled and his suitcase still hasn’t arrived… he’s been a good sport about it… but I’m not sure how long that will last!)

Lunch was at ‘Slice House’ in the Haight…. delish!

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… right opposite Jimi Hendrix’ house.

After it was time for the famous painted ladies… I could have spent so much more driving around looking and taking photos of houses…

our last stop was at the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Assumption, a beautiful mid century church… maybe it’s because I grew up in Italy and, trust me, there are plenty of churches there, but I always enjoy visiting them… they’re always quite places, usually a welcome pause in the hustle and bustle of the city around them. I highly recommend you visit this one if you’re in the city.

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What a great place this is.

– 101 – postcards from San Francisco

Monica Dunkley

2 comments

July 13, 2017

We’re here.

Settled into our hotel (we’re staying at the W, right next door to the SFMoma so nobody can have an excuse for not wanting to go… result!)

A quick dinner (delicious burger) and a little stroll…

along the streets of San Francisco… (remember the tv programme?)

Totes jetlagged. Goodnight.

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– 100 – computer sleeve

Monica Dunkley

1 comment

July 11, 2017

Sometimes I wonder about karma.

The karma that found me less then 24 hrs before our taxi collects us for the airport racing through town to find shoes for No 3 whose feet have seemingly overnight grown too long for his walking shoes. I have officially the shortest feet in the household. Weird.

The karma that, in a few hours will find me in the car heading for deepest Wales to retrieve No 1 after his Silver DoE expedition… five hour journey. Five hours that I will have to find somehow later on to finish getting everything ready.

Breathe Monica, breathe….

The karma that found me with 36 hours to go before our flight with a house full of children, the majority not mine (although in all fairness they helped in polishing off any remaining food items), the washer and dryer going full pelt, no suitcases completely packed… and me sitting at my sewing machine to make a computer sleeve.

Apparently ‘I had promised’ No 2 one ‘aaaaages ago’.

I think he caught me off guard and too weak to argue. It was easier to give in on this one. As my dad always said; choose your battles, your aim it to win the war.

I even let him choose the fabric… major brownie points for my karma.

Thank the Lord for the serger, that’s all I’m saying…

If I manage to pull this holiday off in my next life I’m going straight to Nirvana..

– 99 – holiday packing 2

Monica Dunkley

5 comments

July 10, 2017

Games. Essential part of the holiday in my books. And I’m not talking electronic ones either!!

When the boys were little it was bags of Lego and little cars, buckets and spades and balls of any kind, in recent year we shifted to card games.

And a frisbee. Always a frisbee. Easy to pack to, nice and flat.

Card games are the way to go. I used to spend entire days playing cards with my sister in those long drawn on Italian summers (we had three months off school, which sounds great in principle… but you haven’t experienced it you don’t know what boredom truly is). Also the boys are not interested in learning ‘proper’ games, which his a shame…

This is what we play:

Uno is our favourite.

We play a variant called ‘Chicco rules’ which Mr M inexplicably hates but the rest of us think it makes the game more fun. It’s great to take to restaurants whilst we wait too.

This year I’ve had to buy a new set of cards because it was impossible to play with the old ones anymore.

Monopoly Deal, or ‘Monops’ as we affectionally call it.

If you, like me, hate the never-ending/argument-causing board game… this is for you. It’s quick, the games last about 15 minutes, yes luck plays a bigger part, but you still need to be making the right decisions to win.

In the interest of honesty I probably won twice in five years. No 3? wins 80% of the time, he’s 11. Very annoying.

(Give me Connect Four and I’ll show you who’s boss!)

When boredom level reaches its zenith we also play silly games with these old Italian cards. I know there are good games out there with these but I’ve never learnt any of them. We played one that require zero brain power that my grandma taught me when I was about five years old.

A new kid on the block is Perudo

We’re still not sure of how to play properly, so the rules booklet will be coming with us. It looks promising.

We also have a portable Scrabble, or ‘Scrabs’ (Does your family do that? alter the name of everything and creates some weird unintelligible private language?)

Normally the boys aren’t interested so it becomes a husband v wife affair… which always goes to pot if a few aperitifs are involved… Mr M becomes smutty and juvenile and I can only think in Italian. Bad mix.

What else should we play? What are your family favourites?

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– 98 – holiday packing 1

Monica Dunkley

2 comments

July 9, 2017

Let’s face it, long gone are the days when packing was done the day before, after dinner, footloose and fancy free.

Nope, now under the umbrella of ‘packing’ there are a whole other matters that require days of preparation and the execution of a military campaign. Cancel appointments and regular deliveries, sort out dog sitters/house sitters, pay bills due when we’re away… and whilst the actual act of putting things in the suitcase itself is done by each individual members of the family it doesn’t mean that all the washing/ironing/folding etc. is. Oh no… the washing reaches a frenetic level right up to the last hour.

(Talking of washing, if somebody can come over and help me remove No 3’s new sweatpants off him I’d be eternally grateful).

(Also… the boys have been wearing school uniform or sport kits for months and suddenly they don’t seem to have enough ‘normal’ clothes to wear… too small (when will the stop growing!!) or just not enough… cue mad scramble and lots of arguments during hellish shopping trips… sigh).

One ‘item’ that I’ve been perfecting through the years, mainly through trial and error is the first aid kit.

Arnica cream – for knocks and bruises. When Mr M kicked the bottom of the bag in New York and ‘grew’ a purple baseball on his shin (not even joking) I regretted not having that with me. It’s magical stuff.

Tea tree cream – natural antiseptic. Brilliant for cuts and grazes

Savlon healing gel – similar to the above but good for superficial burns too. (I’m clumsy in the kitchen

Bites relief/hydrocortisone – Insects can be a major pain and I’m not very good with bee stings.

Rehydrating powder and imodium tablets – for… you know… those occasions when ‘you can’t stop going’… (with me?)

Then I always carry a whole loads of plasters and tubigrip and bandages etc. (Those alginate dressing I should have had last year when No 3 went flying over the handlebar of his bike in Vancouver and left half his skin on the pavement… (all caught on film by the gopro mounted on the handlebar, quite dramatic).

I don’t know how the mosquito situation will be where we’re going but once a girl scout… always a girl scout… be prepared and all that jazz.

… and these are ‘mummy’s little pills’… vitamins and pmt happy pills so nobody dies whilst we’re away and I don’t spend the rest of my days wearing orange… (Kira hormonal balance tablets are fabulous).

So, what have I missed? Please do tell!

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