YOSEMITE

Morning in the Hammock

It’s taken me awhile, but I now have my pillows, books, coffee, pen, reading glasses and long body arranged just so and now I’m ready to write to you and now . . . the early sun is in my eyes.

Yesterday with Elise (Rob’s sister) and her husband, Haywood, was a very special day, and just about as different from Paris as you can get.  It’s marvelous to behold all this variety in our world, isn’t it?  Even the drive to Yosemite from the Bay Area perfectly illustrates the contrast; I mean most of it really is butt-ugly, is it not?  Miles and miles of California summer brown with a strip mall thrown in now and then for color.  But then, all of the sudden, it changes . . .you hit . . .Groveland!  Groveland!  I want to live in Groveland!  What a sweet, well-tended little town where you can get a good cup of coffee and a book.

Evergreen Lodge is perfect for a family reunion type vacation, thank you to Rabbi Bennett for this excellent suggestion.  Comfortable, upscale cabins with lots of room, (unlike Paris), a pool, hammocks everywhere, a restaurant with really good food and lots of places to just sit and be and look at the trees and sky.  Last night after dinner, we saw a mere sliver of an orange moon, setting in a golden lit sky against the dark background of the night.

I will work on my night photography.  For now, dear reader, use your imagination.

The contrast from Paris is really quite remarkable.  It’s just so . . . American here.  I can spread out, physically and spiritually.  I can breathe.  I am an American girl.  As much as I adore Europe, this is my roots, and I love it here.  I have to confine myself in Paris; certainly physically and even emotionally.  Even while eating I have to be careful not to elbow my fellow diner, sitting two feet away at the next table, knock over my water, hurl my fork, or do something equally gauche.  We had to take two trips up this elevator to successfully carry Rob, myself and our luggage to our room.

But I am in Yosemite now.  And people are loud and American and most definitely not contained and I am here, too, with my ebullient personality fanned out wide.

Yesterday was really all that.  We rented bikes and rode all over the valley, stopping for a wonderful lunch perched high on the deck at the Ahwahnee, overlooking the magnificent rock of Yosemite.  Yes, it’s the rock that makes this place so special, that unique, Yosemite grey, infused with light rock, soaring into the sky.  There is nothing else like it in the world. 

Countless writers and photographers have tried to capture it and here is my humble attempt.

But you never can quite capture that spiritual state with an image or string of words, can you?  You can only hope that rereading your words and looking at the pictures can move you back into that feeling.  I like to think that for that brief moment in time, riding our bikes through that golden meadow on our way to the Ahwahnee, we all felt it; we were joined for that brief moment in the Kingdom.

We are creating memories together with this trip and that is eternal.  Thank their good hearts for coming all of the way out here from South Carolina.  It is part of the joy in human relationship and it is of ultimate value to me.  We have a limited amount of resources yes, but this is how Rob and I want to spend our money; travelling and connecting.  Don’t wait, we say.  DON’T WAIT!