2009 Winter Holiday - Yosemite National Park I

First road sign that says Yosemite!

We have been planning for a winter holiday since middle of last year but it was supposed to be the Big Bear Mountain. But after looking at my friend's pictures when they went to Yosemite National Park, we decided that maybe that's a better place to go. It is between 5-6 hours drive from OC. So plans were made, hotel was booked, winter stuff were bought like tire chain, his winter overall, snow boots, ear muffs but we couldn't find winter boots for me. Apparently they are not easily found in this Southern California area. They have the regular Ugg boots but I wanted something more outdoor-sy type that I can go trekking in. So we decided to stop at Tulare, a town about 1-1.5 hrs to Oakhurst where our hotel is.

First stop was of course the Super Target but unfortunately they have none either. Upon asking the staff there, we were told of a Big 5 Sporting Goods store just down the road which might carry what I wanted. Since it's already middle of winter, there is really not many choices left but I found one that is easy on my eye (gotta have cute ones!) but the price listed was 85 before tax. If possible I really do not want to spend too much on something that I might use one a year. So I decided to ask one if the guys there if I could get any discount on them. He went somewhere and a few minutes later came back telling me that he could give me them for 60! Yay! So, the next time you shop and want to get a discount on non-discounted items, do not be shy. Just ask for it. You just might get it.

Once we paid for everything, it is time to continue with the drive. Michael is not the type who likes to drive too long and I am afraid of driving in the mountain areas. So he did all the driving while I am in charge of keeping track of the rest areas. Yup, that is usually my job. Id give him updates on how far away is the next rest areas should either one of us need to use the restroom or if we need to fill up the gas!

We reached Oakhurst around 1pm and the check-in time at Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn Oakhurst was 3pm but when we went in and asked the receptionist, she said we could check-in immediately. Phew! I guess the hotel was not pack so our room is ready. Finding the room is not quite easy since the hotel consist of a few buildings up the hill. But the room is spacious. It only cost us around 80/night and they even have indoor pool. Which brings to another story. We went there all prepared with winter clothing for a rigid winter temperature only to be faced with a rather summer-like temperature. Neither one of us brought our swimming attire so we ended up having to buy them too. Sigh!

Best Western Oakhurst Lobby

Chukchansi Casino

After lunch which was chinese food for me (pretty bad) and pizza for him, we just stayed in the room. Me watching tv while he took a nap. Poor Baby. He gotta be tired after that long drive. When he woke up, we decided to cehck out the casino which was only 15 min drive from our hotel. I was rather surprised to see the parking lot packed. Can't really imagine where all those people came from. Lol! It was also very chilly at night and we were lucky that as we parked the car, there was an open-air bus or tram drove by and asked us if we needed a ride to the hotel. Very good service indeed I must say. We did not stay long at all since it was pretty boring and we had an early day the next morning but I did manage to play the Star Wars penny slots so I was happy.

The queue at the South Gate Entrance.

We started the day with breakfast of the champion aka Carl's Jr and started our journey by stopping by at the Tourist Centre just 5min up the road. The 2 older ladies manning the office were very helpful and cheerful and very happy to hear that I am from Malaysia. They wanted to talk but we had to leave and continue up to Yosemite National Park. The fee to the Park is 20 per car (7 day pass) and for motorbike is 10 each. Do keep the ticket with you because they would ask for it when you drive down.

Road to Mariposa Grove was close to traffic but you are allowed to walk in. We went to Yosemite Valley and wanted to go to Mariposa after that but by the time we get back down it was 3pm and we spent time at Mariposa, we would have to drive down to Oakhurst in completely darkness. So in the end we decided against it. Next time, definitely!

I hope you would enjoy the pictures and story on this part I of our winter holiday at Yosemite National Park. Do come back for the next post. I took lots of pictures and will try to put most of them in a few posts.

In the background is El Capitan

Long Weekend and Jumper

Another long weekend and this time its for President's Day. It seems like this year, a lot of holidays fall on Monday and since Michael works with the government, it means that he gets ALL of them. Some of you (esp in Msia) may start saying, "whts the big deal?". Well, it IS a big deal since here not everybody gets off on ALL holidays. Most companies only close for Xmas, Thanksgiving and July 4th (plus a couple others) and they have floating holidays where you have to choose whc holidays you want to be off and which you dont which means that you have to come to work.

Anyways, we decided to watch the movie Jumper despite the not-so-good reviews that we'v been hearing. I mean, after watching Cloverfield, im up to watching anything! :P It turns out to be not as bad as the reviews say. It's a bit childish-like movie but nevertheless still entertaining.

One other thing that I like about going to the cinema to watch a movie is that I get to know what movies would be coming out soon. So far Im excited about Hellboy II, Prince Caspian The Chronicles of Narnia (yes i love Narnia!), Indiana Jones and Angelina Jolie's new movie Wanted.

But is there any M.Night Shyamalan fan out there? I know I am. Huge fan of his movies to the point that I think I tend to be biased when it comes to his movies. At least thats what Michael told me. He knows that at a mere mentioning of M.Night Shyamalan, id be telling him, "oh we'r definitely gonna see that!" in a heart beat. Dont care wht its about or whos in it. All I care is that if it comes from the him then I must watch it. Anyways, his new movie is called The Happening and its coming out on June 13th this year.

Michael told me that we should wait for it to come out on dvd (gasp!). I dont think I can wait that long. From my past experiences, his movies usually take a long time before they finally come out on dvd and I cannot (read:would not!) wait that long. Lagipun sini mana dvd ciplak bukan macam kat msia, kan? Trust me, Im definitely going to the cinema to watch it. With him of course! ;)

Gong Xi Fa Chai

Wishing all my Chinese friends and readers,

GONG XI FA CHAI!

p.s. Drive safely and if you're gonna be away from home, make sure all the doors and windows are locked.

Long Weekend and Cloverfield

Winter in SoCal is not really winter. I kid you not. 2 weeks ago we were having spring-like season and then wham! it gets really cold. Not that kind of cold where you'l get snow though. Its the other kind that comes with the rain. The temp now is around 58F or 13 C and it will go down much lower later at night.

Anyways, we decided to watch the Cloverfield last sunday. Personally, I found it excrutiatingly painful to watch. Yup. I didn like it at all. Now, before anybody starts jumping the gun on me, let me remind you again that this is MY own personal opinion. Other people might find it interesting and im not 1 of them. Im sure most of you remember the movie The Blair Witch Project? Remember that the whole movie was taken using the camcorder? Well, the same goes to Cloverfield. The first 25min of the movie was nothing else but the characters filming their morning and day out and continued with the planning of the farewell party.

Im not going to tell you the whole story but here are among the things that just dont make sense to me even for a hollywood movie standard:

1) if you were being chased/attacked/mauled by aliens/animal/something, would you still be carrying ur camera?

2) after no.1 above, can you still climb up and down 59floors (!) to help a girl tht your friend likes/loves even after she came to the party with another guy and you didn even know if shes alive?

3) hell after no. 1 would you still wanna do no. 2 rather than straight to the evacuation place??

4) the said girl was found with a re-bar sticking out of her chess and after much difficulty in freeing her fr it and getting her out of the building (bleeding and all), she could suddenly run like she was not even hurt.

5) the heli that they were in crashed. the pilot who was wearing the helmet died but ALL 3 of them miraculously survived.

So there you go, thats my take on the movie. If you like the movie, do share why ok?

On another note, both dvds that arrived in the mail from blockbuster.com turned out to be un-playable. We thought our player was bad but luckily we still have another movie with us so we know for sure that it was those dvds rather than the player. ;)

Eid ul Adha

Selamat Hari Raya Haji to all muslim. Halalkan segala makan minum and kalau ada terkasar bahasa, dimaafkan ye? Those in Malaysia, be thankful for wht you have and that you are in fact in Malaysia. For those overseas, I know its not easy being away from family especially during time like this but remember, we have each other. ;)

Merdeka August 31,2007 - A daring one!

I have always like ads fr Petronas. Be it Hari Raya, Chinese New Yr, Deepavali or Merdeka.

This year, they came out with yet another ad that carries a very strong message and I mus say a very daring one indeed. There is a saying that goes, "If you give a man a fish, he will eat for a day so instead, teach him how to fish ".

In this new ad, the message is clear. When you are asked to do something, do it properly from the very beginning or the lost is nobody else's but yours to live with.

To my fellow Malaysian, Selamat Hari Merdeka!