You can read Cam's California Visit Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Part 3 takes us to Yosemite. We drove after work on a weekday and stayed in the cutest little hotel, Hotel Charlotte, in the cutest little town of Groveland.

We had a jacuzzi in the room - pair that with some brew and you have the perfect way to end a long day and begin a great vacation.

I pulled over at the Yosemite sign so that we could take the mandatory touristy photo.

This seems like a good time to mention that I was all wrong about selfie sticks. I rolled my eyes before, but now I am a changed woman - they are the best. Can you even tell we're using one? (below) 

We scored and got a first-come-first-serve campsite at Camp 4. We really scored when we got everything set up before any rain came through.

There were squirrels everywhere, which was obviously a huge plus for Cam and I. Here we are following the rules and not feeding the squirrels...

 

 

The rest of Day 1 in Yosemite included scouting good photo spots, trying to find top rope routes to climb, viewing Yosemite Falls and hiking to Mirror Lake.

  

At the end of the day, we cooked cous cous with veggies (the go-to camping meal) and added garlic almonds from the Farmers Market. I often dream of this eating this meal, paired with a Pale Ale and a warm fire.

The start of Day 2 was a bit rough. A storm was supposed to come through so if we wanted to make it to Half Dome as planned we would have to start early- like 5am early. With heavy eyelids and empty stomachs we marched up the trail. 

Nothing like the Mist Trail to wake you up. Being mid-May the trail certainly lived up to its name.

We beat the storm and made record timing. Check out the cables from the top: (photo taken by Cam)

On the way down we took our time, enjoying the waterfalls and epic views.

And the storm did eventually hit us...

 

The last day we were lazy and the rain outside didn't help with that. Our stove ran out so we shamefully ate Funyuns and protein bars for breakfast before heading into the car in search of vista points. We made it to the lookouts, but with heavy clouds and fog there wasn't much to see. Despite the weather, our moods were cheerful and the trip was an overall success. Especially after the blackberry pie with extra whipped cream at the Iron Door Grill.

 

Sadly, Yosemite was Cam's last highlight before returning to Sydney, but I took enough photos to keep us busy on instagram for the rest of the year.