Tolbert Travels

We flew across the entire country with our 10-week-old baby & a healthy dose of wanderlust with our besties this summer! BEST DECISION. Elias got to experience his first 3 national parks (Yosemite, Sequoia, and Kings Canyon), plus we all got to see the largest waterfall in North America and the largest tree by volume in the entire world. It was a magical trip that we will never forget. Below is a detailed itinerary of our first trip to California.

Friday, June 30th:

• Flew from CLT –> SFO (Elias rocked his first flight … a little over 5hrs in length! Woohoo!)
• Took our first Uber with Elias from the airport to our Airbnb on 29th ave! K is very fast at putting his car seat base in.
• Began to figure out San Francisco’s complicated Public Transportation System (We purchased 3 day passes ahead of time on the Muni Mobile app. We learned towards the end of our trip that you do not need to show this pass to the bus driver, but rather it is necessary to have if an “inspector” gets on board and asks to see our pass) *I say complicated because Muni doesn’t go everywhere and there are other bus systems that do, so it was tricky to figure out at first.
• Grabbed an appetizer at the Ferry Marketplace Building – Enjoyed delicious tacos from Cholito Linda
• Took a ferry to Sausalito for a quick supper. Had to pay to take the bus back since Muni doesn’t go to Sausalito.

Airbnb Accommodation on 29th Ave: CLICK HERE to view listing! We liked staying in this quiet residential neighborhood a lot.

Saturday, July 1st:

• Walked through Golden Gate Park to breakfast at Joe’s Coffee Shop (yummy diner food – we sat at one of two tables!)
• Birthday cake latte for Jordan’s 26th from Home Coffee Roasters (few blocks down the road)
• Walked around the Japanese Tea House & Gardens
• Took an elevator up to the Hamon Observation Tower (free)
• Walked around the Botanical Gardens for a few hours and found a gorgeous Redwood Grove
• Celebrated Jordan’s birthday at the Game Parlour and ate yummy waffles for lunch

• Took N and rode the Powell/Hyde cable car line to the top of the curvy part of Lombard St so we could walk down 
• Watched the sunset over the bay after walking around Fisherman’s Wharf … the fog underneath the golden gate bridge with the sunset in the background was cold yet beautiful.
• Enjoyed warm soup in bread bowls and sandwiches from Boudin Bakery for dinner

Sunday, July 2nd:

• Ate breakfast around 9am from Uncle Benny’s (offered bagels and donuts – yum!)
  

  
• Walked the Batteries to Bluffs Trail – highly recommend!

• Dipped our toes in the Pacific Ocean at Marshall’s Beach for the first time!!! Brrr! (San Francisco’s “most hidden beach”)
• Walked to the Golden Gate Bridge and explored the Outdoor Exhibition (Did you know it is constantly re-painted due to rust?)
• Explored the Palace of Fine Arts & checked out the Wave Organ
• Visited the Maritime National Historic Park & Museum for our stamp! 🙂
• Walked around Fisherman’s Wharf and took the California Cable Car (SF took Cable Cars from all over the U.S. & other countries as they were being decommissioned. We rode one from Mexico City!)
• Ate tacos from Cholito Linda again haha! They had a nice outdoor area.
• Visited Chinatown before meeting up with my cousin for dinner.

Monday, July 3rd:

• K brought back breakfast from Uncle Benny’s to the Airbnb, while Jordan got the rental car from the airport.
• We drove by the Painted Ladies
• Lunch: In & Out (FIRST TIMERS … it’s like the CFA of the west coast haha!)
• Drove to Yosemite National Park and checked into our white canvas tent in Curry Village// (Park Map Linked Here)
• Attended a stargazing tour from 9-11pm that gave us an incredible view of Yosemite Falls (the tallest waterfall in North America)

Tuesday, July 4th:

We spent our first 4th of July as a family hiking in Yosemite National Park! We filled up our water bottles at the Curry Village water station (by taco place) and headed for the free shuttle. We got off at shuttle stop #17 for Mirror Lake and hiked about 2 miles round trip to get to the lake and then back.  This is where we chose to eat a picnic lunch at as it was fun to watch guys jump off of the rock into the lake. The water was freezing! Elias got to see ducklings for the first time here. 

After hanging out at Mirror Lake for a few hours we did the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail next to get a better view of the tallest waterfall in North America. This is the park’s shortest waterfall hike that offers stunning views of Yosemite Falls. It was neat for us to see it during daylight since we watched these falls be illuminated by the buck moon the night before. This trail was a one-mile loop that offered a refreshing mist as we walked along the footbridge at the base of the falls. While we walked this easy loop, our friends, Emily & Jordan, were completing the Yosemite Upper Falls Trail to get to the very top! To get to the top of Yosemite Falls they hiked 7.2 miles round trip with an elevation of 2,700 feet. We looked up there but couldn’t see them;) They said the hike was well worth it, so K and I may attempt it next time.

After walking through the Lower Yosemite Falls Trail we headed for the Mist Trail. I liked this because we were so close to the water. We made it to the Happy Isles Nature Center in no time. The air conditioning felt amazing and we re-filled our water bottles near by too. We then walked twenty minutes back to Curry Village and hung out at the Ampitheater waiting for our friends to get back from their long hike. We ate dinner from pizza place on a porch in rocking chairs with them. I loved the pizza they offered! We then caught the sunset near Tunnel View.

Wednesday, July 5th:

Our friends woke up really early again to hit the trails. They hiked to the top of Nevada Fall (5.4 miles round trip via the Mist Trail with a 2000 feet elevation gain) and were on their way back to camp when our paths crossed. We were planning on hiking more of the Mist Trail when we saw the signs for Vernal Fall and Nevada Fall, so of course we just randomly decided to try it. I had left my rain jacket back at our tent, so it was a God thing that we passed them when we did. Emily lent me her rain jacket so I was able to go much further than we had planned. Baby Elias was cozy and dry in the carrier the entire time haha! We made it to the top of Vernal Fall (2.4 miles round trip with 1000 feet elevation gain), though K went a little further than me to grab a few more pics. I just saw all the slick stairs I had to walk back down and started to make the journey nice and slowly. It took us about three hours to complete and we were really glad we did it. It was a great hike and my first strenuous one post baby. Click here to learn more about the fall hike options.

After the hike Kristoff and I walked through the Indian Village of the Ahwahnee and the Yosemite Museum. We found the ceremonial roundhouse to be particularly interesting. Next, we walked next door to check out the Ansel Adams Exhibit where we fed Elias and changed his diaper on the bench. We waited here for our friends who wanted to also check out the exhibit. We then hit Bridalveil Falls at golden hour and walked around Cook’s Meadow before dinner. We ate at the Seven Tents Pavilion (I recommend the salad bar!) and grabbed our souvenirs.  We also got a hot breakfast every morning from this pavilion. 

Kristoff and I got Grand Canyon t-shirts last summer, so we kept the tradition alive and purchased Yosemite National Park t-shirts, plus an ornament for our Christmas tree to remember the trip by. We also got Elias his first national park pin (whoop! whoop!) that we will give him when he is older and can decide if he wants a hat or vest for his collection. We also got him a Sequoia National Park pin later in the trip, but decided not to get a Kings Canyon one because those designs weren’t great and they are connected anyways. 

Thursday, July 6th:

After checking out of Curry Village in Yosemite by 10:45am, we headed for Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias.  You park and hop on a free shuttle to get to the trailhead, with the bus ride being less than 10 minutes. We hiked the 2-mile loop from the trailhead after being dropped off, which took us about 2 hours because we kept stopping to stare in awe at the beautiful trees. We got to see the Giant Grizzly, Bachelor & 3 Graces, plus the California Tunnel Tree.  This grove is home to over 500 mature giant sequoias, so it was pretty incredible! We hopped back on the shuttle to head back to the parking lot & then left Yosemite. It was sad leaving, as we all wanted to stay longer. Not terribly sad though because we were headed for Wuksachi Lodge in Sequoia National Park. Our second park of the trip! We ate dinner that evening at Peaks Mountain, which was very overpriced, so in the future we would bring more food here, as room came with a microwave. Here a few pics from Mariposa Grove:

Friday, July 7th: 

We spent all of Friday exploring a small part of Sequoia National Park. Here is what we did:

• Lodgepole visitors center (got our National Parks Passport book stamped!) 
• General Sherman Tree Trail (Seeing the largest living tree on Earth was so cool!!)
• Congress Trail (2.7 mile loop – well worth it!)
• Giant Forest Museum 
• Attended a Ranger talk on Sequoia National Park
• Ate dinner at the lodge again (really only choice by us)
• Drove through Tunnel Log
• Hiked the Crescent Meadow Loop and saw a Marmot sitting on a rock ( Tharp’s Log is so cool to see! It was built in 1861)
• Climbed 350 steps for the most epic sunset spot — Moro Rock! It was amazing!!! I already want to go back. The views were breathtaking. We also saw another Marmot popping its head out of the rock which was so cool.
• On the way back to the lodge we stopped by the Auto Log

Saturday, July 8th:

We drove to Kings Canyon National Park for the day and hiked the General Grant Trail. We saw the third largest tree in the world by volume and walked through the Fallen Monarch. Next, we did the Big Stump Loop where we found a downed Sequoia to eat lunch on. This tree was actually part of the trail, so it was very flat and comfortable to nurse Elias on too! It is an easy loop. Next, we hiked through Hitchcock Meadow (1 mile). Somehow, we couldn’t stop hiking and ended up on Sunset Trail. We hiked all the way to Viola Falls where we relaxed and ate snacks. The hike back to our car was not as bad as we all expected. We then ended the day with walking up the short trail to Panoramic Point and eating dinner at the Grant Grove Restaurant. We all slept really good in the lodge that night!

Sunday, July 9th:

We drove back to San Francisco on Sunday and grabbed In and Out again for lunch. It was a sad drive that meant our vacation was coming to a close, though I still had a yummy dinner to look forward to. We stayed in a 2-bedroom suite at Holiday Inn Hotel (Address: 330 N Bayshore Blvd, San Mateo, CA, 9440) after scoring a deal on Expedia. I’m including the address because this was a nice hotel that was only 8 minutes from the airport. I would definitely stay here again, though they did charge us $17 to park our rental car in their lot. After checking in and getting settled, we jumped in the car and drove 30 minutes to a parking garage in Chinatown. This garage was underneath the park we walked around the Sunday before. So wild! Men were still gathered around tables playing games together. We enjoyed a DELICIOUS dinner at the House of Nanking. Click here to view their menu. We are already craving their sizzling fried rice that they make in front of you. We also ordered their Nanking Sesame Chicken and the appetizer Fried Pork Potstickers. It was plenty of food for the both of us, so you really only need to get one sizzling fried rice to split.

Monday, July 10th:

We all woke up before sunrise and headed for the airport tired, but excited to be home. We had a great flight and Elias did AMAZING!! I thought it did well on the way to CA, but he literally slept the entire way home haha. Before getting on the plane at SFO we booked our next flight for October. Woohoo! We grabbed lunch from Which Wich after landing at CLT and I got the Grinder. I think this was my first time here. Anyways, our besties dropped us off at our house around 6pm and we had a quiet night in doing laundry and organizing stuff from our trip. After being gone for 10 nights our house was spotlessly clean because my mom who petsit for us, also cleaned a different room each day. She is amazing and really knows how to make us feel loved. Shoutout to my dad also who did our yard before we returned, so we wouldn’t have to worry about it for a week. Our house has never been this clean. K and I said, “When are we going out of town again? Our house is so clean!!” hahaha. Blessings upon blessings.

 

I am so grateful for all of the memories made as a family and with our friends on our first trip to California! They are brave to sign up for a trip with a 10-week-old baby, but it all went really well. We are closer friends because of the trip and it saved us over a thousand dollars to split accommodations with them. Kristoff and I already can’t wait for our next trip out west!