For $126 each, roundtrip, we can get from here to there. Spirit Airlines provides NOTHING included. Not water, not a carry-on bag, nothing.
So we can bring a purse or school-bag-sized backpack. This makes it more fun! We can totally bring our own water and snacks for our flight that will arrive in San Fran at 8 am. As bargain-hunters and shameless thrift shoppers, we were already planning to hit up the Salvation Army or Goodwill in an upscale area. So we will fly with underwear and toothbrush and hiking boots... and will buy everything else we need when we get there. To bring a carry-on would be $45 each, each way. So for much less than the $180 it would cost to bring our own stuff there and back, we will get "new" stuff, and then mail it home. Our return flight is at 7 pm, so no biggie.
In San Francisco we are going to stay in the historic San Remo Hotel. For under $100 a night we get to experience a throw-back to the era right after the great San Francisco Earthquake and fire, which was built originally to serve Italian immigrants, and whose ground level restaurant Fior D-Italia remains the oldest Italian restaurant in America! The tiny room will not have a bathroom or sink--those are shared down the hall. I know... sounds amazing, huh?
But you don't understand. I go for ambiance over fancy or spacious every time. I read to the kids about Rose Wilder growing up and moving to San Francisco as a telegraph operator right about this time. I think I will be able to lose myself in that vine-filled hallway for a minute and pretend I am visiting a time in history and a place in literature that we're read so much about. This is located in the North Beach area, near Fisherman's wharf, right of Lombard Street.
So we'll see the city sights, and then head out to Yosemite. I nearly gave up on finding a budget-priced lodging that had any ambiance at all. I even nearly gave up on finding one with good ratings that was close enough to the park to be sensible. Lodging within the park is either super pricy or all booked. And we're thinking that camping with lows in the 20s and highs in the 40s, potentially, might not be that fun.
El Portal is the closest village to the park gate. And unlike Groveland, another fairly close one, it doesn't have extra city taxes to bump up hotel rates significantly right before you close the deal. I couldn't believe it when I found this (at a rate about 15% lower than advertised, since I was booking through travelocity, the same site we used for our airline tickets and they offer a discount if you book hotels within 10 days of your flight)!
Yosemite View Lodge in El Portal. Wait. It gets better!
Check out the view from the back! And....
Look closely. The room has a fireplace and a kitchenette!
Instead of having to either eat our for every meal, or pick up groceries every time, we can have a hot breakfast in our room every day, make sandwiches for our hikes and drives and sightseeing, and even make dinner if we want.
Now all we need is the rental car, and Rich is the master of rental car deals (so many puppy trip to the northeast). We've saved enough that we can probably plan to eat at the Ahwahnee Hotel in the park, as recommended by some California natives who say Yosemite is the most beautiful place on earth.
Having lived in or visited Hawaii, Yellowstone and the Rocky Mountains, the Kenai Penninsula of Alaska, the Grand Canyon, and sights all over Australia, Yosemite will have some stiff competition in getting my stamp as the most beautiful place on earth, but I fully expect it to offer some stiff competition. I'm already impressed. And excited.
What a blessing to get to see such beautiful places and experience the beauty and variety of God's creation. And what fun to play the game of doing it on a budget!
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