The Gaia - A Great Hotel

Since we were going to be gone for so long, we made it a point to stay in motels along the way that, shall we say, were not of luxury quality. Only the Parc 55 in San Francisco defied this rule - because that's where the convention was being held. Otherwise, I reserved rooms for us with a budget in mind. Our only criteria were that we have free breakfast, free parking and free internet. (This last requirement varied in quality from place to place; thus my inability to blog successfully while en route... Plus the fact that four of us were sharing computer usage with very limited time.) While most of our lodging was at familiar chains (Comfort Inn, Rodeway Inn, etc.), we found a great deal in Anderson, CA, at the Gaia Hotel. Not knowing what to expect, we arrived late that night with some trepidation.

Oh, my goodness! Were we in for a treat! Gaia is a new chain with only two locations thus far: this one and one in Napa. They bill themselves as a "green" hotel chain, and indeed have recycling bins in the rooms and outside the buildings; native landscaping that conserves water; rainwater recovery systems that funnel rainwater from the roofs back to the ground for watering plants; low-water usage toilets; and organic, locally-grown food featured at the breakfast bar; refillable shampoo, conditioner, and lotion dispensers (rather than individual, pilferable bottles); and a copy of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" in each room. It also espoused an acceptance of all cultures in that a drawer in the room not only held a copy of Gideon's Bible, but also a Book of Mormon and the Teachings of Buddha!



Despite this back-to-the-earth approach, the Gaia bills itself as a spa destination, and included spa services and a health/exercise room, pool, and hot tub, as well as convention and wedding facilities. The grounds were beautiful and included a koi pond complete with a footbridge and swans - two white and two black. Very la-di-dah! The complex consisted of a number of two-story, round buildings with 48 or so rooms in each one. Each room fronted on a central courtyard, and had sliding glass doors opening to a rear patio or balcony with Adirondack chairs. Ours had a view of the koi pond - just lovely.




Did I mention that this was where we got our cheapest room rate (well under $100) and our fastest and most reliable internet connection? I will be on the lookout for more of these in the future, and wish them much luck in their expansion plans. I don't expect their rates will remain cheap for long, though. Once they're "discovered", I suspect we won't be able to afford them any longer!

Yosemite

While Sarah and I were attending the convention, Larry and Emily took off for Yosemite National Park. We've never been there before, so they were pretty excited. They took a tram tour up to the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. While we'd seen plenty of tall redwoods so far on this trip, these are the trees that are renowned for their great girth.

They visited the Glacier Point viewpoint, where they looked down upon Yosemite Village and out at Half Dome and other famous Yosemite sights. They hiked to the top of Vernal Falls, where Emily says they really appreciated the mist coming off of the waterfall. It was in the 90's that day, so it was a welcome refreshing respite from the heat. From there, they hiked further upward to the base of Nevada Falls.

One highlight was a side trip to the ghost town of Bodie, California. A victim of the gold rush bust, it's one of the most intact ghost towns in the US. Amazing, since it gets 30 feet or so of snow each winter! That evening at sunset, they waded in Tanaya Lake alongside Tioga Road.

They report that they saw lots of wildlife (including deer and marmots), clear clean streams, and plenty of tourists like themselves!

Redwoods!

Today was Redwoods day! We drove through some of the most majestic forests I've ever seen. We made this same drive a few years ago when the kids were younger, and I remember being underwhelmed. I must have been blind then or so distracted with child care I couldn't concentrate. Today was different; the views were magnificent. Of course, we did all the touristy stuff: drove through a tree, walked among and inside the giant specimens and upon fallen logs.



We saw a house trailer made from a single log, as well as playhouses that we went into.



Had dinner in Mill Valley (which makes me think of BJ Hunnicutt from MASH. That was his character's hometown). It was a great day, culminating with our arrival in San Francisco. Woo hoo! No more day-long drives! Tomorrow we'll play a different kind of tourist and show Sarah and Emily the sights, while revisiting them ourselves. I think we had no children the last time Larry and I were here...