Yosemite with the Youngin'

I remember a few months before Elin was born I polled some moms on The Bump for advice on traveling with a 3 month old in Europe. I wanted to see what they recommended in terms of strollers, sleeping arrangements and such. I remember one mom criticizing me for wanted to travel with a baby that young. I decided I shouldn't tell her that we were also planning a trip to California when she was 6 weeks old. And not just California, but Yosemite. Granted we did not camp in a tent but we stayed in a cabin with propane power and an outhouse in the middle of nowhere. So it's a little like camping. Quite a bit like camping actually. For all the fun details about Chateau a la Chance you can read about our visit last year here. It was a little different this year as we had a teeny little baby with us. 

This year we invited our good friends Steve & Diane to join use along with their daughter Hannah. They used to be our neighbors in Virginia and it was their first time meeting Elin! We all enjoyed getting to see each other again with nightly cookouts, hikes around the cabin and good old fashioned catching up by the campfire. No computers. No Iphones. No TV. Given the few modern conveniences the cabin offers, this wasn't difficult to do!

Of course we had to show them around the park so one of the days Steve and Colin tackled the 8 mile Perimeter Trail while Diane and I walked the kids around the valley. It was quite a first for Elin and Hannah as the temperature that day was 104 degrees. We took a very short "hike" straight to the Merced River and sat for a good hour to cool off. After deciding Elin had enough of that we camped out in an air conditioned cafe in Curry Village for the rest of the afternoon. The heat was enough to exhaust all of us and we enjoyed a lazy dinner by the firepit that evening (fortunately the cabin is at a much higher elevation and therefore it was a bit cooler!). 

The rest of the week was fairly uneventful. Colin's dad and stepmom joined us for a couple of days before we headed south to San Diego to spend the week with my family in San Diego. Elin got to meet everyone in the neighborhood and even got to spend an evening with her Grani Karen while Colin and I joined my dad for a Padre game. It was a great week and I am so glad we had the time to bring Elin home to meet everyone!

Glacier Point before Colin and Steve's big hike

Exhausted after an afternoon in Yosemite Valley.

A visit to Tuolomne Meadows

Hanging by the campfire. Ugh, I look enormous!

Cooling off in the river

 Steve & Colin marveling at their accomplishment

Diane, Steve & Hannah at Glacier Point!