Wine Country and Yosemite

While we stayed a few days with the Zarcone's, they were mostly uneventful, resting days.  Allen got to spend time with his family and the guys got to catch up on sleep, letters, reading, etc.  It was there that I caught up with the blog through to Vegas.  :)  Oh how slow I am at these things. 

We did do quite a bit of singing, however.  We sang at St. Apollinaris, the Zarcone's home parish. After two nights with Mrs. Zarcone, we went out to Allen's grandparent's house and sang for them as well. Later that day, we went to Yosemite and "HALLELUIAH" we had the camera back.  The camera and our skill with it cannot do justice to the beauty we saw in Yosemite Valley.  Unlike the Grand Canyon, we actually ventured out on a bit of a day hike.  We went up to Vernal Falls on what the map called the Mist Trail.  It was no misnomer.  Once we had hiked a couple miles in to the base of the falls, everything began to be gently pelted with a light mist.  It grew heavier and heavier, increasing the foliage around us and intensifying the color of everything from the wildflowers to the grasses to the black granite around us.  My descriptions do about as little justice as the pictures.  Consider this an advertisement to GO TO YOSEMITE.  The conundrum for us on this trip after we have seen the beauty of five National Parks is which one to return to first.  :)  Here are some pictures and explanation of Yosemite.

Vernal Falls:

At the top of the Falls:

A really sweet rock providing scale: