We arrived on Wednesday afternoon, and Gary and Joyce were waiting for us. We had a great time catching up, then had an early dinner at the Blue Heron, one of the restaurants located in YLP.
Thanksgiving morning dawned cold and clear, with beautiful blue skies and lots of sunshine. We got to talk to Alisha and Mark, via skype, in Ireland. We were sure wishing that they were there, too! After a leisurely morning, we took a walk around one of the lakes, while we awaited Jim's arrival. We had reservations at Ducey's - a great restaurant located in a lodge at Bass Lake.
They were serving a buffet Thanksgiving dinner and we had reservations for 2:00 pm. Now, you never know how these buffet things will go, but we were all up for the adventure! We were seated at a great table by the window (the same one Gary and Joyce sat at on their 25th wedding anniversary!) that overlooked the lake. There was a LOT of snow right down to the water's edge, and it was just beautiful!
Thanksgiving dinner was, in a word, FABULOUS!! In fact, we're already talking about going back next year. There was a huge assortment of food and everything was delicious. There were appetizers, several different salads, candied yams, sweet potatoes, green beans (not the casserole!) brussel sprouts, cornbread dressing, three kinds of cranberry sauce, roast turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, salmon with lemon and capers, prime rib and rolls! The desserts were equally impressive - pumpkin pie, apple pie, brownies, chocolate cake, pecan pie and cheesecake! Amazing!
We were glad that we had eaten early and that we had walked around the lake that morning! Thursday evening we watched "Trains, Planes and Automobiles", and Joyce put out a huge array of munchies - that we didn't eat much of!
Friday morning we went to breakfast at Chuckchansi Casino, a few miles from YLP. The casino is huge, and just beautiful! It could be transplanted to Tahoe and fit right in. That afternoon we all went to Mariposa - an old gold mining town about 30 miles from Gary and Joyce. It's a really cute little town, with a great museum, cute little shops, and the oldest continually operating courthouse in the state.
We ate dinner at Crab Cakes in Oakhurst - another delicious meal! After that it was back to Gary and Joyce's to rest and relax. They had gotten a huge, 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, and had the outer edges done when we arrived. All 5 of us worked on the puzzle during the evenings, and other time that we had. We didn't finish it, but by the time we left on Saturday, it was probably 80% complete.
Saturday morning we talked to Mark and Alisha again via skype, and they showed us the ton of snow that they had received during the day. They have two dogs, Bailey and Tricky Woo (anyone remember the All Creatures Great and Small series?), and the dogs loved running and playing in the snow!
After a great breakfast at the cafe at the golf course, we went back and worked on the puzzle (yes, we were obsessed!) until it was time to load the car. It had started raining after we got home from the cafe, and was raining lightly when we left. The trip home was uneventful, and it felt great to get out of the car!
Thanks so much, Gary and Joyce, for a wonderful Thanksgiving! We had a great time and are looking forward to our next visit to your lovely mountain home!
One of the lakes at YLP - we took a walk around this lake a couple of times - it was great!
More of the beautiful lake and reflections of the trees in the water
A trail through the area by the lake. The deer are abundant at YLP and we saw 7 of them the afternoon that we arrived, in Gary and Joyce's back yard.
Gary and Joyce on a leisurely stroll along the path
The trees were turning and the colors were beautiful
Gary talking to Jim, who arrived while we were walking around the lake on Thursday
Another great shot of the lake and it's reflections
More of the beautiful area in Yosemite Lake Park
Happy walkers! Note that Joyce is carrying their chihuahua, Atticus
After dinner at Ducey's
The courthouse in Mariposa
Nap time for Cricket and Atticus! Happy dogs, wouldn't you say?
3 comments:
Great post, Mom! It sounds like a great little Thanksgiving tradition for the Steitz clan. Lovely pictures, as usual. : )
WOW! Those pics are great! Thank you so much for posting them and the fantastic synopsis of our time together. It was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving and we are so glad you two and Jim (and Rex) came for the holiday. Deer Tail awaits all who wish to venture there! The pooches enjoyed Rex, too!
Thanks for posting these. I'm glad we could "be there" via Skype. :)
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