What a great day to have a jet lag! I woke up around 4am, my body determined not to sleep at all.. ideal for checking some mails and fixing some stuff! At around 6.30am I went to the fitness to continue my preparation for the Corrida run the end of December. Thanks biorythm, just after I had began my workout other guests were arriving as well and the small gym was completely full.
After a checkout I decided to go for a Starbucks for real breakfast – but I found Noah next to it.
Unfortunately there was a long queue (food must be that good, right?) and afterwards a problem with my order registration. The owner wanted to apologise so he was basically giving me a free lunch and a voucher for a bagel the next time – what a service! The food was actually good, the coffee a bit strange with the additional flavour when I expected a strong one 🙂
After the breakfast I went to Sprouts for some basic groceries: lots of water for Yosemite and all the car trips, some fruit to keep my diet somewhat healthy 😉 The apples where shining so hard I could almost use them as mirrors – but glad I bought at least the bio-organic stuff.
In the afternoon I went to visit Silicon Valley – had to do that as a technology enthusiast! After visiting 1 Infinite Loop and Intel, I finished with the Googleplex. Was really baffled by the large, nice environment, the thrilling vibe of people sharing new ideas. I gave up looking for the Android statues but when I got in my car I could see them on the campus across the street, hooray!
Initially I planned to go to Stanford and the completely renewed Apple Store over there, but is was already running late – around 3pm and I had a large trip to do with the car. In an ideal world, I would have arrived at around 6pm in Mariposa. Unfortunately, rush hour seemed to be started so I was stuck in one traffic jam to another one. At 7pm I really needed a break, so stopped in Modesto for a quick dinner and refilling my car. I was hitting for the McDo, but upon entering, I immediately turned around. The place was full of screaming families, not the place to rest a bit and check whats new on the internet. Next to it was a Mexican fast-food chain. Learned that tipping really offers another level of hospitality, unfortunately no wifi. Slow cooked burritos, but taste was awful, not my cup of tea.
At around 7.30, hitting the road for the final stage to Mariposa. I hoped to do this in the daylight to see the surroundings change, but it was already dark so I mostly saw the reflectors on the roads and the headlights of some other late-night cruisers.
When I arrived at the Best Western in Mariposa, I was tired – already up from 4am, a long day! Luckily the owners/receptionists at the hotel where very friendly, they even gave me advice on how to make the most of my trip to Yosemite!
When I got in my room, I didn’t have much energy left, so it’s the second dat in a row I’m not testing the swimming pool of the place I’m staying. As soon as I hit the sheets, I started a long, revitalising sleep…
