Travels in September
R and G returned from Singapore at the beginning of this month, together with my brother, D.
The first weekend was the Labor Day holiday, so I persuaded the jet-lagged travellers to go to Yosemite. We found a semi-campsite by the Merced River in the heart of Yosemite Valley called “Housekeeping”. They provided bunk beds, three walls and electricity, so it was R’s gentle initiation to the great outdoors. The place was perfect - the river was a stone’s throw away and we caught sunset amidst the granite cliffs that tower over the campsite. The pitch darkness also afforded us a grand view of the stars and the Milky Way - absolutely fabulous. To complete the trip, we had a couple of bears visit the camp that night. In the middle of the night, we awoke to a loud commotion - car horns blaring, pots clashing, whistles blowing. Our neighbours were doing their best to scare off a bear that was sighted. D and I tried but did not sight the creature.
Today was our first free weekend after D left. We took a day trip to Berkeley, one of the few Bay Area destinations we had not yet explored. We walked around downtown Berkeley (mostly commercial, with arts / jazz clubs that were quiet on a Sunday afternoon), and Telegraph St (Rastafarians and hippies comingled with University freshmen). The area wasn’t as affluent as the Stanford / Palo Alto scene - definitely more colourful.