And while we freely used the term Yo years ago - I have to admit - until reading these posts - had never heard of the term SEKI before. Guess times change.

BTW Spirodog: MV is Mill Valley.

New2CA: <red>PLEASE</red> ignore the Merced Grove suggestion! It is down hill, but there'd be a nearly 700 foot climb back to your starting point -- all for just a very small group of trees.

Maybe you use freely use the term Yo, but as a courtesy to people asking questions, isn't is nicer to use the full name of Yosemite?

In terms of itinerary, it makes sense to stay at Fish Camp (dine that evening in the area--I already made my recommendation for a 30 year anniversary dinner). The next day, see the sequoias if interested, and then drive to Glacier Point on the way to the valley floor; Glacier happens to be equidistant between Wawona and the Yosemite valley according to Google map. After the valley floor stay, I would take CA120 out of Yosemite and stop in Sonora and Columbia State Historic Park to visit the Gold Rush towns on the way to SF or Napa, as the OP chooses.

So are two full days enough to Yosemite?
I will have all day Sunday and then all day Monday
If it is, then I would love to take CA120 to SF.It sounds just like what I would love to see. We have just moved to CA from the east coast and what I miss the most is history.My DD and myself were involved in doing Civil War reenactments .
If we take our time and get out and sight see and eat will it take the entire day to get to SF?

IMHO Elderberry not worth the drive. Very pretentious restaurant with ok food. Our dinner had very unusual cinnimon sauce on steak. It is a long drive and we left from Wawona. Then you need to drive back. Ahwanee is interesting, food ok/good but great atmosphere. I think it is a must-see in Yosemite.

If you just moved to California, 2 full days is sufficient. You'll go back to see the area in other seasons.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57624516613985 and the next 12 pictures.

It probably will take all day to get to SF if you stop to visit the Gold Rush towns.

To show you what's possible in 2 days - Here is one of my trip reports of a 2 night/2+ day stay in Yosemite (plus some of the gold rush country along hwy 49) including a dinner at the Ahwahnee. This trip did not venture south of the Valley and you'd have the extra 1/2+ day for the big trees/Wawona etc. But just in Yosemite Valley, 2 days would be very nice.

If you decided to do some of hwy 49, it would be in the reverse order of my trip.

(Sorry if I already posted a link on one of your other threads)

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...rt-getaway.cfm

Thanks All. You are making my trip planning very easy.
Another question from Curry Village how far is it to Ahwahnee?
Do they require dress clothes? What time should we make our dinner reservation?

It's only like 2 miles from Curry Village. You can drive since you have limited mobility. The dress has loosened up in recent years. Used to require jackets on men:

Proper attire is kindly requested for dinner. Dinner dress code in The Ahwahnee Dining Room is 'Resort Casual'. Gentlemen are asked to wear collared shirts and long pants. Ladies are asked to wear dresses, skirts or slacks and blouses. Children over the age of four are asked to dress accordingly. Breakfast, brunch and lunch dress are casual.

You can drive if you have a handicap tag - but the shuttle will drop you right in front of the Ahwahnee so that is just about as convenient.

If you use the shuttle be mindful of the operating hours. In June the shuttle ends at 10:00 pm so make sure you will be able to return to Curry Village from the Ahwhanee after your dinner.

Tomsd,

SEKI is the abbreviation that the National Park uses. YOSE is what it uses for Yosemite. www.nps.gov

If you look at this map of wineries along the Gold Country/Sierra foothills - route 120 comes out of the park (through Big Oak flat - and yes, it's scenic) but the real road through Gold Country is hiway 49 - http://www.historichwy49.com/wine.html .

It continues on over to hiway 50 at Placerville - but you can even turn before that and head to Folsom, or if memory serves me right - before that work your way down to 80 (by Elk Grove?), although it might be just as quick going to Folsom, and getting onto 50 to I-80 and then into SF.

From the Valley Floor to China Camp (a cute place to stop) - and then Jamestown, more or less the "start" of Gold Country - is around 40 miles. see: http://www.distance-calculator.co.uk...ional_park.htm

And yes, the bus/shuttle will pick you up right in front of Curry Village and one of the stops is at the Ahwahnee. Make sure though it's still running if you are dining later, or as noted - you can also drive.

BTW - I think most readers can figure out that when I say Yo - it means Yosemite.

We like to take CA4 back from Sonora all the way to the Bay area because it gives a slice of California's development, from the rolling hills of ranch country through the industrialized agricultural areas and towns to Brentwood, the exurb on the delta, and then I80 through the closer suburbs and its glimpses of the SF Bay.

And here is a more complete list of wineries in Gold Country.

http://www.weekendwinery.com/Winerie...SierraGold.htm

On most travel boards I've seen, MV is Monument Valley rather than Mesa Verde, only because more foreign tourists want to visit Monument Valley.

Never seen MV for Mill Valley.

And once again, isn't this about providing useable and clear information for the OP? Isn't it about OP rather than any one of us?

suzie: "If you use the shuttle be mindful of the operating hours. In June the shuttle ends at 10:00 pm so make sure you will be able to return to Curry Village from the Ahwhanee after your dinner."

Not to worry. If one over stays at the Ahwahnee they will send a shuttle just for you. Happened to me - I asked the driver if there was some special reason in my case, and both she and the hotel concierge said it was just normal operating procedure. Dinner at the Ahwahnee comes w/ privileges

TOM! Please stop confusing things!!! Talking about totally irrelevant places like Elk Grove of all places (and no, Elk Grove is not near I-80). Context man! jeeze louise.

Just at Yosemite on Tuesday (4/24). The tram at Mariposa Grove was NOT running (a shame, as there was no way I was making it beyond Grizzly Giant), but we did see a tram at Tunnel View. Didn't see it on the valley floor, but that could just be a matter of timing, since we saw people at the stops.

We ate at the Ahwahnee of lunch. Been there for Sunday brunch years ago. Good service, decent/good food. Vacation prices. $18 for a burger, though it was good.

Beautiful day. The hot weekend meant the falls and rivers were really running; all the ephemeral falls, too. We decided not to get too close to Bridalveil Falls--everyone was coming back pretty soaked from the spray and we didn't want to get that wet. And we'd seen it, this trip was more distance-viewing.