YOSEMITE

Gregg has been looking forward to seeing Yosemite National Park ever since his friend had shown him pictures of the giant sequoia trees which he described as "looking like tiny match sticks on top of the mountains".
His enthusiasm for Yosemite reminds me of my eagerness to see the Grand Canyon - an exciting dream finally coming true. We have a wild ride driving through the mountains approaching Yosemite. Looking out of the coach window, I see the wheels dangerously close to the edge of the road and I shiver as Gregg yells out, "We could slide down the side of the mountain, what a way to go!"
Yosemite is awesome. Everything Gregg expected. We stay in the Ahwahnee Hotel, a huge rustic lodge in the middle of Yosemite Park. The hotel is famous for the distinguished people who have stayed there...Presidents Taft, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Reagan and Queen Elizabeth II and other nobility. I guess we are in good company.
Our family is assigned two corner rooms on the fourth floor. One room has a view of the waterfalls. The other room has a view of Half Dome mountain. Gregg and I start arguing about which room we want. He will be sharing his room with his dad, Jack, and I will be sharing my room with his little sister, Beth. Finally after arguing back and forth, Gregg and Jack take the better room, the one with the view of Half Dome. It’s also the only room on the fourth floor with a private balcony. I wonder which President or dignitary has stayed in there. I can feel their ghostly presence.
The four of us have dinner in the main dining room which looks like a cathedral. It can seat 400 people and has fireplaces you can stand up in. We are so impressed, we can hardly concentrate on what we are eating.
After finishing the meal, we return to our rooms. Jack and Gregg in their room, Beth and I in our room. I immediately start looking around for the thermostat. I’m not even cold and I can’t figure out why I am obsessed with locating it. I finally find it hidden in an alcove behind the entrance door to the room. Then I telephone Gregg and tell him where the thermostat is and I am shocked when he says that he is cold and shivering and they had been searching all over their room looking for the thermostat at the same time as me!