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The Happiest Place to Stay
By Patricia Bradford Rambo II
Traveling to amusement parks is a way of life year round when you have kids in the picture. However, standing in line, having cotton candy stuck to your sleeve, and whining are not elements that make any amusement park amusing. There are few amusement parks that "get it" by helping parents to overcome these obstacles through years of research finding out how to enable young and old to embrace the day, have fun and not stress. Disneyland has this down to a science.
However, when the day is done, the park is closed, and the fireworks are over, there is that moment that you hope the place you chose to bed down for the evening isn't like a straw bed in a manger with sticky reminders of the day that has past. It is fun spending time in a kids' world, let's face it, all parents still have that little boy or girl somewhere inside, but when we want to relax in an adult world and wash off the cotton candy, we want to be in our own element. The Hyatt Regency in Orange County is just such a place.
This Hyatt is designed, with the family in mind, all parties included. They offer a two-bedroom Kids Suite, where the family can all have the comforts they desire, separately. The parents are not stuffed into the same realm with the kids, but at the same time have full access into their little world. This hotel offers suites that have everyone in mind. The suite has a luxurious king bed with down comforters and pillow top mattresses in one room with adult like amenities such as Portico spa products, and an iHome Stereo system to unwind and separate television for watching something other than Cartoon Network. However, the kid's side of the suite has a completely different essence, bunk beds, iPod docking station, and a flat screen that plays whatever animated concoction of colorful shows any kid would scream for.
The full service hotel also offers free lunch and dinner* for kids under 12 with a voucher you are offered at check in. And the best yet, you don't even have to hassle with the drive to and from the various parks in the area. They have shuttle service, which is a ride of its' own. This alone is a highlight for both kids and adults, as the kids feel like they are on a magic field trip, while the parents can relax and not have to worry about finding their car in the massive amusement ground parking lots at the end of a long day.
There are also other ways to make your family vacation more relaxing for parents and kids alike. Burn off the sugar by shooting some hoops on the hotel's basketball court or run it off on one of the two tennis courts. Better yet, relax in one of the outdoor heated pools and hot tubs. For those with older teens, the property has an incredible 24-hour fitness center and a 24-hour business center to access the internet.
Last, but certainly not least, the proffer area of the expansive atrium lobby invites guests to recline and succumb to the abounding effigy of parenthood, whether it is a relaxing cocktail at the end of the day, or a Starbucks to begin again anew.
Inside the hotel: California Grill Restaurant where kids eat free* for lunch and dinner with a paying adult. *Ask for details.
Networks Lounge, featuring light fare and specialty drinks.
Starbucks and Pizza Hut Express in the hotel lobby.
Hyatt General Store
Other attractions: 1 mile from Disneyland® with free shuttle; Minutes from Angel Stadium and Downtown Disney®.
Hyatt Regency Orange County ~ 11999 Harbor Boulevard ~ Garden Grove, CA 92840 ~ Call Direct: 1.714.750.1234
The Beauty of Yosemite
By Sheila O'Connor
Yosemite is green. Yes. Yosemite has ALWAYS been green. No, this time Yosemite has GONE green.
Just take the Tenaya Lodge, for instance. It uses hybrid buses and tour tractors and hybrid shuttle buses are used throughout Yosemite itself. These hybrid shuttle buses have replaced the aged fleet of diesel buses and improved fuel efficiency by 60% while having reduced emissions by 90%.
Wawona
Wawona Lodge is also environmentally aware and it uses reclaimed gray water on its 9-hole golf course. This is the only golf course in the county where it's not unusual to find a coyote guarding a golf ball! And it's even the only course where a coyote counts as a hazard! The cottages here in Yosemite’s oldest accommodation are designed to make you feel you're out in the wilderness.
Mariposa
Did you know that Mariposa County is "the home of Yosemite National Park"? Many people don't realize this.
It was eventually the gold rush that put the town on the map and much gold rush history can be seen to this day. It was thanks to the gold and the work of John C. Fremont that California was originally admitted into the union. Fremont bought the territory of Mariposa back in 1848 for $3,000.
No sooner was the area bought by Fremont, however, than gold was found in Mariposa in 1848. Still, it took almost a year for word of it to get back to New York, so it’s often said gold was found in 1849. By 1850 there were thousands of people living here and machines were brought in to take the gold out of the ground.
Stamp Mill
One of the most useful gold-grabbing machines was the Stamp Mill. Today demonstrations are given with quartz. The machine was noisy and workers would often use cotton dipped in oil and beeswax to save their hearing. Mercury was also used in the processing and was worth more than the gold itself, so it was reused. Not a good thing for the workers who came into contact with it, however.
They would lose their teeth or hair, go blind or suffer from toxicity and die. If quartz came through the stamp mill without any gold in it, the miners wouldn’t get paid.
Sugar Pine Railroad
One thing that’s definitely worth paying for though is the Sugar Pine Railroad. This narrow gauge, steam railroad once moved timber but now moves tourists. Half way through the four mile narrated excursion, watch out for the sound of gunfire--there's a train robbery in process!
Yosemite
And of course you won't want to miss out on Yosemite itself with its sheer granite cliffs rising tall from the depths of glacier-carved valleys. Mariposa is the gateway to this grandeur and majesty.
In 1890 this area was designated a National Park although in those days there was no national park system; the area was run by the US Army. Soldiers were given the name “buffalo soldier” because, as well as being soldiers, they were in charge of the buffalo that roamed the area. Even today Yosemite is 95 percent wilderness.
You’ll be in awe of Yosemite Falls, the largest in North America and 5th highest in the world with its majestic beauty and sheer wonder.
Since the average stay in Yosemite is 4 hours, it's worth doing the 1 mile loop to see Yosemite Falls, with its crashing cascades of snow melt that sit 2,426 feet above sea level and which gush out at 3,000 cubic foot per second..
To protect the environment, and keep it as green as possible, the trails are paved and clearly set out. “It the trail is paved, most people will stay on it” says Scott Gedima, an environmentally-aware park ranger at Yosemite.
Nature is mimicked with the park’s “prescribed burns”. These are fires deliberately set by the park service. They help to thin forests, open the canopy to allow in sunshine, recycle nutrients to the soil and reduce hazardous dead debris.
Cook's Meadow
Restoration has been the name of the game at Cook’s meadow. Original restoration in this area meant the Native American Indians burning acorns. This was actually a very important food source for them. Later the park was discovered by the pioneers who used these meadows to graze their livestock in. The area was restored in 1999 to its original wet meadow status.
Be sure to use the boardwalk that's provided. “How can we have little impact on the environment so everyone can come and enjoy it?” asks Sue Beatty, a park ranger. “By managing people,” she says. And this they do very well. Visitors have come to respect the environment here.
Often though, it’s the humans themselves that are at fault--they don’t follow bear-friendly tactics like removing anything with a scent on it from their car.
Don’t miss out on a trip to Mariposa County and its beautiful gone-green neighbor, Yosemite National Park
References:
For more information contact: www.homeofyosemite.com
Tenaya Lodge: www.TenayaLodge.com
Wawona: http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_WawonaHotel.aspx
Ahwahnee: (from the Ahwahnee Indians - means “village in the valley of the gaping mouth”): http://www.yosemitepark.com/Accommodations_TheAhwahnee.aspx
Get around with YARTS, buses that travel around the park so you can watch the scenery, not the road: www.yarts.com