A Festiva by any other name

May of us have nicknames for our cars and Festiva owners are no exception. Sometimes our cars are named by others, some names stick and others don't.

Here's a few of those names, and stories behind them, from friends in the Festiva community!

Ben in Kentucky:

It was my brother who named Frito. Shortly after acquiring the vehicle he was cleaning it out for me and found an empty bag of the Frito’s snacks in the interior. His brain connected that to the film “Idiocracy” in which one of the main characters names is Frito, and also features a white Festiva GL in a rather hilarious monster truck segment. I liked the name, particularly for its unique brevity, and for its similarity to the another white Festiva in the community called “Pedro”.

Frito: a very well travelled Festiva!

Festiva in the Park: Day 7

THURSDAY JUNE 7th, 2012

This was Yosemite National Park day. It started with a visit to one of the brightest and cheeriest grocery stores we have ever been in. Most of the staff was Spanish, the music playing was Spanish and the first announcement we heard was in Spanish! A great way to start the day.

From Tracy CA we took a very scenic drive up to Yosemite. Spent some time at the visitor center, watched a movie and walked up to Lower Yosemite Falls. We were there for most of the afternoon and have decided that it is one of the places we want come back to and spend at least a week.

The drive in and out of Yosemite was just amazing. Lots of climbing and lots of twisty bits. It wasn't quite as enjoyable for Sharon as it could have been seeing as she was on the "drop off" side of the road most of the time and she's not comfortable with heights.

Yesterday had us at sea level and today we were at almost 10,000 feet. The east entry to Yosemite is at the top of Tioga Pass with an elevation of 9,941 feet. That makes it the highest we've been in the Festiva, beating out Powder River Pass by 275 feet. The drive into Bishop CA, our overnight stop, was mostly downhill as we dropped to about 4000 feet.

B, I and E with a baby palm tree in Tracy CA

Bright and cheery grocery store... now imagine Spanish guitars playing...

The road into Yosemite from the west side.



Welcome to Yosemite




Who wouldn't want to drive on this road?




I, B and E at our lunch stop in Yosemite NP




Me and Sharon




Festiva in the park




Sharon and Lower Yosemite Falls




B, I and E at the Lower Yosemite Falls




Half dome... one day we'll climb it.




GPS showing 3030m elevation. Located at the top of Tioga Pass.



The road down from Tioga Pass.



The road into Bishop CA. You'll notice the unwanted souvenir... a rock chip.

 Day 8 will be mostly driving as we make our way from Bishop CA to Flagstaff AZ. It will be our second longest day in the car on the trip.

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 8

Festiva in the Park: Day 6

WEDNESDAY JUNE 6th, 2012

Lots of driving today but well worth the stops. We left Medford early and headed south for a six hour drive. We were all surprised at the "border crossing" all traffic had to stop at as we entered California. Our initial destination was Muir Woods National Monument which I had visited as a child back in 1964. Other than 40 plus years of growth things haven't changed much. The trees were as tall and impressive as ever! Strolled about the woods a bit and saw a couple of deer but none of the large banana slugs that are prevalent.

After an hour or so there we headed into San Francisco over the Golden Gate Bridge. We were expecting to have to pay a toll but there was no booth before we got on. We did have to pay though as the toll booth is at the end of the bridge... you pay to get off it! Once across the bridge we headed down to Pier 39 and we were  blessed with a parking spot right across the street.

It was a little cool and breezy but we still walked the length of the pier and visited a few of the many shops including the Candy Baron. They give you a bucket, you load it up and pay by the pound. No, we didn't buy any. Had a look over to Alcatraz but didn't have the time to take the tour... next time.

Mount Shasta in all its 14162ft / 4317m glory.

I, Sharon, B and E at the entrance to Muir Woods.

Look up.... waaaayyy up!

One of my favorite kinds of signs!

Over the Golden Gate Bridge

Alcatraz from Pier 39

Now that's a candy store.

We headed out at about 7o'clock and headed for our hotel in Tracy CA which is about an hour east of San Francisco. Our route took us over the Oakland Bay Bridge. There are five lanes of eastbound traffic on the lower deck and, I assume, the same number of lanes westbound on the upper deck.


Driving was mostly on the Interstate and we had no rain all day. In fact today was the first time we had to use the air conditioning.
Tomorrow we head east to spend a good portion of the day in Yosemite National Park. We'll end the day in Bishop CA.



Over the Bay Bridge... five lanes going the other way on the upper deck.

 

CLICK HERE FOR DAY 7