Sometimes you just need to spend the weekend in awe-inspiring nature to gain some perspective, and feel humbled. The weekend after I quit my job at Google, that’s exactly what Omied and I did. We high-tailed it up to Yosemite and it was just what we needed. Since it was snowing and we don’t have a 4-wheel drive, GMC loaned us a Yukon XL Denali to drive for the weekend, and Omied was absolutely obsessed. He spent a lot of the drive up trying to convince me that this would be a perfectly reasonable city car. ? It really is a gorgeous luxury SUV and we loved driving it for the weekend.
We stayed at the Tenaya Lodge, which is conveniently located close to the entrance of the park. Tenaya Lodge has several different options available for rooms, and if you’re a couple looking for a romantic getaway I would highly recommend staying in their recently renovated hotel rooms and booking the adults-only floor. If you’re a family—great! You’ll feel right at home as there are a lot of families with kids at this hotel. Their new cabins that open in July are perfect for families or larger groups as well.
Tenaya Lodge has tons of activities and tours available, and we ended up doing a guided snow-shoeing hike, ice skating, and a massage at the spa. The guided hike was so much fun and so beautiful, and the massage was just lovely. I suck at ice skating though and probably won’t be doing that again for a while. ?
We were able to visit Yosemite park during the government shutdown, but they were only allowing people who had overnight accommodations booked to enter. That meant that the park was eerily quiet, even at spots that are usually super popular and packed, like Tunnel View. I hadn’t been to Yosemite in years and it was so nice to enjoy its majestic beauty for a few days.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
