Yeah, after decades away from the valley, it was a little disorienting to see the crowds and traffic. Notably, the saggy pants gangsters on the mist trail... I guess I'm stoked they have interest, but cutting switchbacks and mad dogging my 15 year old made for a different flavor . I have a saying about how one can take a guy out of the city but not the other way around ( and then I drive downtown to work, but like what-ever).
That said, an early arrival to Half Dome made for a quick scoot up the cables and the valley is still nice if you just crop everything below ten feet. Ho ho
If you're looking for an overnighter loop to/fro Tuolumne, here's an alternative: take the freebie bus over to Murphy Creek trailhead at Tenaya Lake, hike northerly to Glen Aulin for a refreshment and swim, then back up and out of Glen Aulin going toward Tuolumne. Just after you crossover double bridges, there's a great set of campsites 500 feet north of the trail and you can come back down to the pools there to fish or swim.
Day two, you return to Tuolumne through excellent meadows and can take the cutoff to emerge at Soda Springs, where your wife meets you at the lodge there. You bust out the tiny bottle of Torani syrup in your pack and make sparkling soda drinks from the spring, then cruise on into car camp for steaks and the evening edition of ,"chase the bear while banging pots" game.