Since I moved to California 7 1/2 years ago (cannot believe it's been that long!), I've become an avid hiker. Hitting the trails offers a workout, stress relief, time in nature, and exercise for my dog all at once. I've realized that hiking is also a spiritual experience for me. It leaves me feeling centered, grateful, and connected to the earth. I believe in the interconnectedness of everything in life, and hiking seems to always remind me of that. It's also a lovely chance to practice mindfulness. I can only describe it as losing myself for a few hours to really find myself. Hiking just with my trail buddy, my pup, also gives me time and space to clear my head. There's always so much going on - lots of noise, distractions, and busyness - but on the trails, everything sort ... [Read More]
California hiking
Weekend Getaway to Idyllwild: Where to Stay, Play & Explore
Last weekend, my husband and I decided to seize the holiday weekend and take a quick road trip together. We both have been super busy and have travel coming up, so we welcomed the thought of getting to spend time together in a relaxing setting. Having done so many road trips around California, I started looking for a place we'd never been to before. I wound up finding a place we had never even heard of called Idyllwild. Located a few hours from busy San Diego life, Idyllwild is a little town nestled in the mountains with a population of under 4,000 people. It sounded like the perfect getaway spot! Where to Stay. After doing some research, I booked us a suite at The Grand Idyllwild Lodge. Described as the boutique luxury lodge, the hotel has a modern but woodsy kind of feel to ... [Read More]
Hiking Boat Canyon at Laguna Coast Wilderness Park
Happy Friday! Any fun plans for the weekend? Speaking of the weekend, today I want to back it up to last weekend and talk about my latest hiking adventure - which took me up to the Laguna Beach area. With my hubby working for the Marine Corps all weekend and no plans on my agenda, I declared last Saturday a hiking day! I invited my cousin Michelle to meet me for an outdoor workout together. She lives in Long Beach, and I live in Northern San Diego County, so we decided to try to meet up somewhere in between us. The Laguna Coast Wilderness Park seemed like a perfect halfway point, with it being 45-60 minutes from each of us. We decided on hiking a trail called Boat Canyon - which is described as a strenuous workout by local hiking websites. I wanted to get a real workout in, and ... [Read More]
Lost Horse Mine Hike in Joshua Tree National Park
Hello, hello! How was your weekend? Not surprisingly, my whirlwind weekend in Palm Springs just flew by. Without a doubt, my favorite part of the getaway was seeing Joshua Tree National Park for the first time ever. It was about an hour drive from our hotel in the Palm Springs area, and was well worth the trip. I've heard things about Joshua Tree before - mostly tidbits about people walking aimlessly around the park while on acid trips, and after exploring the park, I can totally see why it gets that reputation. Joshua Tree is a huge park in the middle of the desert, full of its namesake tree and crazy big boulders. People were rock climbing all over the place. I had read that Joshua Tree is one of the most popular rock climbing destinations in the country, and I ... [Read More]
Hiking to Wind Caves at Gaviota State Park {Santa Barbara Area}
Happy almost weekend! What's the weather looking like where you live this weekend? I know that some of the U.S. is seemingly getting out of its polar vortex for the season, so I hope that all you who have been cooped up inside for awhile have time to enjoy some more mild temperatures. In San Diego it's supposed to be pretty hot and sunny - in the mid to high 80s all weekend - so I'm going to try to soak up the sunshine outside as much as I can! Speaking of being outdoors, today I'm talking about my favorite outdoor workout: hiking - more specifically, hiking to wind caves in California's Gaviota State Park. This outdoor workout was part of my getaway with my hubby a couple of weeks ago. First I told you guys all about the Danish town of Solvang that we stayed in, as well as our ... [Read More]