Our Outdoor Adventures

I've been so terrible at keeping up with this blog. I guess I think that Facebook Mobile uploads should suffice, but not being able to express what I feel and think when things happen to me in California and not being able to share them with my friends and family make me feel like I'm being neglectful. Even if only one person reads my blog it makes me happy. So I quickly apologize for my lack of updates.

It's so strange to hear a native Californian say "there's nothing to do here, it's so boring". Although it doesn't happen often, I've heard it muttered.  There is so much in our backyard to do and see and luckily a lot of what we enjoy doing is free.

One of our first hikes was in Julian, called Three Sisters Falls.  This hike was intense. I did it once before with my friend Chris on an empty stomach. It was so hot. I ran out of water. I was so sick and I ended up throwing up on the ride back.  Luckily the second time around I was a little more prepared. It was still pretty hot and exhausting, but cooling down in the falls was a nice reprieve.

Tyler going down the waterfall. It was actually terrifying because the water isn't very deep and the algae makes the rock slide extremely slippery and his body turned to the side on the way down. I thought "hospital" for sure.

I went down the slide after about 20 minutes of whining. 

We tend to go to the shores a lot too, La Jolla Shores that is. Whenever friends come in town we like to show them the awesome scenery and the barking seals.  

Really pretty view with the crashing waves in the background.

As a fair warning the rocks and tidal pools are slippery when wet. We almost lost Kirby and she almost lost her iPhone which she seemed more concerned about at the time.

Ouch! That's gonna leave a mark.

When we don't hike, we like to surf.  We've found a few spots that work well for my novice surfing skills. Although the reefs break are better we tend to go to beach breaks so I don't break my neck.  The surf is a lot better on the west coast, but the water is freezing and not only that when you surf back to back you have to shimmy into a wet wetsuit and it's chilly.  Oh and they tend to stink.

His face gives you an idea.

I am just so happy to be in the water.  Even though the water is cold it's just nice to be a part of the ocean. It's nice to get wet and forget everything that stressed you out. I like the serenity and being part of something bigger than me.  When we're out there waiting for sets I just tend to empty my head and watch the horizon. It's zen and the art of mental maintenance.

Not so recently Tyler and I went to hike Double Peak Mountain. The actual peak was a little disappointing as it didn't provide the best cardio, but it did give us an amazing 360 degree view of the city.  It's unlike anything we're used to, being able to climb to the top of a peak and look out over the city and see the vast ocean.  I think being Floridians really makes us appreciate the beauty of the mountains.

You have to pose like this, it's a hiking must.

I was running my mouth about something and walked right over this little guy. Yep! That's a rattlesnake.

Double Peak San Marcos

We like to use Roam-A-Rama.  It is a section at Tyler's magazine "San Diego Reader" .  It gives you photos and little blurbs about places to check out in Southern California.  We took it's advice and went to Twin Peaks in Poway.  I got to take my brand new Camel Back for a spin too!

Tyler's Christmas Gift to me!

Tyler on the top of a cliff. 

We actually did this hike twice. I believe the first time we went we had to be back home by a certain time for something and since we aren't quitters we went back again to complete the route.  These pictures were taken closer to the top of the mountain on our second round.

See there's the pose again.

The funny thing about this particular hike was we decided to get a little more adventurous than normal and took the path less traveled.  We rock hopped our way to the top and it was really fun and quite the work out.  The only problem was we lost the visible path back down so we had to improvise.  It was pretty risky jumping through brush that could have been crawling with rattlesnakes.  Fortunately we weren't the only ones.  Two other hikers took our lead and were following us down our unbeaten path.  We weren't lost I promise ;). I sustained a few scrapes and cuts, but was just glad the sun hadn't set on us.

We love our everyday adventures!