Liz breaks out the guidebook
Took the dog on a 4.5-mile "hike" (sort of a stroll, but sort of a short hike) today. It was warm even late in the day. I sweated off all my sunscreen, I think.
It was pleasant, not super challenging but enough uphill to make me work. The view at the top of the small mountain was nice. You can see down into a valley, couple of lakes, etc. It's not exactly as wilderness-y as I would like, 'cause you can't go freaking anywhere in San Diego County that isn't full of power lines and water mains and god knows what, but it was peaceful. Except for some expensive mansion up on the ridge blasting mariachi radio.
I met this old guy on the trail who had to be like 68 or 70. He books up the mountain for exercise. (It's a wide, well-maintained trail, good place to run or ride a horse. Or power walk.) He was faster than me (although I was carrying a pack and he wasn't). You may laugh now. I share this anecdote specifically so you can laugh at it. Because I am not a wuss, but I hike slow. I take my time and enjoy the scenery. Since only the dog was with me, we weren't in a hurry.
Jim had a slight accent (sounds like he came to this country from eastern Europe or someplace, but long enough ago that his English is near flawless), and told me now that I was up by the lake, I should sit and write a bestseller. He wants to read it. (Please note that I told him absolutely nothing about myself, certainly not that I'm a writer or a student. He was obviously kidding, but now I wonder if he thinks about writing his own bestselling novels when he's up there. An awful lot of people have a novel in their heads somewhere, or at least the ambition to write one.)
Finding the place took some time. You know how they say a person who wears two watches never knows what time it is? Well, Liz who uses two or three sets of directions does not know where the hell this damn Ecological Reserve is. The GPS, Google maps, and the hiking book all told me something different, and I foolishly started with the former two. (Note that the GPS directed me to City Hall, several miles from the reserve...) But I got there in the end.
now I'm all sticky and grungy. time to shower, if the kids ever get out of the bathroom.
It was pleasant, not super challenging but enough uphill to make me work. The view at the top of the small mountain was nice. You can see down into a valley, couple of lakes, etc. It's not exactly as wilderness-y as I would like, 'cause you can't go freaking anywhere in San Diego County that isn't full of power lines and water mains and god knows what, but it was peaceful. Except for some expensive mansion up on the ridge blasting mariachi radio.
I met this old guy on the trail who had to be like 68 or 70. He books up the mountain for exercise. (It's a wide, well-maintained trail, good place to run or ride a horse. Or power walk.) He was faster than me (although I was carrying a pack and he wasn't). You may laugh now. I share this anecdote specifically so you can laugh at it. Because I am not a wuss, but I hike slow. I take my time and enjoy the scenery. Since only the dog was with me, we weren't in a hurry.
Jim had a slight accent (sounds like he came to this country from eastern Europe or someplace, but long enough ago that his English is near flawless), and told me now that I was up by the lake, I should sit and write a bestseller. He wants to read it. (Please note that I told him absolutely nothing about myself, certainly not that I'm a writer or a student. He was obviously kidding, but now I wonder if he thinks about writing his own bestselling novels when he's up there. An awful lot of people have a novel in their heads somewhere, or at least the ambition to write one.)
Finding the place took some time. You know how they say a person who wears two watches never knows what time it is? Well, Liz who uses two or three sets of directions does not know where the hell this damn Ecological Reserve is. The GPS, Google maps, and the hiking book all told me something different, and I foolishly started with the former two. (Note that the GPS directed me to City Hall, several miles from the reserve...) But I got there in the end.
now I'm all sticky and grungy. time to shower, if the kids ever get out of the bathroom.