Escondido Falls

We went for a fun hike last weekend to Escondido Falls, the tallest waterfall in the Santa Monica Mountains. Our visit to Malibu Creek State Park got me on a crazy hiking kick, so despite the cloudy weather, I was desperate to get outside. After some morning trouble finding the entrance to this park, we finally started the uphill trail.

The falls extend over 3 "levels." We stopped at the "lower falls" to have a picnic (picnicking being our official new hobby).

That was already a lot of uphill walking (and included some pretty woods), but it was certainly not a "hike." As we ate, we kept seeing people running down the very, very steep and narrow path that leads to the upper falls. They were running because the end of the path is on such an incline that you kind of have no choice but to run. I thought it looked massively dangerous, but we decided to give it a shot and turn around if it got too scary. And so we started up...

until we hit a crazy steep section that consisted of pulling oneself uphill via rope and then climbing some rocks at a sharp vertical angle. I stopped before the rope, 90% sure I wanted to head back down and not die. A girl who had joined our party turned back, and I was about to follow. I kept watching people go up and down, then the girl who had left came back with a friend who had hiked it before...and finally I decided to go for it.

I stopped halfway up the vertical rocks and completely froze. I had a nice hold on a root jutting out from the side of the path and did not feel safe letting go of it. I was about to head back down, but some boys at the top convinced me that that the next waterfall was RIGHT around the corner...which it was. It would have been an awful shame to stop halfway up the rocks when I was so very close. Thank you, boys. Actually, everyone on the trail was incredibly friendly and nice. 

The second tier of the falls was just a tiny trickle when we were there, but we kept climbing to the third tier. (After the first climb, there was nothing quite so scary. There was one more climb, but it wasn't so...vertical. It was more like very steep stairs and I kind of crawled up.)

At the top, we found the payoff just as the clouds cleared up:

 It wasn't the "full" season for the falls or right after a rain, but it was still breathtaking.

Chris went into photo mode. (Can you spot him?)

We sat by the water, took photos, and watched people wade in the little pool at the foot of the falls before heading back down. It turns out that you DO have a choice when it comes to running down the path...you can go down on your butt! Seriously, I pretty much crab-walked my whole way down this thing, but it was way less scary than going up.


I have counted the whole experience as a lesson in risk-taking. Face your fears, hold on to the rope, and there might be a giant waterfall at the top of your climb.

Bring on the Bubbles

Sometime during my tenure at my last office, I developed a true love of seltzer. As a kid, I hated the stuff (not water, not sugary soda, what the heck?), but as a grown-up, I just adore the tingly bubbles. In the office, there was a vending machine that sold cans of seltzer, and I would visit it regularly. I'd also stock up on cans from the local Stop n' Shop. I'd sip seltzer all summer on our patio, either straight, added to juice, or with a slice of lemon or lime (or one of each).

BUT...ever since we moved to CA, I've been having SO much trouble finding the stuff I'm looking for. You know, SELTZER: bubbly water with no fake flavors and no sodium added. At least in my area of CA, 100% of "seltzer" I've found in markets is flavored and not available in cans. (I like adding my own flavors and I hate the bottles because they lose fizz.) I've come to realize that there may be a gap in what I think things are called and what Californians call them. Here are my definitions:

• Seltzer: (see above—no sodium being key)
• Club soda: bubbly water with sodium added
• Sparkling water: bubbly mineral water, such as Pellegrino

This past weekend I just stumbled upon some sparkling water (no sodium added, no minerals) that's available in mini bottles, though still no cans. For now I'll stick to this, but...are cans of seltzer a regional thing?? And how about the definitions?

Malibu Creek State Park

This city mouse has officially become a country mouse. We had planned to hike Malibu Creek State Park the weekend before last, but were foiled by grey, overcast skies. So we made it happen this past weekend.

We started at an area called the Rock Pool. It's a neat little swimming hole. Lots of people were jumping into the water from the big rock in the center. 

Chris climbed a rock to see what he could see. (That other guy with the camera was in almost every shot I had.) Next time, we're bringing swimsuits.

Then we kept exploring....

I especially loved the redwood-lined Forest Trail. We even saw a couple of equestrians enjoying this route.

View from our picnic site:

Chris climbed another rock (eventually I followed). This one gave a view of the other side of a dam, as well as a stunning look at the mountains. I didn't climb up with my camera, so hopefully someday Chris will post the shots he got at the top. (Note: There is plenty of actual rock climbing to be done in this park—we saw lots of climbers.)

I'm dead-set on camping here sometime...need to break in the tent we got for Christmas!

The Autry and Other Eras

Wow, it's been a while. Since I last posted, Blogger has undergone a complete redesign. Let's see if I can drive this thing....

Here's a bit of what we've been up to in Cali.

We visited The Autry National Center, which houses the Museum of the American West and collections from the Southwest Museum of the American Indian. A tribute to the Singing Cowboy himself stands out front to greet visitors.

We really had no idea what to expect. We'd received a 2-for-1 ticket at the Eek at the Greek Halloween concert, so we decided to check out the museum before our ticket expired. First, we checked out the art, including a special exhibit called the Art of Native American Basketry (there are baskets you can touch. Yay!). Then we moved on, discovering the large part of the museum that is dedicated to Hollywood's depiction of the West, including lots of movie memorabilia. This stuff was only mildly interesting to me, but we struck gold on another floor. Downstairs, we found stories of real Western settlers, exhibits about traditions and experiences of native tribes, and loads of cool artifacts, including this giant collection of old sheriff's badges from all different states. I also saw my first actual stagecoach.

The museum really strives to capture diverse stories, and I thought they did a wonderful job. There were interesting models of homes of different groups of natives and settlers that reminded me a bit of the setup of the museum on Ellis Island. Before we left the museum, we took in their peaceful courtyard (empty but for the two of us), which has a cute (prop) "General Store" and a place where kids can pretend to pan for gold. My favorite element was the waterfall.

More recently, we visited the Renaissance Pleasure Faire. It's no secret that I love goofy stuff, Renaissance faires included. (I've never dressed up in costume, but it's really easy to get in the spirit of things without one.) We didn't do knife throwing this time, but got to shoot some arrows. I think this shot looks very Katniss. My results were decidedly un-Katniss.

The costumed helpers had to get Chris a lefty bow. He did incredibly well and almost won a free cup of ale in a competition against all the other archers.

We also attended a joust (the best part of a Ren faire), and saw the "Queen" several times.

Chris was hilarious when he first saw a knight ride out. I'm not exaggerating when I say he gasped incredulously and said, "They're so badass!" (We had been to King Richard's Faire a few years ago, but it was very rainy—too muddy and dangerous for jousting.)

I also fulfilled my dream of seeing a dragon.

For me, the day alternated between being really cheesy and fun and being miserably hot and dusty. It was unseasonably hot that day (pushing 90), and I felt so glad that I wasn't dressed up in a heavy gown or wearing a suit of armor like the poor knights. (Couldn't have been fun for the horses either. But props to the faire staff for being very clearly attentive to the animals and providing lots and lots of cool water.) Thank goodness for mango fruit ice. However, despite the heat and my waves of crankiness, this was the backdrop for the whole event:

California is just cool like that.

Picnic Time

When the weekends roll around here, I feel an all-consuming need to be outside. We keep a stripe-y blanket in the car and have taken to plopping it down wherever we please...

...like off the PCH to watch the sun go down:

Or on the big hill next to the Page Museum:

Now, we're adding food. I have officially declared picnicking to be our new hobby. Yesterday we toted treats to Santa Monica beach. It was a bit windy, but worth the trip.

P.S. Does the phrase "Picnic Time" make anyone else think of the closing sequence to Eureeka's Castle (starts around 1:09)?

Western Australia: The Good, the Bad, and the Deadly

Perth

G’day, mates! Time to talk Australia…

THE GOOD

When I visited WA, everyone I met was interested to know what I, the first-time visitor, thought of Australia. After some thought, I gave everyone the same answer: In a word, Australia is very civilized. Which is funny, because vast swaths of the continent are not only uncivilized, but entirely uninhabitable. Anyway, the places we visited were characterized by a notable cleanliness, gorgeous natural surroundings (cheers for the Aussies building their cities along water!), and an abundance of gourmet caffeine-delivery systems (short black, long black, flat white, chocolate-topped cappuccino…the list goes on). The air was fresh, the skies were clear, the food and wine were excellent.

One afternoon, Chris and I poked around the downtown area of Subiaco, ducking into artsy little shops. I was dwelling on all the perks of Australia—the schools, the health care, the cheery accents—and was just about ready to move when we nearly knocked over a shelf full of china. Luckily, nothing was harmed, but I don’t think we can move to Subi now.

A cute shop in Subiaco peddles "pre-loved" books, not "used"

The best part of our visit was, of course, seeing family. We made stops in both Perth and Albany, packing in lots of activities, from picnicking to an Aussie-themed movie night. We got in quality time with both grandmas (I met the lovely Grandma Gordon for the first time), and we spent Christmas with the extended family. Even though Christmas falls the Australian summer, the festivities still felt homey to me. There was table tennis and gingerbread, and there were new Aussie traditions like Christmas crackers and seafood.

Picnic with Grandma in Albany

Did I mention the food was excellent? Also, there was a lot of it. We didn’t throw any shrimp on the barbe, but we DID throw a lot of other stuff on there, and it was all delicious. Thank you, family and friends, for feeding us exceedingly well during our visit.

THE BAD

Unfortunately, I had an awful cold for part of our Australian adventure. But what a great place to be sick! Feeling stuffy? Look, there’s a pharmacy right around the corner, with a friendly pharmacist who, European-style, interviews you about your symptoms and helps you find the correct medication. “The bad” wasn’t that bad, after all.

THE DEADLY

OK, this was a tease. We didn’t actually meet any deadly creatures in Australia, but there are plenty of things there that can kill you. During the trip, I was reading this:

which catalogs a number of the continent’s dangerous critters, from the taipan to the redback spider to the infamous box jellyfish. Due to Bryson’s (understandable) fear of death Down Under, there isn’t terribly much space devoted to Australia’s gentler species, so here’s a peek at the ones I saw.

At Caversham Wildlife Park, I finally got to meet some marsupials. I got to pet and feed kangaroos and touch a koala.

Me feeding 'roos

Yup, I touched this koala

Later, in Albany, we got to see wild kangaroos, too. Chris’s uncle Ian took us to the perfect ‘roo-spotting point just before sundown one day. We pulled over to the side of the road and watched a group of Western Gray kangaroos munch grass. Kangaroos aren’t really novel to Australians (they’re kind of ordinary, like deer in America), but I couldn’t stop marveling at them and contemplating their evolution.

Wild 'roos

I also loved that even the everyday birds were really beautiful. Instead of pigeons hanging around the park, we’d see a flock of pink and gray galahs in the mornings.

Galahs (to see their vivid colors, go here)

Again, not deadly, but distinctly Australian and worth a mention.

THE END

Our time in Australia went by all too quickly. There’s so much I still want to see—namely Sydney and the Great Barrier Reef. The landscape changes so much from place to place, so we got just a small slice of all that Australia has to offer. Luckily for us, a large part of the family happens to live there, so we will be back. Hear that, Oz? We. Will. Be. Back. (…and that dishware shop in Subi is already locking its doors.)

Beautiful Bali

It's hard to put Bali into words. As we stepped out of the Denpasar airport, becoming wholly engulfed by the humidity, I immediately felt at ease. There is something gentle about Bali, even in the bustling traffic of Denpasar. In this place, you are permitted to be. Balance is an essential component of the Balinese belief system. In traditional lore, the deities Rangda and Barong (symbolizing good and evil, or white and black magic, respectively) struggle against one another, but their battle is perpetually a draw. The Balinese recognize the opposite extremes that are essential to life and cannot exist without each other: good and evil, day and night, dry and rainy, etc., and strive to maintain balance amid these opposing forces. Perhaps the best visual representation of the concept of balance is the black-and-white poleng cloth pattern.

The pattern is even mirrored in the alternating black-and-white curbstones along the roadside. Hard not to feel balanced surrounded by all that balance.

Bali is also very much in the details, meaning it is right up my alley. From the carefully handmade offerings of woven leaves and flowers to the faint sounds of a gamelan in the distance, it is a feast for the senses. Surrounded by all that art, none of my typical worries or stressors dug their way into my mind at all.

As we drove away from the city and into the hills of Ubud, the effect was only magnified. It doesn't hurt, of course, that a day at Villa Kirana looks something like this:

Our first visit was only for 1 night (basically to catch a connecting flight), but we got to spend a glorious 4 days at the Villa after Christmas.

So this is how we rung in 2012; on the edge of a sacred valley to the sounds of local music and fireworks.