California Friday #1

Happy Friday my friends!

I figured the best way to recap the big events of my California trip was to take the Flashback Friday approach so allow me to introduce to you:

California Friday: The Impromptu 10 Mile Hike!

Last Monday, Emilia and I set off on a hike at Nisene Marks State Park.

We planned to be out for a couple of hours…hike about 5 or 6 miles…get some good pics and call it an afternoon so I figured it be a great opportunity to break in my frog feet shoes!

Rock surfin’!

When we first entered the park we spotted the ranger station and made our way up to it to grab a map

You ever seen those shows on the Discovery Channel where the two hikers go into the forest without a map and only ONE bottle of water?

Are you like me and yell at the TV to them, telling them they are complete morons and are going to get lost?

Well, don’t be so hard on them…it all started out so well in the beginning…

Happy hikers ready to hit the trails!

I had an excuse to play with “Big Bertha” (aka the DSLR):

We went over some unique paths and bridges:

I saw my first banana slug:

And proceeded to stalk for 10 minutes while jumping up and down and saying
“Ewwwww!” 500 times!

Haha! Love the nature, but I can be such a girly girl sometimes! πŸ˜‰

Then, we found a MAP!

Notice the “You are here”?

Yeah, to scale, that would be about 5 more miles or so until all the trails even START!

We were still in the “entry” of the park after 3 HOURS of hiking!

But that’s ok, we just used the pay phone and had someone come pick us up!

Haha! NOT!

Who puts a pay phone in the middle of the forest? Correction…who puts a NON-WORKING pay phone in the middle of the forrest?!

By the time we got back to the house about an TWO HOURS later, we were barely able to walk up the steps to the door, about to gnaw our arms off, and I had a blister in the oddest of places…thank you Five Fingers!

Note: I still love ’em…I just don’t recommend hiking over 10 miles in them within the first week of owning them!

Stay tuned next Friday to hear what we did the following day to “recover” from our half day excursion!

Have you ever been hiking?Β Do you over prepare/pack or just wing it?

Random question: Did anyone ever pour salt on slugs as a kid and watch them shrivel up? #meanthingschildrendo πŸ˜‰

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13 Responses to California Friday #1

  1. chelsea says:

    That looks like such a beautiful hike though! At least you had it well shadded and trees were everywhere!
    I hiked 12 miles in the Grand Canyon with my boy-friend and his family. Not 12 miles in and out. 12 miles down one day and 12 mils OUT 3 days later haha! We were very ill prepared day one when it came to hiking time (we were hiking in the heat of day @ 11pm…HORRIBLE!). On the way out we left at like 4am though and it was much much faster.

    Sadly, yes I killed slugs πŸ™ Poor things.

  2. Seriously GREAT recap of the week– couldn’t have said or illustrated it better πŸ™‚ You really need to send me your amazing and professional photos you took; they came out wonderful!
    Went back to the crazy asian men for a massage with my mom day. Just as good, but I missed having u to roll my eyes at when things got awkward πŸ™‚ Haha.

  3. haha, I think I’d have been devastated when I felt like I’d been hiking for miles and miles (and hours and hours) only to discover I’d hardly moved on the map! It looks beautiful, though. Awesome photos!
    As for slugs…ew, yes, I used to pour salt on them all the time. And just watch them die. So morbid of me.

  4. I love those shoes! Too cute! Looks like a perfect hike! We love hiking here. The boys are getting better at it. I could walk forever, but the kids get tired, so it’s a happy medium! We ALWAYS prepare. Water and snacks are a must!

  5. Ana says:

    Located your blog through Stumbleupon. You know I will be signing up to your rss.

  6. Oh I LOVE all these pics. Great images and thanks for taking the time to post so many great pics! LOVE IT

  7. Lauren says:

    Love those bridge pictures! Ahaha and that banana slug is so funny looking! Getting lost on a hike is never a fun experience but I’m glad you made it home safe. I don’t think you could have paid me to go near a slug when I was little. Or now for that matter.

  8. Even if it didn’t go exactly as planned, it still looks like a gorgeous hike! Except for that slug… so gross! πŸ˜›

  9. I cannot tell a lie…I have melted a slug or two in my day.

    Beautiful photos Heather. Gorgeous, and Nisene Marks is one of my favorite places to hike. In fact, at this very moment, I’m staring at a print I have hanging in our bedroom that says the Forest of Nisene Marks. Bought it for CD one year for our anniversary after we spent a week in Santa Cruz. I think we went running/hiking there every morning. Loved it.

    As of last night, back in Nashville. Let’s hang soon!

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      That’s awesome! Yeah, Emilia mentioned that you’d been to Santa Cruz before. It really is a beautiful city!

      We should definitely get together soon! Just let me know what days work best for you…I’m pretty flexible!

  10. I love those shoes! Stunning pictures too, especially the leaf shadows.
    I was just thinking ewwwww too, then read that bit and laughed; it’s exactly what I would have done!
    And I never poured salt on slugs – but I did (accidentally!) tread on one with bare feet once… not nice. At all. πŸ™‚

    • kissmybroccoli says:

      Eww! My toes curled up when I read that last part! Haha! Thanks for the comment on the pics…the leaf shadows was one of my favorites!

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