Back with a small pop?

No big BANG! 

Wife's ankle is slowly healing and we went on the inaugural walk with friends. It was not exactly a hike by old standards. It was the Zinfandel trail at the local Pichetti winery. Maybe this trail is called Zinfandel because it is the wine people are given who are trying wine for the first time... "almost grape juice" type stuff? That was what was going through my mind while we walked the trail.

It is 4 miles up and down and only steep for a 5-10 minute stretch. We went early in the morning and were down by morning tea time!

We got a decent view and came back without any further event. Uneventful hikes are good for starters!

We are back.. that is all that matters!

Lovers point Park - Monterey

Given San is still on the restricted ankle regimen and wanted to go somewhere, anywhere.. we went to the easiest accessible beach, at Lovers point park in Monterey.

It is a 90 minute drive from here, but totally worth the drive. The weather was perfect there, a good 15 degrees cooler. We parked right next to the park, walked around the park and went down to the beach and got our feet wet.. 

My photographer is getting better every day!

There is a carpet of pink flowers everywhere, which makes for great pictures! 

we had to dry our feet before wearing shoes again.. so we just sat on a bench and watched the waves and seagulls and the incredibly human friendly gophers that were everywhere! they even beg for food on two legs and that was scary to watch!

I also got to climb on the rocks here and there and try yoga poses. Not recommending this to others as it was a risky move.. was in the moment and shocked my wife by trying to do this on top of the rock.. by the time she started to protest in terror, was out of the pose.. 

Long exposure trick on the waves.. 

slowly getting the hang of this.. have to go wider as the long exposure adjustment crops the picture!

Some pictures from the park and beach!

and what is a blog post without a short video?

Had a lot of fun in two hours and drove back! Definitely recommend it for a short walk in a scenic setting!

A long gap

It has been a month and a half since I blogged about any hiking or trails.. We did go on three trails.. one a little strenous and two were more little walks than serious hikes. 

I started a new job during COVID times and that has been an interesting transition in itself. Still for a guy who always posts something every week, it has been odd not to go type anything. 

Well, here we are. Things have not been easy as every day we wake up to news of someone passing away in India from COVID in the last few weeks. It is not unknown people anymore this time around. So did not feel like writing anything. Sometimes if you have nothing postive to share, silence is golden!

The three hikes we went on were a walk to Mori Point in Pacifica to see the sunset, a short stroll in Quarry Trail in Saratoga (which was 15 minute drive from home and a rather short but intense climb to see the valley from a nice vantage point) and the last one to Little Yosemite in Sunol area after a rave FB recommendation from a friend. 

Here are some pictures and a slide show from the three hikes..

a picture that sums up sunset at Mori point..

A early morning foggy view of silicon valley from Quarry trail hike..

Sunlight coming through the lone tree on an otherwise barren landscape in Little Yosemite trail

A watering hole on Little Yosemite trail for cows that made for a reflection photo spot..

Views of the reservoir from the top of the hills..

Mori piont was amazing. The flowers, the swing at the end of the trail, the sunset, the moon rise, it was something!

Little Yosemite would have been more fun if we had taken the opposite route on the trail. We went on the hike up the hill first and then came to the falls that is only a mile from the parking lot. It was a long hike without a clear path in most places in the barren heat.. the falls ended up being too crowded because by the time we headed back, it was a lunch picnic spot. Lots of folks without masks. So we just kept moving to the car and drove back. (this was almost 3 weeks ago). 

Since then any attempts to go hiking have been put on hold. The yoga studio has opened with a lottery system. I have been lucky enough to get through a dozen times in the last month and that is good. It is still not open anywhere close to capacity and hope the day arrives where you go and walk in and don't have to be lucky to do hot yoga. I could always do it at home with the space heater, but once you go to the studio a few times, it becomes harder mentally to fire up the space heater. When there was no studio, the space heater was a blessing. That shows I have a lot more yoga to do to treat the space heater and yellow walls with the respect they deserve! 

It is just a question of days before we go back to office again and that means things get even more interesting with time management, lottery management etc. My hiking shoes may have seen their last days for some time to come. If there is one thing I would choose between doing Yoga and hiking, it is always yoga. Sitting still is something that I have to work hard for and I plan to keep trying my best to do that!

Hope this post brings me back to blogging about things on a more regular basis!