Tuesday, February 24, 2015

Tick-Tac-Ouch! My Toes!

Between learning the ropes at my new job and figuring out paint colors and home decor for Eddie's and my new house, I haven't had much time to get out and explore until this past weekend. My girlfriend from UCSB and her boyfriend go on weekly hikes so I decided to tag along this time. We hiked to the summit of Mount Islip in the San Gabriel mountains, continued to the Little Jimmy Trail, and then took the Windy Gap Trail back down the mountain. Somewhere along the way, I collected a nice fat tick behind my ear. In addition to the tick, I also collected some nice blisters during that long 7 hour hike. I guess if I ignore the fact that I potentially contracted Lyme disease and ruined my pedicure, it was a successful hike with some great friends! Nothing beats this view of the clouds rolling in as the sun slowly set. If the weather permits, I may be headed on another adventure this weekend! Keeping my fingers crossed! 

Friday, February 13, 2015

Forgotten Memories

Unfortunately this year's Valentine's Day camping trip isn't happening due to conflicting schedules but I found this post that I never published from last year's trip! So I guess I'll just have to try and relive the fun through these pictures. As a side note...I really really really miss driving Eddie's badass yellow truck. I guess it's time I learn how to drive stick if I ever want to off-road in Eddie's new truck...
I know Valentine's Day usually consists of some flowers, chocolates, jewelry, and a fancy schmancy dinner for you and your significant other. I think it's great to celebrate your love, but why does it have to be on a specific day of the year? Why not show your significant other how much you love them and do romantic things for them just because you want to? Don't get me wrong...I love to be wined and dined like most girls out there, but I rather spend my Valentine's Day with my man and my friends out in the middle of nowhere doing what I love most...exploring & CAMPING!

A small group of our friends decided on a nontraditional Valentine's Day weekend and headed out to Lucerne to camp out in the sand dunes. We drank some "Love Potion" cocktail that my girl, Melly K, mixed up and ate cookies that my girl, Kayla, baked. Then in typical fashion, we danced around the campfire like dorks til 3am. The next morning, we headed to the Rattlesnake Canyon Trail and took that to Pioneertown where we had lunch at Pappy & Harriet's Pioneertown Palace. After we fueled up, the girls got behind the wheel of each vehicle and took the boys on a wild ride through the dirt. We had a blast off-roading for awhile before handing the trucks back to the boys somewhere along the way to Big Bear. None of us girls felt comfortable enough maneuvering around huge obstacles that could easily leave us stranded on the Gold Mountain Trail so we just sat back and relaxed while the boys strategized. We didn't anticipate so many day-ender obstacles like those crazy rock gardens pictured above, so this 4.5 mile trail ended up taking us over 2.5 hours. After the long day we had, all we wanted were some ice cold beers and some hot food. But by the time the food was in front of us, we were all ready to just pass out.