Tag Archives: hike

A Day in the North Bay.

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My good friend, Sheena, and her friend, Arel, have just moved to San Francisco from Barbados.  I’ve been so excited for this day and it’s been fun exploring the bay area with them.  There are so many amazing places to visit and it was such a treat to get to take them to Muir Woods the other weekend!

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Sheena behind the redwoods 🙂

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The trail has these fun little bridges to cross over water streams when there is a large water flow.

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Look at these cute Bajan babes!

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Rob came along, too 🙂

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Beautiful trails.

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They are adorable!

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Sheena and I being yogi’s at the top of the trail near Panoramic Highway.

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Views for miles.

You can access the Muir Woods trails from many different access points.  We started from Panormaic Highway on the ridge and hiked down before hiking back up and out.  If you park at the bottom and end up at the National Monument for the Redwood trees, there is a fee but if you are just going for the hike, make sure to look up access points before you go.  It’s a great hike!

All photos by Arel!

Walking Amongst the Giants.

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The temperatures are slowly starting to drop but the sun is still shining so what better way to spend the time then to get outside and enjoy it.  Rob and I headed to Muir Woods over the weekend so get a good hike in and breathe the fresh air.  We ended up hiking up through the redwoods to the Panoramic highway and then back down through the Dipsea trail.  It was beautiful and refreshing and a great way to have a staycation.

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The trees are so massive and beautiful.  Most of them are over 2,000 years old, pretty incredible.

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Playing around with the Hipstomatic App.  My favorite is still the Pro HDR app for photography.

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The canopies stand at over 300 ft tall.

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It is the true Fern Gully.  Simply stunning.

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Someone had strewn christmas ornaments along the trails!

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We thought we might get lucky and the Tourist Club would be open but we must have missed it for December.

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You can’t beat the views.

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Wandering down the Dipsea Trail.

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View from the top.

Happy New Year!  We will be back in 2015 🙂

Twin Falls, Keanae, and Surf.

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I have been going to Hawaii every since I was a little girl with my family.  We go once a year to see friends and family and of course just relax.  One of the things I’ve heard about from time to time, but have never really experienced, is the Road to Hana.  When my step-dad, Darrin, and friend, Amanda, were up for the adventure we decided we would check out a few sites on the Road to Hana.  I wanted to see a waterfall and a special beach and I’d say we got both!

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Our first stop was Twin Falls which is a few waterfalls a short walking distance from the parking area.  At the opening of the path is this cute little farm-stand.

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The path ways are very easy and also very lush.

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There were a few wet areas but that’s part of what makes it so beautiful!

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We also ran into some bamboo!

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So green!

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Views for days!

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Love these vine covered trees.

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After Twin Falls, we drove on to Keanae Beach which was stunning.

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Those ocean blues never get old.

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The Road to Hana is very pretty, don’t get me wrong, but I wouldn’t spend the entire day driving it.  The roads are squeezed and you can see just as beautiful sites on other parts of the island.  These two stops were definitely note worthy and would make for a great trip.

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A few last snaps from my trip!

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My favorites 🙂

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I even attempted some waves.  I like to give it a whirl whenever I’m on the islands because the water is so warm!

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Family!

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The best coconut/banana shaved ice in the world with mochi on top… SO GOOD!

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Amanda and I watched the sunset every day on the beach with an ice cold beer, it was the perfect combo!

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It was a great trip with my mom, step dad, and friend Amanda.  I can’t wait for next year!

Climb Challenge.

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Since getting into climbing, I’ve been realistic with my own progression but also set goals for where I want to take it.  I’ve always loved the idea of climbing outdoors so when I started climbing, I knew eventually I’d want to take it outside.  After doing tons of research on places to climb in the bay area, my climbing friend Kevin and I, took to scoping out one of the well known spots along beautiful and coastal highway 1.  We were planning to just scope it all out but once we saw some climbable boulders, we couldn’t resist.  We were also able to scope out some lead climbing routes that will be something for us to conquer in the near future!

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Kevin conquering this boulder!

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About to get that last reach.

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Working on getting up and over this mini overhang.

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Stretching for it.

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Another nice boulder.

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Since we left pretty early in the morning, we were able to climb before it was too hot.  Once the fog burned off, it was a beautiful day and felt like such a great reward.  This spot had a nice little hike down and then to finish off the morning was a good little hike up and out.  Can’t wait to soak up the rest of the Indian Summer days!

Lookout Over Lanikai.

IMG_6243If you frequent our site, you know how much we love the ocean and beautiful colors.  While on the island of Oahu over Thanksgiving, my friend Amanda took my parents and I on one of the most scenic and beautiful hikes I’ve ever been on.  It overlooked the most perfect beach, Lanikai.

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Ridge walking.

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Unbelievably perfect.

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We sat on top of these old military “pill boxes” and just soaked it all in.

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When in Hawaii…
xoxo

 

Birds Eye View.

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A challenging and rewarding climb on Oahu is the Koko Head stairs.  I’m so thankful to be healthy and able but this hike is a butt kicker.  On Thanksgiving morning, my dear friend Amanda and I (along with one of her friends) headed up in the dark to the top of Koko Head to see the sunrise from a birds eye view.  It was breathtaking and a great way to give thanks to this gorgeous world we live in.  Then of course hang with family and eat lots 🙂

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(Looking at Hawaii Kai after the first little climb)

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(Enjoying the views)

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This hike is a challenge but short.  You could be up and down in an hour if you were doing it just for the work out.  I love beautiful scenery though and was so happy to enjoy the views and breeze from the top with one of my closest friends.

Mori Point Walk

This weekend was full of clear blue skies and my friend and I wanted to take advantage of that so we headed South about 10 minutes to a sleepy beach town called Pacifica. It is a popular spot for surfing and has the most amazing Taco Bell you will ever see, it literally sits on the beach and has a walk-up window for people with sandy feet! We didn’t eat there but we did take a nice walk up to the top of Mori Point to get a great view of the beach. I lived there for a few months and would often walk up on my own to sit and relax. Sometimes the sound of the waves can bring a lot of peace to your mind.

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