BEAUTIFUL SPRING & UGLY DRIVEWAY

I am grateful where we live, in the lovely area known as The Oaks, adjacent to Griffith Park.  In late May it is especially pretty.  My favorite tree in the 'hood is a block and a half from our house.  It's an ancient colorful jacaranda tree.  Although it is not a native CA tree, I don't mind it being here.

The purple canopy spans the entire street

A bit of trivia information for you rock n roll trivia fans.  This purple tree rests two doors down from the house of Inara George, the daughter of Lowell George, the founder, guitarist, vocalist and song-writer for the 70s band Little Feat.   Tragically, Lowell passed away in 1979, at the young age of 34.

His musical talent was passed down to his daughter, Inara. whom Gerry and I saw perform at the Echo Plex, a small concert venue in the hip area of Silverlake.

Home of Inara George, on the corner before the Jacaranda

Off of the pavement and into Griffith Park, more beauty await us this time of year.  Although we try to avoid the Poison Oak, the reddish hues of their leaves from a distance are pretty on the hillside.

Two miles from our house, what is called Brush Canyon

When one gets off the main trail and onto the narrow ridge line trails, he or she is often rewarded.

CA buckwheat, a native

The  Mariposa lily, always a pleasure to see with its purplish hue.

Back home, we're making progress.  Finally, we are replacing our torn-apart driveway, which took a beating during our house remodel.  It's a huge job.  Workers will probably be here for a month as they first have to put in a retaining wall, before they lay the concrete for the driveway.

In the past week they have dug up mass quantities of dirt and rock, to prepare for the wall.

Tearing into the hillside adjacent to our driveway

It is no surprise I didn't get any mail yesterday. Postman couldn't get to the mailbox.

Large dumpster in front of our house filled with rock and dirt

Yep, we got a real job on our hands.

It will be nice and functional when it is done.   But concrete is concrete.  I'm sure it will look nice. 

Yet I take comfort I can walk out my door, and be within Griffith Park, which feels like home.  

GA BARRIER ISLANDS

Gerry and I signed up for our first Road Scholar program - 5 days on the GA Barrier Islands.   My mother and brother also registered, so it was an opportunity to get-together with family.

We explored Savannah GA on our own the day before the program began.  We walked the historic district, and visited the many squares.  We couldn't cover it all, but we saw a great deal on our 5 mile walk. 

Magnificent trees in the historic city squares.

Beautiful fountains.

Statues of historic figures, such as this one of James Oglethorpe (1696 - 1785) who founded the colony of Georgia 

We met the Road Scholars Sunday evening at the Sea Palms resort.   This was our home base for 5 nights.  It was in a secluded area on St. Simons Island.

Day trips were great.  We walked the coastal areas and observed the natural habitat.

The marsh lands, a fragile environment. 

Our instructor and  guide, Georgia Graves, explains the sea life to us.

Tuesday we visited Jekyll Island.  The Jekyll Island Club was formed in 1898, with 53 members.  They were the elite and wealthy, such as the Rockefellers, Vanderbilts, the Pulitzers, the Astors and J.P. Morgan.  This group controlled 6 percent of the wealth of the world.  Jekyll Island was their winter retreat, where they had their private "cottages." 

This is the Rockefeller Cottage. 

The historic Jekyll Island Hotel

 We ate lunch in the elegant dining room of the four-start Jekyll Island Hotel; a gourmet grilled chicken breast sandwich on a fresh croissant, with a pasta salad followed by key-lime pie for dessert.

My favorite day of the trip was Thursday when we visited Sapelo Island.  It is the polar opposite of Jekyll Island.  The Gullah Geechee natives still live on Sapelo, but their numbers have dwindled.  Only 47 remain, and live in the area called Hog Hammock.  The island is rustic, with no paved roads and no development.  The post office is open two hours per day.  There is a small grocery store called the "Grab All."   A 30 minute ferry departs from the mainland town of Meridian at 8:30 am to Sapaelo.  A return ferry leaves Sapelo at 2:30 pm back to the mainland.

We enjoyed our tour of the island, especially the pristine isolated beach.

Sapelo Island welcomes us

The rustic historic post office

The Grab-all island store. 

Mom and I pose by the pool on the lawn of the R J Reynolds mansion.  Reynolds bought up most of the island in 1934.

Some nice driftwood on the beach.  It seems you could walk for miles in splendid isolation.

We had a guided tour of St. Simons both Monday and Wednesday.  We also had afternoon free time to explore St. Simons on our own.  I took lovely early morning and late afternoon walks.

 Christ Episcopal Church on St. Simons Island.

I never tired of seeing the massive oak trees that are over 200 years old.

Ancient oak tree, draped with Spanish moss.

ll in all it was a wonderful trip. I do like to travel and I am grateful for the opportunity to visit Savannah and the Barrier Islands of Georgia!

OUR BACKYARD and BUTTERFLIES

We are privileged to have Griffith Park in our backyard.  It is a beautiful place to see some special flowers, such as the chocolate lily.  Last week the lilies were in full bloom on the nearby hillside, a five minute walk from our house.

Several patches of chocolate lilies made their appearance

Below is a close-up of the flower.  Botanists, ecologists and naturalists have searched the park, but so far our hillside is the only place where this special plant has been found within Griffith Park.

The hill was also covered with these pretty purple flowers.

This is the Skull Cap.  The scientific name, is "scutellaria tuberosa."  (Gerry informed me.)

I love to see the butterflies flutter about.  It's an added bonus when they stay still long enough for me to snap a picture!

The pale swallowtail butterfly, near the purple Blue Dicks  (Dechelostemma), a common park lily

Last week I visited Glen Feliz Elementary School several mornings.  I spent time with the third grade class and their teacher, my friend Marilyn Marks.  Ms. Marks is a very passionate teacher who engages her students.  The upcoming March 12th jog-a-thon was on the calendar, and on their minds.

Marilyn introduced me as Coach Mary.  I taught the kids a brief stretching regimen and talked about nutrition.  I helped train them for March 12th.  The entire school, (1st through 6th grade) participated in the jog-a-thon.  The classes took their turns; every child got their time on the track to walk / jog for 15 minutes.  Their lap were tallied, and it was a very fun fundraiser for the school, sponsored by the PTA.   

Marilyn and her students are excited about butterflies.  They made this spectacular movie, MONARCH, An Amazing Life Cycle.    Take a peak at this You Tube to see the butterflies and the precious actors and actresses I got to know.

Happy Spring to all.  Enjoy the wonders of the season.  

VALENTINE Muse

Friday the 13th, and Valentine's Saturday, plus a Monday President's Day Holiday added up to a fabulous long weekend. 

A hilly morning bike ride Saturday on the interior roads of Griffith Park was a terrific start.  It was a beautiful day, with gorgeous views. 

The view toward the west from the top of Mt Hollywood Dr

I am grateful Mt Hollywood Drive is closed to traffic.  It is a spectacular and scenic place to pedal, and hike.  This interior park road has been closed to vehicular traffic since 1992, but the cash-strapped city is thinking of re-opening it, and charging for parking.   Ugh!  I hope it never happens.

My Valentine, (Gerry) and I enjoyed our date Saturday afternoon and evening.  We saw the movie, "The Imitation Game" at the ArcLight in Hollywood. 

Afterwards, we stopped off at the grocery store, and purchased Ahi Tuna.  Gerry grilled dinner for us - Ahi with roasted potatoes, seasoned green beans and a bottle of Babcock Pinot Noir, appropriately named "A Slice of Heaven."  

Wine was heavenly



As was our Valentine's Day Dinner for Two
 

Our time together is precious

Love one another. 

Peace for all.

Illinois Weekend with Family

I love Brendan and Amy.   The happily married couple. 

Brendan is my nephew.  He and  his beautiful bride, Amy pledged their wedding vows on Saturday, October 11th.   

Gerry and I flew back to the mid-west to attend the wedding and celebrate with them.  They are the perfect couple.  We could feel their love and know this is a match that will last forever. 

Fall foliage was at its peak!  Brendan joined us Friday morning on a hike. 



At Matthiessen State Park, Friday;  the next door neighbor of  the more famous Starved Rock

We were In awe of this tree, as we gazed upward in Starved Rock. 

The wedding took place at St. Mary's, a historic Catholic church in small-town Utica, IL.

The cutest ring-bearer and flower-girl on the planet walked up the aisle;  our nephew Logan and niece Olivia

Hours later, we danced the night away at the post-dinner reception at the Grand Bear Lodge.




Brendan and Amy do the two-step on the dance floor.

 

Now we are back home in L.A.  but I  continue to feel the LOVE from the wedding.
Weddings do this to me. 

They cause me to pause and reflect, to be grateful and appreciate what really matters.

absorbing  our beautiful world

Love... Family...Honesty... Respect.....Friends.....


Appreciate  each day, and look forward to the next.

COOL BREEZE CENTURY BIKE RIDE Ventura CA

100 Miles of gorgeous scenery while pedaling my bike on a peaceful Saturday on the Central Coast....  It doesn't get much better than this.

It was a 100 mile one-day bike ride.  Granted, it did take me all day.  I started at 7:00 am and finished near 4:00 pm.  But what a wonderful day it was!  I loved cycling this scenic route with friendly staff support.  They kept me well fed and hydrated on my bicycle journey through the towns of Ventura, Santa Barbara, Carpinteria  and Goleta. 

Maybe I'm at mile 40 (?)  
This is above Santa Barbara and one can see
Santa Cruz Island in the background.

The rest stops were welcome breaks, and we visited all 5 of them,  (mile 14.8, mile 30.9, mile 51.1 which was the lunch stop, mile 70.9.  and mile 82.1 which was the popsicle stop.)

Lunch stop - make your own sandwiches with all the fixins.
 

My favorite stop - the Popsicle station at Rincon Beach
only 15 miles to the finish line. 

We made it!

Our hotel, the ClockTower Inn was a bit dumpy, but the location is ideal - downtown Historic Ventura .

Later in the evening we set out on foot from the ClockTower and strolled the quaint Main Street of Ventura.  We stepped into Palermo, which serves the most delicious gelato, outside of Italia.  The ginger gelato was heavenly.

Sunday morning we checked out before 10:00 am and drove perhaps 6 miles  north to
Summerland.  We spent a few hours at Summerland Beach, which is directly below Look Out Park.



A quiet and peaceful beach
 

I was kicking back as well, but I got my arse up to take the photo

I highly recommend the Cool Breeze Century Ride!  A definite "Thumbs Up." 

The weekend was a fabulous getaway. 

I found it to be healing.  Some of you may know my beloved father passed away a month ago, on July 7th 2014.  He enjoyed cycling during his retirement years.  I thought of him often as I pedaled.  He would have enjoyed this.  Too bad we didn't do it together; but I felt he was with me in spirit.

He was a good father - extremely intelligent and very witty, but most importantly he gave me his unconditional love. 

Olympic Marathon Trials, Columbia, SC 2000
After I finished, standing with my doting, proud dad. 

Life is precious!
Take a Day and do what you Enjoy!

Summer Road Trip - Zion, UT and Estes Park, CO

We arrived back home from a fun hiking / camping trip and family get-together.  We drove from L.A. to Estes Park, CO.

First stop was Zion National Park.  We hiked the popular Angels Landing Trail one day and the Observation Point Trail the next.  The first night we camped outside the east entrance to the park in Zion Mtn Campground.    The second night we camped inside the Park, at the South Campground.  Our campsite was located nearby the Virgin River. 

A rustic campsite, the first night near the east entrance of Zion.

Sandstone checkerboard  at Zion, shortly after sunrise

Hiking the trail toward Angels Landing on a clear day

From Observation Point in Zion - Gerry looks at the stunning view below, ready to take a picture.

 

Wow!  I know why they call this hike "Observation Point." 

Our National Parks are a Treasure!  We have made good use of Gerry's Senior Pass. 

We left Zion and drove to Estes Park, CO.  We stopped off en route in Loveland, CO to visit my dear dad who is a resident of a Memory Care facility.  I love my dad.

 

Talking with dad.  (He uses the blue walker on the right to help him get from room to room.) 

Estes Park!    We first came here in 1973 on a family vacation with my grandparents.    I have fond memories of  staying here for a weekend over 40 years ago!   We stayed in a cabin at the McGregor Lodge, which still exists today.

This year we rented a spacious house, called the Aspen Leaf Chalet.  We drove up a winding road to reach the 4,000 sq foot vacation home.  We stayed here 5 glorious days and nights.   Our party included my sister Anne and her family (her husband Jason, and kids Dylan and Nell), my sister Eileen and her daughter Laura, and my mother.  Nine of us total, including Gerry and me. 

We hiked every day.   All hikes featured spectacular scenery. 



Dylan and Nell on the Fern Lake Hike
 

 

Laura stands tall and proud - Fern Lake Hike
 

At Fern Lake -  Dylan and Laura.....  Nell

The Ouzel Falls Hike is one of my favorites!  We pass by Calypso Falls on the way to Ouzel Falls.  Both waterfalls are spectacular! 

Nell, Dylan and Laura, with Calypso Falls in the background

Taking a breather.



Ouzel Falls - the perfect locale for a picnic lunch

 

Taking a plunge in the brisk water.....

Gerry and I didn't plunge, but we observed. 

We ate very well on this trip.  Lasagna one night, pork chops another, grilled chicken one night.....fresh salads and vegetables to accompany each dinner. 

Grilled Salmon - just one of our gourmet meals.

We're home, safe and sound.  Zion National Park and Rock Mountain National Park are truly treasures.  However the best treasure of all is spending time with my family....

Great hiking, much laughter.  Fun and games galore!