California Trip- Ocean Beach Dog Park

So as described in my previous post, much of day one was spent traveling (getting to the Atlanta airport is no walk in the park either). We arrived to our Air BnB in Pacific Beach around 5 pm and James was literally about to eat his hand. Hunger combined with no air conditioning is a bad mix for a man (strangely, though, he claims "hangry" is not a legit feeling). So I pulled up the handy list of vegan/vegetarian options I found online and found the closest one, which was a "fast food" place in nearby Ocean Beach called Plant Power. Well, nearby in rush hour meant another 25 minute drive BUT it was so worth it. By the end of our trip, James became a walking billboard for Plant Power and spent enough money to probably keep the place in business through the end of the year. 

After eating $50 worth of probably not the healthiest vegan food ever, we felt the need to get some exercise, so the next logical stop was the Ocean Beach dog park. Because it's not at all creepy to go to a dog beach without your own dogs and fawn over other peoples' dogs. We walked around the dog beach and were quickly refreshed by all the pups and people enjoying the evening. I dipped my toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time ever and we caught the most stunning sunset. Even locals said it was unusually beautiful. The pictures really didn't adequately capture it. 

After the beach, we went to Trader Joe's to get coffee and essentials for the morning and quickly learned another lesson- you have to pay for grocery bags in California. I don't have a problem with this; just wasn't expecting it. James declined to pay .25 cents for a bag so we ended up carrying all our stuff out and have it roll around the back of the car. We are such noobs. 

The theme for 2017 is "West is Best"

Literally the day we arrived home from our trip to AZ earlier this year, we had a wedding invitation in the mail for an August wedding in San Diego (thank god, our friends live in desirable places). So, I immediately started planning for that trip. It gave me something to look forward to in dreary late winter Georgia. It also motivated me to exercise since being out of shape on a beach is not something I want photos of. I ended up losing 30 lbs, whoop whoop. 

Ultimately, we didn't do many of the things I would want to do during a trip to Southern California, but that is fine because we'll definitely go back. Since I over planned our trip to AZ, I figured I'd just take things as they came in San Diego and not schedule everything down to the minute. California truly is like another country and I figured our first trip should just be to feel things out. That being said, we learned some valuable lessons which I will share here:

1. It is not 72 and sunny year round in San Diego. In August it can be 85 and cloudy. Related lesson- air conditioning is apparently less common than I ever would have thought. 

2. The cheaper airfares to Los Angeles Intl (LAX) are very quickly diminished by the drive between LA and San Diego. I must have had temporary insanity when I booked our tickets and thought this would be a good idea (seriously though, I could not make the math work. It was cheaper to fly to LA and rent a car for an entire week than to fly to San Diego).

3. Air BnB is not always what it's cracked up to be. Again, you get what you pay for. In this case, a very tiny un-air conditioned studio with paper thin walls just a short walk from the beach. But when you are a numbers person like me, the price and location couldn't be beat.

Once we recovered from our drive (escape) out of LA, adjusted to life with no AC, and met up with our friends, all was well. This was the sunset on our first night:

 More to come soon!

Waterfall Trio 6-25-17

Although I am certainly a child of the 90's, I cannot say I agree with TLC- I love chasing waterfalls. In fact, I have become spoiled and have found myself not considering a hike if it doesn't go near water at least, if not a waterfall or two. 

With the weather being very rainy this summer and being crunched for time with various summer holidays and other events going on, I was looking for something close by that would give a lot of bang for my buck. I studied the maps and found a nice little horseshoe of a route not too far away that led me to 3 stunning waterfalls. The day ended up being unseasonably cool which made for very pleasant hiking. All three of these are also dog friendly but my munchkins didn't make it into these pictures.

First up, DeSoto Falls. We arrived here around 10 am and only saw 2 other people on the trail. There are 2 falls at this location, with divergent trails leading to each. The trails are no more than 2 miles total. Again, a lot of bang for your buck. There is also a nice little campground located between the two falls. 

Traveling north from DeSoto Falls, we then went to Helton Creek Falls. This trail is exceeding short and flat, making it very accessible to nearly anyone. Due to the fact that it had rained nearly every day during the previous week, Helton Creek Falls was rocking. The water flow was impressive. We saw a handful of people here but I imagine on sunny days, hot days, it's packed. 

Leaving Helton Creek Falls, we continued along the dirt road we parked on which eventually leads to a creek crossing (two actually) before intersecting with the main road. We drove through the mountains, catching views of Yonah and others, before arriving at Dukes Creek Falls. The trail at Dukes Creek is the longest of the 3 but still leisurely at around 2 miles total. Unfortunately part of the viewing platform at the end of the trail was damaged by a tree falling, so we could not experience the full scenery of the falls. Regardless, it was a nice visit and I spent some time at the opposite end of the trail just relaxing by the creek. 

All in all, it was a worthy way to spend a day. We were back home by 3 pm- not bad for driving to and from the mountains, as well as driving between the falls. All of these are also located within close proximity of other scenic areas, such as Raven Cliffs, Blood Mountain, and state parks, so planning a multi-day waterfall extravaganza could be an option as well. 

Obviously I am about 2 months behind with posting, but expect some new posts soon about our recent trip to California!

Panther Creek 2-26-17

• Distance: 7 miles
• Terrain: moderate
• Location: Clarkesville (Habersham County)

We finally did a hike I've been wanting to do for several years. We actually live relatively close to Panther Creek now. It only took about 1 hour, 10 mins to get there (with a stop at a super sketchy gas station). The weather was really nice, so there were quite a few people along the trail, but not nearly as many as in summer time, I would think. It's a cool 7 miles roundtrip and we definitely felt it afterward. It's a pretty moderate, meandering hike for the most part but there are definitely a few steep spots and the trail is very rooty. I would recommend shoes with good ankle support. At the bottom of the falls there is a nice beachy area with plenty of space to sit and relax or have a picnic. The dogs swam a little and enjoyed running around on the beach. There are lots of other resting spots along the trail as well. The rock formations are quite impressive with boulders as large as the ones along the Chattahoochee. The forest was beginning to show some blooms and the rhododendrons were about to pop open. I can't wait until later in spring when all the flowers will be blooming. The only damper on this hike was unfortunately several bad examples of NOT leaving a trace. There was a smoldering fire pit near the waterfall (hello, we are still under Level 2 drought conditions) and waste I would prefer not to write about. I fail to understand why people who enjoy nature enough to go on a 7 mile hike literally think their sh*t doesn't stink. We also saw an abandoned armchair. Again, whyyy??? I don't go into nature so I can be reminded how much I hate humanity.

Reflections on Arizona and my 3 year plan

Like I said in my other post, I’m not really sure vacation is supposed to be a life changing event, but maybe it is…I mean, there is a whole genre of books and movies about (mostly) white women going to exotic places and having their whole worlds change (see “Under the Tuscan Sun”, “Eat, Pray, Love”, “The Holiday”, “Wild”- ok, maybe not a vacation, “How Stella Got Her Groove Back”, “Tracks”- also not a vacation and seriously one of my favorite movies etc etc etc. I think part of the reason why I truly enjoyed Arizona was because we didn’t do anything extravagant yet everything was special. I like to focus on where I am when I am on a trip, not what I am doing. I want to spend more of my life like this.

James and I have been exploring minimalism recently and really want to simplify every aspect of our lives. It sort of started in a material sense when we sold our house in Woodstock and “downsized”. Honestly the house we have now still feels too big. We don’t have a lot of “stuff” anyway, but have slowly been getting rid of things we don’t need. Being vegan also helps; I skip ¾ of the grocery store when shopping and use much simpler recipes.

Our ultimate form of minimalism will come when my student loans are paid off and we can sell our house, thus having no debt. After 10 years at my job, I will be able to qualify for loan forgiveness (Dear Jesus please do not let the political powers that be discontinue the public services student loan forgiveness program). I have 3 years to go. In 2020, I would like to quit my job, sell our house, buy a travel trailer and figure out something new to do for a while. Maybe we'll move a new place, maybe we won't. Maybe I'll still be a social worker, maybe I won't. Maybe I'll be a fire watcher like I wanted to be when I was a kid. Who knows...

Scottsdale Pics

             

Scavenging in Scottsdale

The Grand Hunt

https://www.instagram.com/constructed_adventures/

Chris had a huge event planned for his birthday. He runs a company called Constructed Adventures which plans elaborate scavenger hunts for special occasions (engagements, birthdays, company outings, etc). He puts a lot of heart and soul into the planning and implementation, so it is a truly sentimental experience. He also has a drone so he can film your special event from awesome angles! It is one of the most unique concepts I have ever heard of. As someone who is very rarely surprised by anything, I think Chris could even plan something that would stun me.

So for his birthday, Chris planned a massive scavenger hunt all around downtown Scottsdale with the end goal of the party-goers finding him in a surprise location. It involved lots of walking, drinking, puzzle solving, map reading, socializing and generally acting crazy. It was almost like being in a Judd Apatow movie, running around trying to navigate all these absurd challenges in order to party (think Super Bad). We got to meet tons of new people and literally see all of Scottsdale. Chris’ day job is at a certain online review company and I give this birthday party 5/5 stars!

Sedona Pics

Bell Rock

Airport Vortex

Cathedral Rock

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Views from the Chapel

Boynton Canyon

Midgely Bridge

Oak Creek Canyon

Weekend- Phoenix and Scottsdale

We discovered two great vegan restaurants side by side in Central Phoenix- Green and Nami.  We ate at Green for dinner when we got back from Sedona and then went to Nami for breakfast on Saturday and Sunday mornings. This is definitely not health food but after running around for the past few days, we burned a lot of calories and felt we deserved it.

After breakfast each day we walked up and down the streets surrounding the restaurant, which are all historic neighborhoods full of gorgeous homes on tree lined streets. One side of the street is awesome southwestern influenced Bungalows and the other side is more stately Tudors. We also saw wild lovebirds! At first we didn't believe it, but I looked it up and sure enough certain neighborhoods in Phoenix have flocks of wild lovebirds. This area of Phoenix seems to be the up and coming "hip"(ster) part of town. It reminded me a lot of certain parts of Tampa (i.e. I felt very at home).

We also went to a nifty old diner called MacAlpine’s, which is also home to a huge vintage market. There is an old fashioned soda fountain and a large selection of milkshakes and other retro treats (not vegan, so we didn't try anything). I did buy a vintage turquoise ring from the antique store and the manager there was incredibly knowledgeable and spent a lot of time explaining vintage jewelry to me.

We spent both Saturday and Sunday afternoons in Old Town Scottsdale. I always thought Scottsdale was just a boring suburb of Phoenix, but it is a truly cool town. The old town area is huge, full of art galleries and very upscale. Hardly like the Atlanta suburbs (at least, not the one we live in). The weather was beautiful and perfect for strolling around enjoying the sculptures and landscape. I could seriously see myself living in Scottsdale.

More about our night out in Scottsdale in my next post!

Day 3- Sedona

Fri 2/10/17

Initially, we planned to do a driving tour called the Apache Trail on Friday, but ended up changing plans because our AirBnB hostess mentioned it is a really rough drive and I did not want to chance messing up our rental car. Plenty of websites say it is fine to do in a sedan but our hostess said it’s a very narrow road and people do not drive courteously. The weather was also forecast (at that time) to be bad on the weekend, when we initially planned to go to Sedona, and we felt Sedona was something we did not want to pass up. So we went to Sedona on Friday instead.

We left Phoenix around 8 am and got to Sedona a little before 10 am. It was a very nice drive and hardly felt like 2 hrs.The scenery changes rapidly as you drive north of Phoenix and in no time, amazing desert formations appear. There are intriguing signs along the highway indicating ghost towns (I wanted to stop; James said that's how horror movies start). We also saw some hot air balloons!

I found a basic driving tour online that seemed to hit most of the highlights of Sedona so we roughly followed it. We did skip some sections based on time and/or confusion about what exactly we were looking for.I only referenced the map, not the CD the website mentions.The areas on the tour are:

1 - Bell Rock
2 - Cathedral Rock
3 - Chapel of the Holy Cross
4 - Schnebly Hill Road- skipped (it appeared to be a dirt road and no dirt roads for the rental car)
5 - Airport Vortex
6 - Airport Mesa
7 - West Sedona- skipped (could not really figure what exactly we were looking for)
8 - Boynton Canyon
9 - Upper Red Rock Loop- skipped (in interest of time, wish we hadn't skipped it)
10 - Red Rock Crossing- skipped (in interest of time, wish we hadn't skipped it)
11 - Uptown Sedona
12 - Midgley Bridge
13 - Indian Gardens- skipped (could not find exact location)
14 - Slide Rock- skipped (state park with a $10 fee. We didn't have enough time to truly explore)
15 - West Fork
16 - Upper Oak Creek Vista and Canyon

A lot of the tour areas do require a parking fee and some had very small parking lots.

We at lunch at a lovely café- ChocolaTree- total hippie vibe, raw, vegan, etc. It’s a little outside the main drag of Sedona but was perfectly situated on our tour. It's located between the Airport Vortex and Boynton Canyon.

We saw the bare minimum on our whirlwind tour, but the tour really does take you from the desert to the mountains and I felt like we traveled so much more than we actually did. I would definitely like to return to Sedona and spend time visiting the northern part of Arizona.

Day 3 observations- in AZ, you can go from the desert to snow in a~30 min drive, there is nothing a crystal or vortex can't heal, spring water tastes drastically better than Phoenix city water.

Sedona pics to follow in their own post!