Westlake Village Getaway

Jyoti and I took little getaway this weekend up to the L.A. area.  Jo found a good Travel Zoo deal for the Westlake Village Inn.

We headed up Saturday morning and avoided any traffic.  In Santa Monica, we stopped at a Starbucks for a pit stop and then visited our favorite wine store from our L.A. days, The Wine House.

Our next stop was a hike at Paramount Ranch.  This park was featured in an episode of California’s Gold and looked like a neat area.  In the parking, we noticed the huge number of ground squirrels; Sophie would love this place!  The first thing on the hike was the western town.  A movie set, the town was pretty impressive especially since it is open to anyone who wants to walk through it.  We then continued on our loop hike and ended up doing about 3 miles.

We next drove a short distance to the Reagan Ranch.  One of Ronald Reagan’s former properties, it serves as a trailhead to the MASH set.  We only did a mile here since the weather started to get windy and cold.

After leaving the ranch, we drove west along Mulholland Highway.  We passed some very nice mountain communities and passed the legendary Rock Store biker café.  Just past the café, we stopped at a hairpin turn to check out the views.  There were also some photographers there taking pictures of the bikers and cars making the curve.  We took the highway all the way down to the beach.  From there, we turned right and headed along the coast.  Rather than get back on the freeway, we chose to take back roads to return to Westlake Village.  However, these back roads had the city on one side and the park on the other; not very scenic, but better than the 101 freeway.

We got back just in time to check in to our room which was very large, with a high ceiling, a comfy couch next to a even comfier bed.  There was a gas fireplace but it was more decorative than functional.

Part of the TZ deal, we got a free wine tasting at their new wine bar, Stonehaus.  The flight featured five of their private label wines, wines that we greatly enjoyed.  We got a couple of others off their modest list including a local Los Angeles County Chardonnay, its grapes grown in Malibu, a wine that turned out surprisingly good.  They also had a great cheese plate and graciously left off the crackers to appease our grain-free palates.  We then headed over to the hotel restaurant, mediterraneo.  I ordered a fabulous roasted chicken and Jyoti go the tuna.  We overdid it and ordered two desserts.  It was nice to have a long, lazy evening without having to worry about getting back to something.

The next morning, we ate again at mediterraneo.  I had the yogurt and granola while Jyoti had the oatmeal.  I normally don’t eat breakfast but the yogurt was quite good.  After breakfast we headed on back to Encinitas.  Traffic was very light and we only needed a single Starbucks stop.

I highly recommend the Westlake Village Inn.  They have a golf course, banquet facilities, great restaurants and a friendly staff.  Being located so close to the mountains, you can get some great hikes in as well.  I would love to visit the mountains again in the near future for more hikes.

SDA Winter Formal

SDA has their Winter Formal this past weekend.  Jaya joined a large group of kids who arranged for a bus to take them to the event and back.  Prior to, we had dinner at Buca di Bepo with two of the other families that also had kids going to the event.  Jaya looked great in her black dress, curls and Converse All-Stars.

JMT Permit

Today, I submitted the permit application for my July JMT trip and received confirmation.  More to come!

San Jacinto Snow Day

Troop 774 spent the day up at San Jacinto to get some training on snow skills.  We drove up Sat. morning and hit the tram up to the top.

The weather was pretty good.  The temperatures were in the 40’s with a bit of sun; no snow but there was some light mist and rain.

At the trailhead, we got the scouts into the snowshoes.  For most, including myself, it was the first time in snowshoes.  For the most part, it was pretty straight forward, but it was a challenge towing the sleds around logs and rocks.  As we started down the trail, many found they had not tightened their shoes enough and we stopped for adjustments quite often.  The snow was spotty in places so we were walking over mud or dirt for short lengths.  We hiked the Desert View Trail for about .75 miles to the second notch.  Unfortunately, the clouds and fog obscured the views down to the valley.

We then took off the shoes and the kids started playing in the snow.  We also started work on an igloo using the Ice Box kit.  The kit was contraption that build snow bricks in a precise circle.  As the walls grew in height, the box tilted and the diameter shortened to make the structure.  The kids were a bit annoyed at having to shovel so much snow but the end result was terrific!  We then got some hot drinks and ramen going to keep everyone warm.

After a while, some of the scouts started to get cold and wet.   So we had some clothing changes and then headed back to the tram station. 

Sunday Activities

• Checked out San Dieguito Heritage Museum – spoke to the friendly docents; it will be nice when they get the next set of structures in place
• Watched “WarGames” with the kids – don’t think they were too impressed with the computer equipment

NC Times RIP

The UT acquired the North County times last year and they recently removed the nctimes.com website and the URL redirects to the North County section of the new UT site.  I enjoyed the NC Times as a different, more down to earth option to the UT.  While I read them both, it is sad to have only one major new outlet now.

The Wayback Machine has the old site captured for posterity.

Books

My holiday reading:

• AMC Guide to Outdoor Leadership: Trip Planning * Group Dynamics * Decision Making * Leading Youth * Risk Management by Alex Kosseff - a fabulous book on leadership, not just of the outdoors
• The Way We Were in San Diego by Richard Crawford - book of reprints from old UT columns; pretty interesting anecdotes and very light reading
• The Real Lincoln: A New Look at Abraham Lincoln, His Agenda, and an Unnecessary War by Thomas DiLorenzo - a very interesting look at Abraham Lincoln;  I enjoyed the analysis of Lincoln's speeches and writings but didn't buy all of DiLorenzo's conclusions
• Day and Section Hikes Pacific Crest Trail: Southern California (Day & Section Hikes) by David Money Harris - can't wait to get on the trail with these intriguing short-term and day hikes

Weekend Activities

• Bengt had sculpture class and we hung out at Vinaka's
• Gun Appreciation Day at Iron Sights
• 6.5 mile hike up the eastern approach to Woodson Mountain and back via the Fry trail

Weekend Activities

• Bengt and Paki's hot air balloon ride 

• Hike and run with Sophie at Cardiff; the recent storms are take out a small piece of the parking lot
• 7 mile urban hike; blisters flared up even with the friction stick
• Tried out Stone Flats - pizza was good (I had the gluten-free dough); wings were awesome

Huell Howser RIP

Huell Howser passed away over the weekend.  I loved watching his shows from my college days in early 90's.  My kids have also enjoyed watching it as well.  I believe his shows will become a valuable historical reference for many years to come.

Some of my favorite episodes include:

Mono Lake

Kelp

China Clipper

Sub-net

Yosemite Railroad

Sinatra's House

Road Trip - Coast Highway

Road Trip - Mariposa

A lot has been written about his passing:

LA Times

KCET Socal Connected

KCET

The full archives can be found at Chapman College.

Weekend Activities

• Work day at St. A's
• Twelfth Night party

Carpinteria Camping

After spending Christmas with the family in Orange County, we headed up the coast for a few nights of camping at Carpinteria State Beach near Santa Barbara.

• Hike along the beach
• Explored the first section of the Mt. Montecito trail - priceless views from the overlook
• Explored the amazing asphalt still bubbling up from the bluffs
• Hit some great restaurants
• Did the tourist thing on the SB pier - it was boring
• Visited the Maritime Museum which was great

Weekend Activities

• Hit Cowles Mountain for the first time.  I wanted to see how my glute and hamstring held up.

• Balboa Park: Model Railroad Museum, San Diego History Museum
• Lunch at Slaters 50/50 in Liberty Station
• San Salvador building site at Spanish Landing Park

Weekend Activities

• Holiday parties
• Hike at Lake Hodges with lunch at Hernandez' Hideaway

Thanksgiving in Baltimore

My brother recently moved to Baltimore to accept a new position.  It is a great deal for him but moving to an unknown place is tough on the family.

We packed a ton in to the week:

• Gettysburg National Battlefield

• Museum of Visionary Artists
• Edgar Allan Poe memorial
• Spy Museum

Not to mention the eating, shopping, etc.

My uncle and his family including cousins from all over Virginia came for Thanksgiving.  It was an awesome family reunion.

Weekend Activities

• Battle of San Pascual re-enactment - Bengt made a hand-dipped candle and a corn husk doll he named "Corntez", we also picked up a iron bottle opener made the blacksmith as we watched

Books

More books...

• From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History by Kenneth J. Hammond - a good audiobook primer on Chinese history
• The Everything Guide to Edgar Allan Poe Book: The life, times, and work of a tormented genius (Everything (Biography)) by Shelley Costa Bloomfield – a great book on Poe that read in preparation for our recent Baltimore trip
• Edgar Allan Poe: Poetry and Tales (Library of America) by Edgar Allan Poe - read the highlights

Colorado River Trek

This past weekend, Troop 774 took a canoe trek down the Colorado River.  I had taken canoe training with the council but had never been on the river.  Most of the others were new to it as well.  We had a skills training day earlier so everyone knew what to expect.

We headed up Friday evening.  I was the first one to arrive at the our base camp at Park Moabi.  After grabbing a camp site, the others slowly trickled in until late at night.

In the morning, the outfitters (Jerkwater) showed up with the canoes.  They gave us a safety and navigation briefing and we headed off to the departure point.  We put in at a park in Needles.  The idea was to canoe back to base camp today, then float the gorge on Sunday.  Bengt and I were in the point and the float down was great but uneventful.  The only drawback was the view.  The river is below grade for most of this section, so you can’t really see anything.  When we got to the entry for the Moabi, the wind was picking up and we had to drag the canoes back up to the camp from the shore.  We had an awesome dinner and campfire before everyone headed to bed.

Sunday morning, we got an early start so we could make our exit time.  Everyone was excited as we floated under the bridge and entered Topok Gorge.  The gorge had great scenery!  We made a rest stop on a sand bar then made a lunch stop at the petroglyphs.  Since we were in the point, we had to find the path through the reeds to get to Castle Rock.  It was harder than it sounds but we finally found it.  It was so narrow we could hardly paddle.  For the day, we got lucky since we had the wind at our backs and we got to Castle Rock early.  We called Jerkwater and they can and picked us up.

Before heading out on the long ride home, we had one snafu.  One dad lost his car keys.  Since it was a rental, he need to get a tow to Las Vegas and get a new car on Monday.  But I lent him my cell phone and we had plenty of food for them so it worked out great.

Can’t wait for the next trip out there.

Books

• Before 1776 - another wonderful installment in the Great Course series for my commute
• 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann - very enlightening book on the Columbian Exchange
• Estate Planning Basics by Denis Clifford - good intro to the confusing world of estate planning
• Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse by Peter D. Schiff - had some decent spots but the advice wasn't to my liking

Weekend Activities

• Bengt got his blue-green belt!
• Dog walks at Pipe and lagoon nature center
• Moonlight Beach time
• Birthday dinner at Greek American