Three additional miles

The most recent hike was to Saratoga gap trail and on to the long ridge loop trail. 

The plan, as explained to me by my darling wife, much along the lines of a squadron leader explaining the simple plan to attack the death star and return.. was to go through the gap trail and then to a point along the long ridge trail and return. Total miles approximately 7 and total elevation 1400 feet. 

I played along like a true rebel soldier and went along.. then the plan changed to doing the loop on the long ridge trail through a creekside walk and for a good 2 hours I kept hearing we were only 3 miles from the parking lot. 

At one point all I wanted was to see the car. We left before sunrise to start the hike and given my 60 day challenge and my inability to hydrate while being asleep, the extra three miles became quite a challenge. 

To top things off, had to come home and do a yoga class, which actually went better than my expectations. 

The gap and long ridge trail are actually beautiful and there is a turtle rock point with amazing views. However, there is a however.. there is a long stretch of the trail with no tree cover and if you are walking under the sun after having walked 8 miles, it can get to you. So if you are like me, take a water bottle on this one, wear a proper cap and pace yourself. 

This is one hike I feel would be better for late afternoon so that the return is in the shade!

Here are the pictures..

Usually I dont do stuff like this.. but with some encouragement I decided to do a small jump off that rock..

The trails alternate between shade and sun throughout..

The rolling hills have a view that is great in the earlier part of the day

by the time we were coming back on the loop through the creek, the sun was reflecting off the water trickles. this part of the trail is vibrant!

the trickles all add up to a lake.. there is a Zen budhist center inside the park. We walked along the lake and took pictures..

That was my last smile for another hour or so when I realized that there was still 3 miles to go.. 

In any case, all is well that ends well and after two days of enough hydration and yoga, I was back to my normal self.  My gums have also recovered resonably well now. 

Have also come to the realization that if I walk every day for 30 minutes at least, these weekend hikes are more bearable. If I skip walking because of the rainy weather for a few days, these things become ordeals. 

Practice makes perfect.. 

Here's to more hikes!

A busy day in the life of Jr.

It was a case of bad planning. Daddy committing to take Jr. to a parade in Los Gatos with the school band without knowing that her dance school annual day program was on the same day!

She insisted on going to the parade inspite of the rain. Really didn't want to take a chance with the rain and get sick again, but you cannot deny a 10 year old when she begs. So off we went, and got wet in the rain and I had the added pleasure of walking back a mile and a half with a camera and saxophone hanging from my neck!

She thought it was worth it!

 This position of neck down and playing an alto-sax within a poncho had consequences for the second part of the day..

 The place was colorful and it was nice for folks who were sitting in shelter watching the parade.. not so for the kids or parents running alongside taking pictures!

 Came back home and had exactly one hour to get ready for her dance performance. We had a lot of help in the dressing up from our family friend and the end result was ?

Daddy tearing up seeing Jr. all grown up. This is the first time she is wearing the traditional dance dress instead of a paavaadai!

Had to rotate the picture by 15 degrees to make her look straight. She could not hold her neck straight..

She looked great. Just had to dance well..

She did all the steps well. The hands were good. The feet did their job, but...

She went through the motions. There was simply no smile. Even hindi movie heroines who are forced to dance in front of villains before the climax have better smiles than Jr.'s and that got her to face mommy's wrath for a good hour!

and daddy's advice session as well.. Daddy learnt early on in his ballroom dancing days that even if you falter with your footwork, a smile goes a long way with the judges! Granted this was not a competition and there were no judges but when your parents and extended family get to watch it in photos and video... there has to be a smile!

Next year, there will be a calendar system in the house that avoids such conflicts and doesn't push the kids to such extremes.. 

and we will have a smile before, at and after the performance! 

Sometimes I think we push our kids too much but then again, we got a lot more excercise compared to Jr. and the little one because we played outdoors all the time instead of sit in front of an iPad.

All said and done.. she did break our heart being sooo cute.

Fantasy of Lights - Vasona Park

One of the local parks here (Vasona park in Los Gatos) has a Fantasy of Lights event where they put nice Christmas light displays and you drive through them at <5 miles per hour with the matching music to go on a local radio station.

The light displays were amazing! The kids were initially entertained, but they were not happy with the open passenger side window. While it accomodated the photo/videographer, it made the van too cold for their liking. This was followed by questions like

"how much longer do we have to drive like this?"
"are we going to stay here forever?"

etc. etc..

It is a good idea to teach your kids a few patience lessons before taking them on this drive...

Here is a video and some photos of the trip.

Thoroughly enjoyable!!

.