Fall creek state park

The plan for the long weekend was rest rest and more rest, with some yoga thrown in. However, the hiking group decided that the best recovery is to just get back on the trail when I have been declared to be able to breathe again normally.

If the wife says I am hike worthy.. then guess I am..

We left at 7AM to drive to Scotts valley / Felton area to Henry Cowell state park area. There is a Fall creek state park as part of this elaborate complex of parks.

We hiked the big ben tree trail, the lost empire trail and a few other trails. It was interesting. Four plus miles of downhill and an almost non stop climb back up. Not exactly a starter hike for a guy who has been wondering where all oxygen was going after it passed through his nose.

There were Zero benches on this trail. So no bench photos.. I did stop a lot to take pictures..

There was plenty of water in the creek and the waterfalls were amazing!

The trees, the berries, the banana slugs, it was an interesting hike.. and the mosquitos..

standing inside the hollow of a burnt out tree that still stands is an amazing experience. These trees are hundreds of years old!

After the hike we stopped on the way in Felton at Ambrosia to get some Indian buffet.. have not had a buffet lunch in a long time. There was a lot of stuff for non-veg folks. I did not get my money’s worth, but the food was great! The daal and naan were fantastic.

Here is a video highlights reel..

A few things about this hike. It is not 8 miles. It is closer to 10. So don’t believe the comments on websites. The hike is moderately hard at places. It was pleasant and a better me would have had a lot more fun. Finally, there is plenty to see on this trail and it is mostly shaded. No benches but plenty of amazing views and the creeks full of water added vibrant views.

We might visit other trails in this state park area soon!

A weekend getaway with friends to Bodega Bay

For over 20 years we have wanted to visit Bodega bay. An old friend and colleague Kevin kept raving about this place after spending a weekend there with his wife. The opportunity never came. In early April, our friends called us to join them for a weekend at Windor (same area). They had access to a timeshare. We drove the two plus hours on a rainy Friday evening to Windsor. It was a cute apartment. Even if we did not go anywhere outside and were just chatting it would have still been a great weekend.

The trips to Bodega bay, the local estuary walk, telling them about the bench photo tradition, lunch at a Nepalese place in Sebastapol, visiting Healdsburg, spending time at a bookstore there followed by some delicious ice cream, walking in the rain and drizzle through the streets and art galleries there… all of that was just extra. Every family has a crazy person and a sane person.. you would have come to that conclusion if all our conversations were overheard.

We had fun!

More pics.. The late lunch at Namaste Kitchen was delicious! The ice cream and hot cocoa on a rainy afternoon at Noble folks in Healdsburg was out of the world!

Walking in Sebastopol on Florence avenue to admire the junk art was a great exprience. We met Patrick Amiot and thanked him for his creations!

while walking around the place we saw a very real reminder of current events.

A video highlights reel..

We are all getting to a different phase of our lives with the kids becoming young adults. It is great to feel young again.. only friends can do that with effortless ease!

Here is to many more getaways! The kids are probably rolling their eyes as they read this.. but will take that!

Wrapping up a magical trip with a sunset over Lisbon

The previous post in this series is here..

Our tourguide decided to drive through the Bangladeshi/Indian area of Lisbon before dropping us off in the Baixa square. The place had a ridiculous population density. Our guide told us that folks in this area live through a horror story but no one seems to be able to do anything about it!

We walked back towards our hotel area to the nicest Indian restaurant in Baixa, Swaagat. San made good on her promise. The food was just Amazing as was the ambience! It was not too expensive compared to the other places we tried either. Just fantastic!

After dinner, we decided to walk up the hill to see the sunset. There was a church which was part of the places to see in Lisbon that we missed the previous day. So off we went, walked to the Church, took pictures and found a spot among the crowed to take in the sunset. There is a timelapse video that is embedded within the video at the end of this post..

It was an evening to remember. Walking back (San ran back and as usual was catching up to her) chatting about the place, enjoying the tiled facades of every house on the hillside.. we packed up our stuff and got all set for our return early the following morning.

I have really enjoyed reliving this trip from last July over the entire year in bits and pieces. We covered so many places across Europe, had a fun time together and I got to watch my bride smile and dance and be a kid again after so many years. The whole thing was planned by her. All I had to do was follow and take pictures and videos. Happy wife, happy life! Also I lucked out big time with this girl. Some divine intervention got us together and for that I am forever grateful!

25 years has almost become 26 over the course of writing this blog series. In two weeks it will be yet another wedding anniversary! The last year has been a blur, but after writing this series of posts, I am really looking forward to the next many anniversaries.

A video highlights reel of our last evening in Lisbon to wrap up a fantastic trip!

On another note, the blog can now cover other things outside this trip..