Shell Ridge

I just got back from a bike ride.
After my hike on Tuesday I'm happy I can enjoy my daily workout without pain again!

Maria, a friend of mine, asked me to join her on hikes organized twice a week.
I should have payed more attention to her remark of being 'a little sore' after her first hike with the group.

A 'five-mile-something' sounded as a great way to meet the group.

I was already pleased by their starting speed promising a challenging hike in this hilly terrain.

And there were hills! The sun soon dissolved the cool morning fog.
Also the group got slowly spread out along the trail following the white flour arrows made by Susy, our leader.

We walked uphill, down and up to the ridge and down again...
And still in the power walking pace!
Only a second I thought about my forgotten camera.
I wouldn't be able to take a picture anyway!

I have to admit there was a moment I felt really very bad.
Should I blame Gilbert or admit that I'm in a bad shape?

This was the first time after a hike I was happy to see houses again. Somewhere out there my car was waiting!

I shouldn't have been so stubborn trying to keep up with the leading group.
As for Maria, she is a marathon runner after all!

Stubborn?
I can't wait for my next hike with them!

House Hunting/Shell Ridge/Las Trampas Ridge

The Halloween evening was a big success! It was so agreeably busy. And even though our Halloween decoration was pretty poor (just one pumpkin ;-)) we had at least 150 visitors! I’ve bought a lot of treats but before long we almost run out of everything. Soon I had to mix the sweets with some ‘cuties’. This Czech way was not always appreciated by the little trick-or-treaters but most of the parents liked it.
Maarten was not very happy about the constant visitors flow and absolutely not about the sound of the door bell. His dad had a better time ;-)

Despite the nice Halloween happening we are still not very excited about our neighborhood. (You may have noticed that?) There is also not a specific reason why we would dislike it here. Anyhow we decided to look for another home. We are looking already for several days and our house hunt is quite disappointing till now.

In the meantime Maarten is doing very well at school but it makes him even wilder than ever. His stunts are beyond words. A couple of days ago he chipped another of his front teeth. How can I keep him injury free?!

Last Tuesday I hiked the Shell Ridge in Walnut Creek for the first time. An easy hike just to catch enough breath to have a nice chat with all the ladies of the Ch. walking group.


The weather is still so nice even too warm in the afternoon. We could experience that while hiking the Las Trampas Ridge trail yesterday. It was a little bit hazy but we could still enjoy the views of Mt. Diablo and the valley in all directions. We saw floating hawks at eye level and a small air planes flying low above the valley.
Maarten recognized the forested creek trail and was looking for the ‘cranberries’ like the last time.

When the trail started to climb up to the Vail Peak however Maarten decided to strike. I believe all hikers in the surroundings had to know that. He would insist to be carried in his ‘Snuggli’. Up on the ridge trail he was full of energy again.

The ‘Snuggli’ is far too tempting to Maarten when we have to gain some elevation. Therefore this was the last time ‘Snuggli’ joined us on a hike ;-)