Happiness Is…

Posted by iluv2xplore

Happiness is…

*Hiking in my FAV Bay Area locale – Marin Headlands/Mount Tam – with friends

*Anemones, anemones, and even MORE anemones lurking in the South Beach tide pools

*Purple and orange starfish hiding amongst the thousands upon thousands of crabs and millions upon million of mussels

*Puerto Rican dining at San Rafael’s finest, the VERY TASTY Sol Food

*Inspirational, educational and just downright HYSTERICAL conversations with friends

*Natural beauty… of which the Bay Area has more than its fair share

*Eleven and 1/4 miles of BEAUTIFUL Mount Tam trails – Coastal, Heather Cutoff, Owl, Redwood Creek,…

*South Beach and Slide Ranch – with its ECLECTIC assortment of animals including white Silkie chickens, Ancona ducks, bee hives, and lots of tide pools

*Spiritual retreat center – the PEACEFUL Zen Center Gardens – the perfect spot to catch hundreds of Monarch butterflies enjoying flower nectar while en route to Mexico
*Introducing older and newer FRIENDS from various facets of my life – and even meeting a few new faces

*Sunday afternoon and evening BLISS!

Why I LOVE the Bay Area…

Thanks Wayland, Kim, Emma, Andrei, Roxana, Hector, Carolina, Jesus, Jean, Yan, Vik, Manuel, Zach, Ann, Radu, Lara, Ron, Sajjad, and Catherine for helping make the day spectacular!! 😘

#iluv2xplore #BayArea #GoldenGateNationalRecreationArea #GGNRA #Mount Tam #MarinHeadlands #MuirBeach #MuirBeachOverlook #SlideRanch #SouthBeach #NCAL #California #dreamexplorediscover #hikingbackpacking #naturalbeauty #nature #whyILOVEtheBayArea

2015-Sept-27: One of many happy moments spending the day with friends wandering the countless Mount Tam trails

To Lure… lo͝or… To Tempt… tem(p)t…

Posted by iluv2xplore

I really think the Sierras and Mother Nature were in cahoots this weekend… The Sierras teased me – MERCILESSLY – with their undeniable BEAUTY while Mother Nature tested my love of the Sierras by showcasing a wide range of elements – from sunny/partly cloudy to rain, sleet, snow, and hail. Yep… Almost marble sized… Thankfully, Mother Nature played nice most of Sunday, only tossing rain and hail at us a few times for ~5 minutes each time, and then immediately returning to relatively warm temperatures (for the mountain region) and sunny/partly cloudy skies. The Sierras did what they do best – lure you deeper into the wilderness with more and more SPECTACULAR scenery. And I am a sucker for a really good landscape – even sans DSLR camera as it decided to throw a silent tantrum after experiencing rain and snow the day before. We ended up hiking the entire 12.5 mile Rush Creek Trail loop from Silver Lake to Gem Lake, over Agnew Pass (~9,900 ft), and through Spooky Meadow. Sadly, my iPhone photos don’t do the Ansel Adams Wilderness justice 😥. My heart still skips a beat or two as I recall some of the MAGNIFICENT views…

2015-May-24: Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA. 12.5 mile Rush Creek Trail loop from Silver Lake to Gem Lake, over Agnew Pass (~9,900 ft), and through Spooky Meadow.

Although I am deeply in LOVE with the Marin Headlands/Mount Tam, I must admit that my LOVE for the Sierras is growing… Yosemite, Inyo National Forest, and Ansel Adams Wilderness, I am greatly anticipating our next play date 😘.

2015-May-24: Ansel Adams Wilderness, CA. 12.5 mile Rush Creek Trail loop from Silver Lake to Gem Lake, over Agnew Pass (~9,900 ft), and through Spooky Meadow.

On Top of Marin

Posted by iluv2xplore

The day started on a high… with a steep, 1600+ foot ascent above the fog to the East Peak of Mount Tamalpais (aka Mount Tam), the highest point in Marin (at ~2,570 feet) with a few of my FAV nature loving, hiking peeps 😘.

sights… NATURAL Beauty… 13.5 mile hike to the East Peak of Mount Tamalpais. The day started on a high and ended on a high – with lots of LOVELY things in between… I couldn’t ask for a better day! Good trails… Good views… Good friends… Good fun… Why I LOVE the Bay Area…

The day ended on a high… with a steep, 600+ foot ascent back to our starting point through groves of redwood and oak trees with a few of my FAV nature loving, hiking peeps 😘. (And those that know me, know there are two things I try my best to avoid: (1) out and back hikes, and (2) ending with a climb – especially after a VERY long day of hiking 😬).

There were lots of LOVELY things in between… the PHENOMENAL 360° views of the entire Bay Area from the peak… the BEAUTIFUL trails that I had never explored (especially Troop 80, Sierra, and Lost)… the PEACEFUL rippling of the rushing Fern Creek and Redwood Creek waters… the UNEXPECTED sighting of several hummingbirds as they zipped between the trees…

And the icing on the cake… replenishment at my FAV SF sushi joint with a few of my FAV nature loving, hiking peeps 😘.

I couldn’t ask for a better day! Good trails… Good views… Good friends (the nature loving, hiking kind)… Good sushi… Good saké… Good fun… Why I LOVE the Bay Area…

#whyiLOVEthebayarea #iluv2xplore #dreamexplorediscover #naturalbeauty #mounttam #mounttamalpais #marin #eastpeakview

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