Saturday morning we woke up around 6:30 a.m. after sleeping for about 10 hours!  The kids, especially n, have come a long way in their ability to sleep in the tent. 

D insisted that I take a picture of the sunrise.

After our breakfast (pastries from Dudley’s and applesauce), we started on our hike of Palm Canyon Trail at 7:15 a.m.  According to the pamphlet, “The Palm Canyon Nature Trail is a three-mile round trip walk featuring a native palm oasis.” 

Wow—1 gallon of water minimum per person?  We didn’t heed the warning, but fortunately we did end up with enough.  D had his water belt that he uses for running, another bottle in his cargo pocket and I had extra water/juice in my bag.  The water belt was quite handy for the kids because they could take the water whenever they needed it and did not spill due to the pop tops. 

We were ill-prepared, however, in regards to k’s shoes.  I knew her shoes were getting ratty, but had no idea she actually had a hole on the bottom! 

Ocotillo plant.  I know this because the pamphlet was conveniently numbered to correspond with 15 stakes along the hike.  This was a nice way to learn more about our surroundings.  The stakes also helped us make sure we were on the path and gave the kids a guide as to how much further we had to go. 

While not too strenuous, the trail is not always clearly marked, and there are many rocks to climb.

The lone plant we saw that had flowers.  I believe it is a desert willow. 

What a heavy rock. 

k kept on stopping to say, “What a view!” 

As you can see, there were many rocks to climb over.  I was completely amazed how well k and n did.  k, the girl who we were still pushing in a stroller not too long ago, led the way for much of the way, and did not complain.  n, the boy that usually wants to be carried after a block or so, made it all the way to the oasis, scrambling over rocks, trying to keep up with k.  (He did get tired on the way back, and it was hotter, so D carried him for much of the return trip).

We were at the second to the last stake, #14.  The pamphlet states, “Step lively, water and cool shade await you!”  We were stepping lively, we could see the palm grove in the distance, but we could not find the final stake!  At this point, we had not seen another human being since we began our hike.  The sun was growing hotter, and I was having second thoughts about whether this hike was such a good idea.  I was having flashbacks of our Utah hike where we ended up in snow—how do we get ourselves into these situations? 

However, in the end, we did make it to the last stake, #15.  We saw the California fan palm and a marsh, but it wasn’t really the oasis that I expected.  Maybe during other seasons there is more water?

Seeing these palm trees in the middle of the desert is quite a sight, though. 

We found a shady spot and refueled with some snacks, juice and water.  On our way back, we did run into a couple of groups just starting out.  None of them had kids, and I think they probably thought we were a little crazy.  The hike ended up taking us 2.5 hours to complete.  It was definitely our most ambitious hike as a family, and I look forward to many more.

On the way home, we stopped by at Julian Pie Company again to pick up a Apple Mountain Berry Crumb pie to share with my parents that night.

A sweet way to end our excursion. 

Julian was a bit of a bust.  By the time went, the vast majority of the orchards were closed for the season.  The Main Street was small, and we had already had our apple pie in San Ysabel.  (If we ever go again, I would like to try the apple pie at Mom’s, just for comparison’s sake).  There were a handful of shops selling random knick knacks, including a store called Nick’s Knacks-haha. 

The kids kept saying they wanted to get to the camping portion of our trip, so after walking up and down Main Street, we got back in the car. 

Not too long thereafter, the traffic was stopped:

There was road work going on, and they were only letting traffic through one way at a time.  The kids were becoming increasingly antsy during our 20 minute wait.

Finally, we made it.  We used the seemingly new and very clean restroom facilities at the parking lot of the Visitor’s Center.  What struck me about the park was the quietness. 

We had watched a Huell Howser show on the Visitor’s Center, so D was doing his best Huell impression.  It is neat how the building blends into the landscape.

Even though Anza Borrego is the largest state park in California, neither D or I had heard of it before going on Soarin’ Over California at Disney California Adventure. 

Inside there were some displays and a movie that plays at irregular intervals (basically, they start it up when there’s people who are interested).  The movie went through the seasons and mentioned that fall is the season of the tarantula.  That made me somewhat uneasy, but luckily we did not meet any during our stay. 

I did want to see a big horned sheep, but none of those were to be found, either.

Yesterday k had the day off from school so we did a mini getaway.  At first I thought about going to Julian, but since it is kind of far for a day trip, we made it into an overnight trip by camping in Anza Borrego State Park. 

Our first stop was San Ysabel, which is just outside of Julian, for lunch.  We went to Dudley’s Famous Bakery for sandwiches.  We ordered one of their specials, which was roast beef on jalapeno cheddar bread and one custom turkey/ham/cheddar for the kids, $7.99 each.  Luckily, we just beat two tour buses that made a stop.  There were plenty of tables to eat at, so that was nice. 

It was windy, as you can tell.

The meat to bread ratio in the roast beef sandwich was too high for my liking.  It was tasty, though.  The kids’ sandwich was just a normal sandwich, and since it was the same price, I would go for one of their specials.

Yes, we brought our own chips and drinks because we’re frugal like that.

Just across the parking lot is an outlet of Julian Pie Company.  I had read this location is bigger than the one in Julian, and less crowded, so we made this our second stop.  We shared a slice of dutch apple pie (warmed up) with cinnamon ice cream.

I guess you can’t really see the pie under the ice cream, but trust us, it was good.

Next stop: Julian & Anza Borrego

After church we stopped by the Discovery Museum.  We stopped at one station with a craft that I didn’t quite understand.  The volunteer was trying to explain it but I didn’t really get it.  It’s just a popsicle stick with an eraser cap on either end with a string tied around one end. 

D sort of saw someone playing with it so we tried it out at home. 

Cool, right?  Just make sure there’s plenty of room so you don’t whack someone in the head.

This morning we met up with cousin j at the Great Park for the annual Halloween event.  It was a good motivation for me to make sure I didn’t procrastinate in getting the kids’ costumes ready.  It also makes the effort of costumes more worth it since they are able to use them for more than one day. 

The weather was overcast with a few sprinkles that luckily did not turn into anything more. 

We enjoyed the trick or treating, carnival games, craft stations and pumpkin patch.  The best part is that there is only a $10 parking fee and then everything is free.  D always likes telling the friendly A Phi O volunteers that we were in A Phi O back in the day. 

Just realized I didn’t take a picture of n where you can see his “wings”.  I’ll have to remember to take another picture on Halloween.

What a serious, but cute hamburger!

These are the pumpkins the kids picked.  n insisted that he wanted a small one, which ended up being a good thing since we ended up hauling so much stuff around in our wagon.

Right after the OCFA Open House we went to an event being held in the REI parking lot which I heard about through an e-mail.  I earned some points with D because the focus of the event was skiing—free issues of SKI magazine and Park City bottle openers.  The kids were happy because there was shave ice. 

Corner Bakery also provided iced tea, lemonade, sandwiches, fruit and sweets.  There was also a face painter and balloon artist, but we only did the photo booth.

Love finding fun, free events!

We’ve been to a couple of police department open houses before, but on Saturday we went to our first fire station open house.  We arrived early, but there were already a lot of people.  It is quite the popular event!

The campus is quite large.  I was always curious about the eternal flame statute I can see when driving by.  It is a 9/11 memorial.

Better angle.

The kids got to meet Sparky.  Smokey the Bear also made an appearance.

The garage was open for touring.  They also had fire engine rides, but the line was too long.  Maybe next year.  I was hoping for a tour of the living quarters, but I don’t think one was available.  We also collected a lot of swag-literature, pens, pot holder, etc. and enjoyed the free hot dogs, chips and water.

My mom showed the kids how to make scarecrow cookies.  They were a big hit, and very cute.

Yesterday before church k decided to cut n’s bangs without telling anyone.  It was bound to happen at some point, I guess. 

Both D and I turned another year older last month.  We are now both officially in our mid-30’s.  For my birthday, I asked for a shelf from Container Store—my family of origin chipped in along with D.  Funny how I used to want clothes/make-up and now I would rather have things that help me organize my house. 

We had a smaller bookcase before, but since we use this area as our “landing pad”, I thought a bigger space would serve our needs better.

I could not resist this tissue box from Target’s Up & Up line.  So cute for fall.  Next to it is a Glade Expressions air freshener I received from Bzz Agent.  The scent is Fuji Apple and I really like the fragrance.  My mom said it smells like a boutique.  I don’t usually like air freshener scents, but this one is slightly sweet and spicy, and is also good for fall.  Ah, fall, my favorite season.  So glad that the weather is starting to cool down.  

My brother gave me the book “Born to Run” for my birthday.  I didn’t know what to expect.  But when I started to read it, I stopped reading the other book that I was reading at the time, because “Born to Run” was so riveting.  It is actually rare that I read a book at all, so reading two books at once is very rare for me.  But once I started to read “Born to Run”, I looked forward to reading the book at night.  I wonder if I had read more as a kid, I would have done better on the SATs.
Anyway, the book helped propel the barefoot shoe craze, and brought light to the reclusive Tarahumara tribe in the Copper Canyons in Mexico.  It was entertaining, but also instructive.  I made some changes since reading the book.  I try to keep my back straight, land on the mid-foot of my feet instead of my heel, and try to keep my strides short.  I also am planning to move full time to my lighter race shoes.  I usually run in the Asics 2100 series and race in the Asics DS Trainers.  However, I am planning on running full time in the trainers. 
However, most importantly, after reading the book, I remembered why I love running so much.  I sometimes get caught up in just trying to improve my time, and training gets boring and tiring.  However, I appreciate the blessing God has given me to allow me to run without major injury and to run in a beautiful country.