I Am A Mountaineer - Visiting Idyllwild

Anyone who REALLY knows me will tell you that one of my favorite words is "sale."  I think I have a genetic predisposition to not pay full price for anything.  My husband does not understand and will question why I will spend 50 cents on gas to drive to save a nickle.  He doesn't get that for me, it is a matter of principle not economy!  But he was quite happy with my skill at acquiring a very bargain price for a 2 night stay at a "boutique motel" through Living Social, the online business that offers daily deals and discounts on everything from a Pilates class to spa treatments to "escapes!"  And escape we did for three days and two nights to Idyllwild, CA in the mountains of Riverside County, less than 2 hours away from home.

I had never been to Idyllwild but Jay remembered it as a very pleasant laid-back mountain village and he knew I would like it.

We stayed at the Strawberry Creek Bunkhouse, located right on the main highway that runs through Idyllwild.

While nothing fancy it had many "boutique" amenities that made us feel like welcomed guests.  There was a chilled bottle of champagne from a local vineyard waiting for us.  Our tiny room had a tiny balcony in the back that overlooked the forested mountainside.

Each morning at 9 a knock on the door indicated a basket outside holding scones still warm from the oven, with homemade lemon curd, apples, oatmeal packets and juice.

We did what we tend to do when go off on a trip.  We spend the time together...we walk, we talk, we read side by side,

We enjoyed sitting in the front reading!

we discover bookstores,

find the local library

and each night we look forward to trying a new restaurant for dinner.  Our find this trip was Cafe Aroma, a restaurant cum art gallery cum jazz venue.  Our dinner was wonderful and we sat outside on the deck

as we enjoyed the Tuesday night live Jazz entertainment

and discovered a new wine!

We relaxed, relished the fresh air and the slow pace, and even found time to stop at the local Pizza Company to watch the LA Kings win the first Stanley Cup Finals play-off game.

As wonderful as the time was, it also included some sobering realizations. When we checked into the motel, we noticed a small wooden arrow with the words "Trail" stenciled on it. Thinking we would take a walk in the woods before going to dinner, we headed in the direction that the arrow pointed to the backside of the motel.  Soon we found ourselves on a very steep incline of steps heading down toward the sound of water...must be Strawberry Creek!  However, our enthusiasm was quickly tempered as we began to navigate the steps.  They were deep steps...maybe 18 inches to 2 feet.  The area between each step sloped down making slipping on the fine gravel a possibility.  We slowed our step, became cautious...hesitant.  We reached for each other's hands.  After about 7 or 8 steps, we looked around and decided to stop and sit.

We looked at each other with the growing awareness that at one time we would have bounded down these steps.  We were no longer frisky colts!  We tried to tell each other it was OK.  We know we are young at heart and young in spirit.  We are not old...old is the always the age that you haven't gotten to yet! But there was a sense of foreboding lurking....  We are no longer as invincible as we perceived ourselves to be in the past.  Anna Quindlen writes that when she senses the aging she feels many things, and one of them is frightened...not frightened of death, but of weakness and incapacity.  So we turned around and retraced our steps back to higher, level ground.

And the next day we went in search of other trails we could navigate with more ease.  We stopped at the Idyllwild Nature Center and walked the perimeter trail to the Center where we enjoyed their displays and videos of the native Indian cultures that inhabited these mountains.  There was a spring in our step as we felt the fresh breeze, listened to the birds and spotted scurrying lizards.  Maybe that is what life is about for us now...searching for new paths...finding new trails.

Life is good!