I Am A Walker - Right In My Own Backyard

After spending a week in Barcelona where we walked an average of 6 miles a day, I came home determined to maintain my new physical endurance by walking every day I could.  With my pedometer on my waist, I set out first thing in the morning so I won’t get waylaid by the computer, the newspaper, my knitting…first things first!

Over the week I have renewed my love and appreciation for where I live.  It is a little piece of paradise and it is right in my own backyard!  I set off down the hill from my house, with my eyes on the ocean ahead of me.  

I have discovered that there is a multitude of morning activities in our park that I have never noticed before.  I walk past the dog park and see the pet owners taking their furry friends for their morning walk.  

 I walk past the community gardens, check on my veggies and often see a gardener watering early to avoid the heat. 

I continue along the path along the Paseo Del Mar walking trail, looking out at the water, the fishing boats already out, the surfers, the seagulls on the water.  

At the end of our community park path there is a padlocked gate that lets me out onto the public path in the Nature Preserve that separates our community from the Trump Golf Course.

I pass by the recently  created watershed with its newly planted native ground cover.

 I share the trail with others, people who may have traveled from all parts of the South Bay to walk these beautiful paths.   

Most of them respect the beauty of our little piece of the earth, but some come for other reasons and leave their traces behind them.  

 I guess that is also why these signs are posted periodically along the path as it hugs the top of the cliffs. 

Eventually, I stop at the little rest area and check my pedometer…almost one mile from my front door.  

I sit and gaze out at the ocean for a while, feel the constant breeze on my face, hear the sounds of the gulls and the surf.  I have to actually force myself to stand up and head back, leaving this little pause in the pace of life.

So I have invested about 1 hour of my life in this activity.  I have walked 2 miles.  I have communed with nature.  I have chatted with some early morning neighbors.  I have started my day right in my own backyard!

I Am A Friend - Walking and Talking with Cindy

There were times in my life when I have needed to seek the listening ear of a compassionate, wise therapist.  I would spend 50 minutes pouring out my angst, my fears, my confusion and she would sit, listen, encourage and sometimes make a suggestion.  I would leave a little stronger, a little calmer, and a little financially poorer.  But I considered it money well spent…it was for my personal well-being and sometimes life can overwhelm and this was a gift I could give to myself.

I am fortunate that my life is on an even plane these days…my strongest feelings are ones of contentment and gratitude…but there are still things I would love to share to a listening ear.  Enter my friend, Cindy!

Cindy is a gift that life handed to me a few years ago.  Like two magnets we were drawn into our friendship when Cindy joined Omnilore, our Learning-in-Retirement organization. We seemed like-minded and shared a similar energy.  For the past 2 years we have found 2 hours once a week to meet for a “walk and talk!”  Sometimes it is just through a neighborhood, sometimes it is at the Botanical Gardens, 

sometimes it is along the beach.  Today was our day and Cindy suggested we meet at the Interpretive Center in Palos Verdes.  I am so fortunate to live just a few minutes down Palos Verdes Dr. South from this location and enjoyed the coastal views as I drove to the Center.

Once there, and after our required pit stop so we would not get distracted…we headed out on one of the trails.  We have developed an easy way of sharing our lives.  It is as if we have an Indian “talking pipe” that we hand back and forth to each other.  I held the imaginary pipe first and talked about our Thanksgiving Day…she listened, commented, laughed; and then I handed the pipe to her.  She talked about her Thanksgiving Day…and I listened, commented, laughed. We often pass other walkers and periodically stop to appreciate the beauty of our surroundings…and today we also watched for rattlesnakes! 

And so it went for about an hour of walking, gifting each other with little snippets of our lives, our hopes, our concerns, our joys.

We always spend the last hour sitting outside a Starbucks, sipping coffee and continuing the talk.  We often coordinate classes together so we discuss the class and what we need to prepare.  When we return to the parking lot, before leaving we will reach into the trunks of our car to share an article, a bunch of kale from the garden, a book, a knitting project that we brought along to show each other…then we head off to our individual lives.  I leave a little stronger, a little calmer and only poorer by the cost of a cup of coffee!  

 I am grateful for my friend!

I Am A Walker - Strolling Waterway in Naples

No, we did not take a spontaneous trip to Italy!  But we did spend a renewing morning strolling a "little-talked-about" area of Southern California...the Naples neighborhood of Long Beach.  It was the monthly walk/hike of Omniloreans and this month, two member's Marilou Lieman and Marge Thelen, were gracious enough to be our leaders. 

Marilou and Marge "setting the scene" for us!

Recently this walk had been the subject of an article in the Los Angeles Times so the two women scouted it out and took about 15 of us up and down the waterways,

over bridges, 

past elegantly decorated-for-Halloween homes 

on a beautiful California day. We even found a little piazza!

Not knowing what we would encounter in traffic we left early enough to stop at a little French Bakery for a crepe breakfast. 

The entire day was a reminder to me of how much there is to see and experience in areas close to home.  As much as my heart and soul yearn to return to Italy, this still was a wonderful day.  It felt good to me to be out and about.  It felt good to talk with friends, to feel the crisp, clean air against my skin,

it felt good to be alive. 

I Am A Student - A Field Trip to Angelino Heights

I remember when I was in elementary school at St. Patrick's Catholic School in Kent, OH I always envied the kids who were the "Publics," those kids attending public school.  I was jealous because they went on Field Trips.  With green eyes I would watch their school bus pass by on their way to the zoo or a museum...someplace in the neighboring big city of Cleveland and I longed to be with them!

Well, a while ago, as students "of a certain age" Jay and I joined our Omnilorean Learning-in-Retirement classmates on a Field Trip.  Once a year we have the opportunity to venture on a walking tour to someplace in our big city of Los Angeles.  The day is planned and led by our wonderful, John Taber.  Over the years John, a seasoned walker/hiker has exposed us to the history and various sites of our city.  This time we were going to see the area of Angelino Heights one of the oldest neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

Getting there was half the fun!  Because we come from various parts of the South Bay, because the freeways and parking can be such a nightmare and because part of the adventure is getting there, we take public transportation, mainly using the Los Angeles Metro Rail system.  We started out from various points and met at the junction point of Wilmington Station.

Jay with others at Wilmington Station Junction

Then we rode the Blue Line to the Seventh Street Station, changed to board the Red Line to the Pershing Square Station where, after a "potty stop," we caught a local bus that deposited us in Angelino Heights.

John has always walked the tour in advance and done extensive research on what he is going to show us.  This time he had "tour guide in training," Dennis Eggert accompany him on his dry run and assist in the day's outing.

Dennis explaining something to the group.

We started at the old Fire Station where John shared the history with us.

John relating the history.

Andrea, Steve, Berthe, Jim and Janet.

From there we walked toward our real destination, the old historical Victorian homes that look down on the city.

We had all heard of Carroll Avenue but most of us had never seen it before.  So while we did not have to hold hands with our "buddies" we did make a rag-tag looking bunch of senior scholars as we ambled down the street to get a closer look at each of the houses.

We did not walk single file, nor with partners!

One home owner saw us ogling through the iron fence and she invited us in to her backyard for a closer look.

Viewing one home-owner's back yard.

It was a fantastic, clear day and we enjoyed seeing these homes.

We don't care to bring brown bag lunches so Dennis had located a restaurant where we hoped to stop for a bite but due to the lunchtime crowd they were unable to accommodate us. So being resourceful, we regrouped, checking a map that Jay had brought with him for an alternative destination.

We ended up taking a bus to the old Angel's Flight Landmark funicular, newly opened for use again, and rode the smallest railway in the world up to the California Plaza.

Riding the Angel's Flight funicular.

California Plaza

Here we ate our purchased lunch alongside the beautiful rooftop gardens and pools

and were even treated to an impromptu concert by a young man who sat down at the outdoor piano.

After lunch we headed back to the Metro Station at Pershing Square where we posed for a group picture.

The Motley Crew!

We returned home, tired and happy from spending the day with old friends, making new friends and seeing a unique part of the Los Angeles...a great Field Trip! Good news...we do not have to write a report on it for class tomorrow.

 It is never too late to have a happy childhood!

I Am A Voyeur - Looking For The Light

Two weeks ago Jay and I embarked on a weight management plan.  In an effort to out-run death we are trying to build a healthier lifestyle.  It does not mean giving up the essential of life...like pasta or wine. But it does mean honoring our bodies that have carried us so well for so many years. One aspect of this effort is to make time to move the body...to exercise in various forms.  So, when I had a free half hour between classes last week, I decided to take a walk around the neighborhood that surrounds the Franklin Center, where we hold our Omnilore classes.

I have always enjoyed walking.  Some of my best ideas have come while putting one foot in front of the other.  It is also a time when I work out problems or have imaginary conversations in my head.  But that is often the downside of my walking...I am often just "in my head" and when I return I have no memories of what I have seen.

Maybe it was because I am in the middle of a very soul-touching memoir, "The Journal Keeper" where the author, Phyllis Theroux, comments about not using her journal as a wailing wall, immortalizing the darkness, but as a place in which to collect the light...but I felt very "awake" as I set out on this walk...anticipating seeing the light.

And I found it, in a very delightful neighborhood park.  When I came to Franklin Park, winding sidewalks invited me to meander through it and I was pleasantly surprised by the life and light that was contained in this little public space.

First I heard some guitar strings being plucked and found myself in front of a couple who were both holding stringed instruments. One seemed to be instructing the other, but they both paused to say hello before putting their heads together again to proceed with the music.  What a wonderful setting for their activity

Then a little "bumblebee" almost ran into me...a three year old decked out in her Halloween costume, being chased by her young mother.  They were part of a group of mothers...not nannies...but stay-at-home mothers who had gathered for a Halloween picnic.  There were pirates, Indians, super heroes, ballerinas and I was immediately brought back to years in my past when I was able to take my toddlers out in the stroller with other young mothers.

Farther along I saw a lone man shooting hoops.

This was not a young high school student but instead "a man of a certain age." He saw me take out my camera and said..."You can't take my picture, I just signed with the NBA!"  He then consented and told me how he loved this park.  He has lived in the neighborhood for 57 years and comes here often.  A panorama of ages and activities...everyone involved in life.  I left the park uplifted, with a bit more of a spring in my step. I could also log in about 20 minutes of exercise into my nutrition log. There is a lot to be said for "looking for the light!" 

I Am A Hiker - Wandering In A Fog?

I graduated from Marymount High School, an all-girls school taught by the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary nuns and tucked away "high on the hills" of Palos Verdes Pennisula. I have memories of driving the 30+ minute trip from the urban streets of Hawthorne, CA ascending the winding 2 lane roads of PV and trying to navigate fog so thick that I, the driver, and Kathy, my car-pooler, each had our heads hanging out the side windows trying to find the yellow line that would keep us in the middle of the road.  So yesterday, when Jay and I set out to join our Omnilore friends for our monthly hike, this time in Palos Verdes, I was not surprised to find us turning left on Highridge Road and entering a fog bank as thick as ...whatever is thick!

Omniloreans are not whimps!  We were all gathered in the parking lot trying to make a sensible decision about what to do as the fog was coating my jacket and my hair was "springing" into tight moisture-activated curls!  John was opting for finding another trail in a lower part of the pennisula and carrying on with our hike.  Cindy was suggesting finding a coffee shop and a warm cup of coffee.  Jay was opting for a nearby PUB! 

John and sanity won out and we caravaned to the Dapplegray area and Bridle Trail. This trail is one we have walked before and it is a gentle hike ambling up and down just a short distance from Palos Verdes Drive.

We shared the trail with horses so one challenge was to navigate the gifts left behind, which Cindy said are called "road apples" in her native Ohio. 

We saw the backs of various homesteads

rubbed the noses of corralled horses

and admired the sometimes loved, sometimes tolerated, sometimes hated peacocks that inhabit the hills. 

About 2 1/2 miles later we ended up at the Nature Center where we enjoyed our brown bag lunches and congenial discussion about "life" and other related topics! 

We appreciate the opportunity to engage with our like-minded friends in activities such as this.  These past few months have brought sad news to us of close friends who are dealing with serious health issues and we are reminded of the fragility of life.  So we appreciate our present health and abilities and want to live each day fully.  Activities like today are a gift to us!  A wonderful time was had by all!!