Hiking in our own backyard

We had so much fun hiking in the Alps that when we got home we decided to put our hiking shoes back on and go hiking in the outskirts of our own town.  We’ve known about this hiking trail since we moved here, but hadn’t had the chance to go yet.  It was a perfect day with beautiful weather.  You will even notice in the pictures that there are signs of Autumn being here now.  I love this time of year with the leaves changing color and the sounds you make from walking on fallen leaves.

Garmisch Part 3: Alpspitz

During our “free time” we decided to head to the top of the Alpspitz which is the second tallest point in Germany.  The Zugspitz is the tallest, but it cost 3 times as much to go to the top of it and there isn’t anything to do up there.  At the Alpspitz they have hiking trails and activities for kids.

Fun day with friends

Last week we had dinner with one of James’  best friends, Josh, and his family.  They have three boys, one of which is just a year older than Ethan.  They got along so well that we wanted to get together again before we head off in under two weeks.  We wish we had done this months ago so they could have had more time together.  They seem to be two peas in a pod kind of like James and Josh are.  So yesterday we went for a little hike down to a beach in Garrapata.

The boys liked climbing up the side of the rock cliffs and jumping off.

 

Serious Ethan…I wish I knew what goes on inside that head.  It is always busy thinking.

    

They are definitely two of a kind. Stephanie (Josh’s wife) and I had to laugh and take pictures of these two just hanging out on the side of the cliff having a deep philosophical conversation.

It definitely was another beautiful, fun day in Monterey, California.

Another Fun Outing

My long lost friend has returned

My friend Aloe returned on Saturday!! Yes, I got my first sunburn of the year. This is the start of a great year of color (I hope).

It was in the 70s and perfect that day so we decided to head to the beach to catch some rays. I did not feel like joining everyone else on the beach, so we thought it would be fun to try to find our secluded beach with the waterfall. That way we could have an enjoyable afternoon without all of the crowds. Unfortunately we were not able to find that exact location, but decided to make the best of what we found. It turned out to be a beautiful day, even though I had to lay out on rocks instead of a sandy beach.

No adventure is complete for us without having to climb down the side of a cliff :)

These are the rocks we hiked around on and I eventually tried laying out on. It wasn't the most comfortable, but the scenery made it worth it.

Here is Ethan in a cave we found. He really enjoys posing for pictures.

Here is James, my other cutie, who doesn't like posing for pictures.

We found another cave that was filled with water. As you can see here, this is the opening of it where the water goes in.

This is what it looked like on the inside of the cave. It was so cold in there, we could see our breath.

One of Ethan's favorite things to do is snap. He is aaalways snapping. We call him 'snaps'. I think he always has a song in his head because he dances a lot, too, without any music. He is very intently watching James climb down into the cave.

I debated whether or not to put any pictures of me since I'm in my swimsuit and that is so unflattering. But I thought it would be a good idea to document how white I was then, before the sun and Aloe returned.

Here I am quicly hopping from rock to rock with my feet hurting trying to get to the cave.

I made it, but please cover your eyes if my whiteness is blinding you.

Jack's Peak

We had another beautiful Saturday with no rain, so we made it to Jack's Peak. We really are in a great location because we have the beach only a ten minute walk away and this mountainous terrain only a ten minute drive away.

There are several different trails all around the park. The first one we went on was the skyline trail and it took us along the edge where we could look out and see the bay. It was quite a sight.

There were a few logs that were down and James couldn't resist walking out on them. It is hard to tell in this picture, but he is way out over the edge. It definitely made me nervous, but I'm sure the view was incredible from there.

We even spotted this red mushroom of unusual size. I've never seen anything like it before.

Here is where we somehow lost the trail, but our trusty guide eventually brought us back to the marked path.

Don't worry, this tree was not over a cliff, or there would be no way Ethan would be out there.