Here it is... Unicorn Planet

Hike to Unicorn Falls

This is my first adventure out into Matilija Falls hiking area with 3 of my new Ojai gal pals, Jeneva (Cheetah), Pamela & Vera . The night before we sent my friend Jeneva the link to Unicorn Planet video because we were excited to finally go in search of the mysterious Ojai waterfalls. She showed up the next morning with unicorn horns for everyone with the characters names on them. It was hilarious. It's a beautiful area only a few miles from home. We never made it to the falls, but we sure had a lot of fun.

Pratt Trail

This trailhead is just a few blocks from our apartment. It travels behind neighborhood property until you get further up the mountain. You could hike for days, as it intersects with many different trails in the area. What better to do on a somewhat stormy day...and I love that it's so close to home. I don't know how I didn't know about this trail when I lived here before?

Wheeler Gorge Nature Trail

There is a nature loop trail & campground just a few miles up the 33. We decided to go check it out while Toby was in town.

Lake Casitas

Of course one of the first things on the list in Ojai was for Greg to check out his new home disc golf course at Lake Casitas. I went along for the walk so I could get some outdoor time and take some pictures. It is such a beautiful course.

My New Stone Playground

I have a new favorite place! If you drive about thirty minutes from Ojai up Hwy 33 there is a turn off to the Rose Valley Sespe Wilderness area. My friend Matt took me there for a great hike to a place called Piedra Blanca (which means 'white rock'). It felt a lot like southern Utah so I was right at home. It was almost like being on the moon in places. I had fun doing lots of handstands and cartwheels. Matt is a photographer and had brought his camera and all of his lenses and and took some amazing pictures. Some of them are mine taken with my little point & shoot, but the really good ones are his. Someday I will have the camera of my dreams so I can take the kind of pictures I have always wanted to. Enjoy!

Perhaps a job?

So I had my fourth and final interview at the Four Seasons Biltmore in Santa Barbara today. After 4 years hiatus I have decided to give massage therapy another try. When I had my hands on interview with the spa director I was so nervous. I haven't given a massage since I was injured in 2005. It was definitely not my best work..haha! But thanks to having better training than most therapists in California my worst is probably on par. They had a ton of applicants but were only hiring 3 people. I was offered a job (contingent upon drug testing and a clear background check. I took the drug test but now I have to wait... unless they find some dark and shady criminal past I am unaware of I will be starting soon.) I will keep you posted...

Shelf Road & Toby's 1st visit

Greg's best friend Toby came up for his first visit. We took him on a walk so he could see more of Ojai. If you drive up to the top of one of our side streets it takes you to the end of a fire road called Shelf Road. It's just a dirt road but you get some pretty easy views of the Ojai valley with a simple walk. It walks along an avocado & citrus farm so it smells like orange blossoms. We found a few avocados on the ground & took them home to eat...they were the best avocados I have ever tasted! The valley was still a little bit smoky from the fire but as always, beautiful.

Monty's trip to Ojai

So I decided to take the long way home so that I could go through Tahoe and spend a few days with Heidi one last time before she has the baby. Also, I really wanted to hand deliver the new cushions I had made for her rocking chair. I spent 2 days there, but I didn't take any pictures except of the dogs since she wasn't feeling well. She is at the really uncomfortable stage of pregnancy.
I woke up early and drove home on I-5. Definitely not the most exciting drive. At the last minute I decided to take the back way into Ojai. I had never been very far on Hwy 33 and wanted to get a feeling for what was up there because I'm ready to start exploring. It was a very winding road in parts, but no one was out there and it was better than spending anymore time on that boring freeway. I stopped at the summit for a few pictures. All the plants were covered with lady bugs.
I could tell when I started to get closer to Ojai because everything started to get greener and it was obvious there was the presence of water. I made it home just in time to go to a mothers day dinner in Ventura with Greg's family. It was so wonderful to see everybody getting together for a delicious meal, wine & dessert. It was a great way to officially start our new adventure in California.

Shaking things up!

So, the first week we move back to California...Santa Barbara has a major fire and there was a 4.2 earthquake that was centered in Ojai. I'm pretty sure it wasn't my fault, I was back in Utah getting my car... Crazy!
Photo by Matt Nirenberg

I left my car (& my heart) in Salt Lake City...

So rather than towing one of our cars during the big move... which if you've ever done it, you know it sucks... I chose to leave my car in SLC so that I could get an extra trip in to spend some time with the family. I figured a $250 tow dolly at 45 mph vs. a $89 plane ticket and a good time is a no brainer. Joey picked me up at the airport & it was great to see her again. I stayed with Matt & Cacia & the kids for 2 nights so we all got to go out with Joey for dinner. It was such a great time.
There is nothing better than waking up to the cutest kids in the world. We got lots of hang time in... What a great family. Luckily, Cacia had work off so we got to spend a lot of time together. I love her so much, she is the best! I got to finally see one of Aiden's baseball games and got a great picture of him about to hit the ball. Since I was going to miss Aiden's birthday party we got to go to Target so he could pick out his present. He decided he is like his dad & "doesn't like surprises" LOL. He's such a little man.
Grace was trying on sunglasses while we were at Target and Cacia got a great picture of her. She is so sassy & seems to already have fun shopping. Jax & I also have fun shopping and got one more impromptu Ross adventure in before dinner. I will miss our 'what not to wear' trips.
Matt & I were on our way to the store to get something to BBQ when we saw a big fire. We had to go take a look. It was controlled because it was a training exercise for the fire department, so we were able to drive right by. It was awesome and really hot! He is such a great brother! Another highlight was getting to hang out for kitchen bath time with Coleman & Grace playing and having fun. They were so cute together. Coleman is getting so big! He is almost walking without any assistance.
I am so lucky to be so close to them. It was really hard to drive away with them all standing in the driveway and waving, they are my heart... Here are some of the pictures.

Finding our new place...

So we've made the big move back to California. Here's some pictures taken on our first day in Ojai while we were looking for somewhere to live and pics of the place that we found. The whole ground level of the part of the complex that you can see street side is ours. It is a very large 2 bedroom 2 bath with a gigantic living room and a huge fenced patio. We love it!

A rare encounter!

Yeah, I know I haven't blogged all winter. I hate winter. You would think with all the time I spend on my computer I would have found some time to at least post something, but no. Anyway, I would like to start again. I think especially with moving far away from the people I love it would be a great habit to start so y'all know what's going on with me. No, I'm not gone yet.. but I'm starting now. I guess I don't get too excited about much during cold weather, and the last thing I want to subject you to is my complaining about how miserable I am with the dreadful season in Utah (not to mention the air quality.) But something cool DID happen that I wanted to share.
So... I'm sitting there the other day. Monday March 9th, to be exact. I'm thinking about how excited I am that we have decided not to move to Hawaii, but to move back to California in May, and I'm imagining how magical and wonderful it will be to return to Ojai, where Greg and I met. It is a very special place, so if you've never been there, you must come and visit. Anyway, something kept catching my attention out of the corner of my eye so I finally went to the window to see if it was just my imagination, or if it was what I thought it was... Sure enough, there it was... a beautiful Hawk sitting on a tree branch, staring into my window, staring at me. I was amazed. In the city? Really? In this storm. It was a divine encounter. I stood on our patio in my bathrobe without a coat and just watched in awe.
I am a firm believer in the symbolism and power of animals, and a hawk is definitely a messenger of spirit. The ancients recognized this magnificent bird of prey as a messenger bringing tidings to their Earth Walk, the Good Red Road, from the world of the grandfathers and grandmothers who lived before them. Hawk sometimes comes to teach you to grab an opportunity which is coming your way... I will take this as a good omen. We shared a special moment on a day I would normally be anything but thankful.