Live Oak Trail

Happy New Year to one and all! To start things off on the right foot for 2010 (ha, ha) the Ticklers went for a beautiful hike in O'Neill Park. Joining us were my favorite man and beast: David and Abby.

As you can see, the Live Oak trail was a beautiful place to be, especially on such a perfect Southern California- in- the- winter day.

While the park information page said dogs were allowed, when we got to the summit and the decision was made to try a different trail back to the car than retracing our steps, we noted that some of the trails sported signs stating dogs were not allowed. One trail, that we were sure was the one we needed to be on, had a sign depicting a dog sitting with a "not allowed" circle over it. In an effort to obey the sign, Martine and I were about to claim defeat and turn around and head back the way we had come up the mountain. But never fear, we had Dave with us, and I should know by now not to underestimate the powers of his legal mind. He informed us that the sign stated that "sitting dogs" were not allowed on the trail, and that as long as we did not curb our dog (I'm not sure what that means, but it sounded impressive!), Abby was allowed on the trail. I love that man! So down we headed, making sure that we did not let Abby sit, and enjoyed a truly beautiful part of O'Neill Park. Once down the hill we walked under beautiful oak trees that created shade and quiet and serenity.

The hike was a bit strenuous, with a 600 foot elevation gain in about 1 mile, but it was definitely worth the effort. Beautiful scenery and fun conversation, a bit of civil disobedience that Martine and I are still chuckling about...what more could you ask for?!

The 2010 Rose Parade

And I was there!!! It was such and amazing thing to actually see the floats and bands passing by that I can hardly believe I was there. We had grandstand seating towards the end of the parade, so we saw some things that the tv doesn't show...that 2 floats broke down and had to be towed, the huge applause that the clean up detail behind the horses receive and how incredibly beautiful the flowers are! I was so enthralled watching everything that I forgot to take photos, but here are a few of the highlights:

The jellys and puffers were one of my favorites.

Most inspirational? This Band from the Ohio State School for the Blind.

Only in Pasadena-shirt sleeve weather on the first of January!

What a great adventure to start off 2010-here's to many more!

Evan + black belt = watch out world!

This December, Evan was awarded his Black Belt in Tae Kwon Doe. It has taken 4 work filled years, and lots of determination and bruises, but he did it.

This is Master Ferrer, a member of the 1988 Olympic Martial Arts Team, tying on Evan's new belt at the ceremony.

This was a proud moment for Evan, and for his family!

So now when help is needed, you know who to call on. With his lightning fast reflexes, sweet defensive skills and secret nun-chuck moves from the government, Evan is ready to save the day.

Wagon Wheel Loop

Welcome to the Wagon Wheel Loop trail, just outside Coto De Caza. This park had a very sweet butterfly garden and interactive activities for youngsters to enjoy. The trails are open to bikes and horses along with hikers, but were not overly worn out. There are supposedly quite a few deer in the area, one buck with 7 tips according to one biker, but we didn't see any. And where there are deer there are mt. lions, but we didn't see any of them either. The big excitement of this hike was to once again have Melinda with us!

It was on this hike that Melinda showed her expertise in scatology, earning her the important post of the Trail Tickler's official "Scatologist". We are very proud of her.

She educated us along the trail with interjections, such as: "This is from an animal that eats grass". Martine and I were truly enlightened.

So here we are, at the top, for our official Tickler Christmas photo.

This is our tenth hike, and to celebrate, Martine avoided illegal activity, Melinda made a new friend, and I read the book carefully so we didn't get lost. Not even once.

In short, it was a perfect hike.

What-Shall-We-Give?

Merry Christmas to you, my dear family and friends. May the Spirit of Christ be a special visitor in your homes this year as we celebrate His birth.

I hope you enjoy this short video...

With much love, Kelli

What-Shall-We-Give?

This hike was Beautiful! (and spooky)

Today the Trail Ticklers braved Casper Wildlife Park, and we saw, and gratefully did not see certain, wildlife all around us. This park is to the east of San Juan Capistrano off the Ortega Highway. Driving to the trail head alone was worth the 45 minute trip from our home. Ground squirrels were everywhere, and along the roadway were 2 families of mule deer. Hawks were everywhere and the only other people we saw were 2 men on horseback. The beginning of the trail was quite steep, but most of it was under beautiful oak trees with their colored leaves scattered everywhere along the ground. The book recommends taking this hike in the cooler months as it can be "enervating" in hot weather, and I heartily agree. Today, in contrast to all of our other hikes, was beautifully cool. A small storm passed by during the proceeding night and left the trail clean and dust free (yippee!). At the top of the hill, along the crest, the view was spectacular of hills and mountains without a single bit of development to be seen. We were at the top of sandstone cliffs, which in their own rights, were impressive. It was a lovely time of year for this hike, with the changing colors of some trees and the freshness of green in the others, with the occasional glimpse of the intricate branches of deciduous trees allowing the peeking out of the undergrowth. Some parts in the valley under Bell Canyon were surprisingly pretty with huge oaks forming an immense canopy for us to walk under.

The day was extra fun owing to 3 new Ticklers joining us. Mike, Lindsey and Evan came along to add a bit of interest and to learn a few new things. The boys quickly found out that prickly pears are aptly named. Someone in the group, who shall remain un-named, was only stopped from legal misdeeds by carefully placed razor wire. They were also awed by Martine and my impressive tracking skills, aided by my new compass (thanks Martine!).

The spooky part came when Martine first noticed fresh mountain lion tracks in the soft mud where we were walking. After that we saw many more tracks. It appeared that the mountain lions like to use the trails, too. While keeping a watch for things in the brush, I was glad that Mike has a voice that travels well and that there were 5 of us instead of our usual two. When I got home and told Dave where we had been I remembered that Casper Park is where the terrible incident with the bikers being attacked by the mountain lion had occurred a few years back. Thankfully, we made it out in one piece, and loved every minute of our adventure. This park is definitely a thumbs up. And I would go back anytime...with a large group of Ticklers!

Christmas House Party Time!

One of our favorite family traditions is that of making "gingerbread" houses out of graham crackers and candy. This year we had some of our special friends join in the fun. Jan, Kyle and Electa, Trent and A.J., Kean, and Miles were all quick studies in the intricate skills of cracker craftsmanship. I hope you enjoy looking at the photos as much as we enjoyed building and being together. Merry Christmas!

Kean's impressive creation. We are hoping it made it to his home in one piece so his mom could see it!

Lovin' the hair-do

Smiling with the bottom teeth.

This is Chelsie's rendition of her dog, Rusty!

Mike's interpretation of Huntington pier

The lowly manger

The gang:-)