Road Trips and Hike Reports

I needed to wake up early today but I ended up waking up at 4 am instead of the 5:30 am I had hoped for.  I felt rested and ready so I just got up and rolled with it.  I was out of the hotel a little after 5 am and experienced no slowdowns or heavy traffic at all on I-5 and the CA-73 toll road.  That took me somwhere in the Irvine area and by that time my trip was half done and I was ready for breakfast.  I had a really good bagel then found a hike that was nearby.  I had a few hours of extra time to make it to LAX but I couldn't be sure just how long I was safe for since LA traffic is very unrpredictable and even returning the rental car and getting to the terminal could be a 40 minute ordeal if my arrival experience was any indication. The Weir Canyon trail I did a short stiff walk on was gorgeous.  Absolutely jaw dropping nearly 360 degree secenic views and lots of ups and downs.  I Face Time called Brian to show him the views and enjoyed my time th...

 As it happens occasionally my life sometimes whip saws from one extreme to the other. After a full year with no travel for work and only about 6 days in the office even, this week was 12 hours a day of co-workers, mostly from New Jersey.  It was really fun and we ate *so* well but also *so* much. My trip to LAX didn't go well, partly because I shouldn't have chosen LAX as my airport.  Flying from Rochester isn't easy and most of the time it comes down to either having more than 1 stop on the way or leaving ROC at 5:30 am.  Plus there are fare rules for work travel so not every possible flight is possible for me. I looked at numerous possibilities including the obvious of flying into San Diego but flying to SD was about 1200 dollars round trip at least.  I was really tickled to find a round trip itinerary that didn't require any early departures but it was from LAX.  The funny this is I really thought I booked from Orange County including when I checked in ...

This hike was part of my 4 nights in Southern California for work.  This trail isn’t one I’d heard of but it seems like it should be famous.  This is a very narrow slot canyon that leads up through some sandstone hills and has great views of some estuaries and the Pacific Ocean.  I went with some coworkers and it was an impressive after work leg stretcher.  I’d never been in a slot canyon so narrow or steep.  For a short hike it packed a lot of everything.