This past week's adventures

I've been trying to get out and do more stuff, so figured I better start keeping track of them!

Mt. Rubidoux
On Saturday, Kelly and I met up at Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside to do a little walk to the top of the hill. I brought the two pups, and we met up with some other people from a Meetup.com group. Parking was pretty crazy, you have to get there early, and find a spot on the street, but it was a beautiful day, and I was excited!

Here's a little history for you:
Mount Rubidoux is a hill beside the Santa Ana River that marks the boundary between the city of Riverside, California and the census-designated place of Rubidoux. The hill was named for Louis Rubidoux, who purchased the Rancho Rubidoux from Benjamin Davis Wilson, the second elected mayor of Los Angeles, in 1847.

Mount Rubidoux has been designated Riverside City landmark #26, and has been a city park since it was donated to the city by the heirs of Frank Miller (1857-1932), the founder of the Mission Inn, in 1955. In 1909 a sunset over Mount Rubidoux set the occasion for Carrie Jacobs-Bond to compose her famous song "A Perfect Day" which for many years was played each day as the last tune on the Mission Inn's carillon.

In April, 1909, Jacob Riis of New York, and a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt, was in town to give an address at the Mission Inn. He suggested holding an Easter sunrise service at the top of the mountain, and on the following Sunday they held the first outdoor Easter Sunrise Service in the United States at the top of the mount.

In 1925, the Peace Tower and Friendship Bridge were dedicated in honor of Frank A. Miller (for his vision for the Mountain and for his ideals of International Friendship and World Peace).

There is a paved road that goes to the top of the hill, but it has been closed to vehicles since 1992. Since it's paved, it was a rather easy walk - way easier than a regular dirt trail. There is an "up" road, and a "down" road, although Kelly & I ended up using the "down" road on the way up, and then came down the "up" road. Great workout! The pups had fun, and they were pretty tired out by the time we got back. The total walk is only about 3.5 miles, and I think it took us less than 45 minutes to walk. Here's some cool pics from the walk:

Looking up at the cross at the top of the hill:


Looking up at the Peace Tower & Friendship Bridge


Looking out from the Friendship Bridge


Plaque on the Peace Tower


The Peace Tower & Friendship Bridge


Pismo Beach
Later that day, I decided to drive up to my Dad's house for the weekend. It was a 4-day weekend, and I needed to take the dogs up there anyway so he could puppy-sit, so I loaded everyone into the car and off we went!

On Saturday evening, I took the dogs down to the Grover Beach entrance to the sand dunes, and we walked for a little while, then watched the sunset.








On Sunday, we all went to Avila Beach, and played with the dogs by the creek. Tica (my Dad's dog) loves to chase sticks, and they're trying to get her to swim more, so we kept throwing sticks in the creek for her to fetch. It was pretty funny, because she only likes to go in as far as she can stand, and if she has to swim at all, she lets the stick go. Nieve does NOT like the water at all, and neither does Spike, so we just played fetch and ran around on the beach.
























On Monday, Dad and I went for a nice little motorcycle ride. He & Michelle both have street-legal dirtbikes, so him and I took off on those towards the hills. We rode out on 227 and through Old Oak Park Road, Printz Road, and over towards Price Canyon. We ended up at the beach, and stopped in at the Moose Lodge for a beverage. Then we headed into the hills again for a little, before heading back to Arroyo Grande, and had another beverage at our favorite bar - Bill's Place. It was really beautiful riding in the hills, and a couple of the places have a great view of the ocean. We took a couple trails that were a little scary - the dirt was way too soft and sandy, but it was still a lot of fun. I love being able to ride on the street and transition to the dirt, it's pretty cool. Since Michelle never rides her dirtbike anymore, I'm thinking of kidnapping it and bringing it down here!

And on Tuesday, I finally had to drive home and go to school :( Here's a picture of me & Nieve right before I left. I won't see her for a whole month! Hope she doesn't get too big while I'm gone!