Eagle Rock Hike

As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog journey I plan to take a lot of hikes this year. This is not unlike the past years except that my friends and I are known to do one of two hikes: Temescal Canyon or Los Liones. Both wonderful hikes, ones we know are challenging yet beautiful but we are feeling its time to explore. It's good to have standbys but this year we want to branch out and try some new trails.

So last Saturday I planned a girls hike. Hiking is the perfect group activity for women because we get to work on our fitness and talk non-stop for hours. Amy suggested a new hike called Eagle Rock at Topanga State Park.

Eagle Rock Trail it situated off the Pacific Coast Highway in the Santa Monica Mountains, north of LA close to Malibu. Unlike our usual hikes this trail is set back in the mountains miles away from the ocean. So we drove through Topanga Canyon quite a while before entering the state park.

There Sarah, Amy and I met up with Elissa and Katie who drove down from Oxnard to join us. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky and around 80 degrees. Between the rain earlier in the week and the Santa Ana winds it was clear as far as the eye could see.

The trail path was wide, smooth and had a slight incline, perfect for a beginner hiker or a trail runner. It boasts views of many parts of greater LA including Calabasses, Palos Verdes and the Santa Monica Mountains.

The main destination of this hike is Eagle Rock a very large sandstone formation that sticks out from the side of a mountain. It reminded me of a few hikes in the Appalachian Mountains where you reach a high point covered with stone with incredible overlooks of the valleys below.

About halfway up to the formation I was super surprised to run into one of my longtime college friends Dustin and my LA friend Jeremiah. They were also hiking with a group of people on this January day. This was such a thrill because randomly running into people in LA that you know does not happen very often. But when you do, it is comforting because it makes this city seem a bit smaller. So that was a really neat surprise.

After stopping to chat with them for a few minutes we made our way to Eagle Rock. Once there we climbed the formation and quickly realized we were very high up and needed to be careful. It was also very windy. We took in the views, snapped a few photos and quickly made our way off the sandstone back to the trail. We then walked about a mile past the formation to see the profile of the large rock and to take in some more views. We were incredibly lucky because the sky was so clear that we recognized not only Catalina Island (22 miles off the coast of Southern California) but Mt. Baldy a snow capped mountain that sits behind Rancho Cucamonga about 60 miles east of where we were hiking. It was absolutely breathtaking.

After a few more photo ops our now bonded girls group made our way back down the trail very satisfied with Amy's hiking choice and commented frequently on how perfect the day was. Saturday was one of those days where you feel like the luckiest person in the world to live in this part of the country. I mean, how many other places in the US can you hike in 80 degree weather in the middle of January? Not many. Not many at all.

Eagle Rock Hike was approximately 5 miles long and I give it 4 out of 5 stars. I hold one star only because on a hazy day when the views are not clear the immediate views are not as impressive as the distant views. But Saturday I would have not changed a single thing: awesome women, incredible views and perfect weather made for an amazing day.

Lemonade

Last weekend, Amy and I went went down to Abbot Kinney in Venice to sweat it out spinning at YAS (yoga and spinning, clever huh?). Afterwards our stomachs were craving some munchies so we decided to try a restaurant called Lemonade. Little did we know, our lives would be changed! That sounds dramatic, I know, so let me try to set this scene up for you.

Abbot Kinney is a trendy street in Venice known for it's high end restaurants and boutiques, in other words expensive. Amy and I went prepared to split a meal or even turn around and walk out in case the price didn't please our Dave Ramsey plan (google him and get on the plan which is also life changing).

We walked into a cafeteria style restaurant with a modern feel. It reminded me of an IKEA cafeteria but with zero screaming children. Simple menu: a selection of cold portions, a la carte sandwiches, meat or salads and a selection of hot portions. There was also a tasty looking dessert section that I couldn't look at for fear of having to return to spin class. And of course they had lots of different types of lemonade, which I'm sorry I can't report on but I plan to try the name sake soon.

When we approached the counter we felt intimidated by the many interesting combinations of cold portions we could choose from. We told the girl helping us that it was our first visit and she was happy to give us many samples like sweet potatoes with pistachios along with chicken, jicama with green goddess dressing, just to name a few. Everything we sampled was amazing and the combinations were incredible, things I could never think of. I decided on getting one portion split between kale, mushrooms with tangerine vinaigrette and watermelon radish, ahi tuna, snap peas, black sesame with ginger. Keep in mind, I have never eaten or had the desire to eat kale in my life. Even though I split one portion with two items the helpings were generous, enough to feed my growling belly. When I reached the cash register my bill came to $4.62! Amazing (Dave would be proud)! Amy added a braised meat to her meal which bumped her total to a little over $6.00 (not bad at all). We sat down to eat our unique meal and our taste buds were overwhelmed with satisfaction. Powerful flavors, the crazy but somehow perfect combinations and I felt healthier with each bite. Amy and I were, well let's say, just a little excited. Our praises may have been a little loud. We couldn't believe people were not as excited as us, why were they not jumping up and down in celebration of this culinary artistry?

Then Amy remembered they had truffled mac and cheese and wanted to try it because we are suckers for anything truffled. When she went to the counter she asked a different person,"can we try the truffled mac and cheese? Its our first time here." He said, "we know, we heard." Oops. Confirmed. We are too loud. She brought back the little sample dish sat it on the table and I took a bite. "Amy, you need to try this right now!" She took a bite, closed her eyes and exclaimed, "Amazing!!!"

We immediately decided to take all our friends here ASAP. In fact, we felt like we didn't have a meal to lose, we were coming back for dinner.

So later that night, we brought back Amy's husband Matt for dinner (our other peeps couldn't make it but they are excited to try soon). I had another split portion, well roasted heirloom carrots, mixed herbs with basil along with avocado, cherry tomato, pine nuts with lime. I also added some meat, chicken basque, artichoke and olives. Unfortunately they ran out of the truffled mac and cheese for the day, not surprising because is is incredible. There's always next time!

If I could write Lemonade a letter is would read like this:

Dear Lemonade,

I eat kale now. Enough said.

Love, Emma C.

*for more information about Lemonade please visit http://lemonadela.com.

Westwood Memorial Park

Last June, I accepted a new position at UCLA that required me to move my office off campus. Now I am situated at the cross streets of Wilshire and Westwood, one of the busiest and loudest intersections in LA. I was really bummed about leaving the peacefulness of UCLA'a campus where I would spend many lunches relaxing on the serene grounds and wondered how I would find one hour of quiet in a bunch of high rises.

After talking to people about my new digs, some native LA folk would say,"oh you must go to Westwood Memorial Park and see Marilyn Monroe's grave, it's a beautiful and quiet place in the middle of the city." Being the granddaughter of a funeral home director I actually found seeing Marilyn's grave fascinating but I thought they were referring to the Veterans Cemetary which is a few blocks down from my office and it really confused me. Sure, Marilyn was a pin up on many soldiers walls and made some military tours to see the boys but that hardly meant she deserved a plot in the veterans cemetery, right?

I remained confused until one day a person who has long lived in Westwood corrected my assumption. She said this memorial park was little, hidden and contained the remains of Marilyn and many more Hollywood stars. She said it was one of LA's best kept secrets. Now I was interested. I must find this place.

After doing some research on Google I clocked out at noon and went searching for this hidden gem. How could this park be in a sea of high rises? Eventually I wandered down Glendale Ave looked to the left through two large buildings and saw many tall palm trees and knew something had to be hidden back there. I walked between the buildings and found the entrance to the Westwood Memorial Park. I immediately saw that this place was indeed small, peaceful, filled with trees and had gravestones scattered about the lawn. I also saw that other business people found solace from work in the park, many were reading under the shade trees in their suits and heels. Yay! I found it! But my quest was not complete, I must find Marilyn Monroe.

Conveniently someone had already researched the park for me and provided a map of where the stars are buried including Dean Martin, Natalie Wood and Jack Lemmon. Here is a link to the map: http://www.seeing-stars.com/Maps/PierceBrosMap.shtml

When I found her grave I was actually quite surprised. As glamorous as Marilyn Monroe was her grave is plain and simple, in fact she has been laid to rest in a mausoleum crypt. It simply states her name, year of birth and death. No flowers adorn her site but her crypt is slightly darker in color than the rest because of the many people who have touched or even kissed the crypt with red lips paying tribute to this captivating woman.

I walked out of the park feeling very satisfied at my find and many times I do find peace during a busy workday at this memorial park. Walking there I usually see a star tours bus driving through Westwood to show tourists famous sights of the Hollywood golden days that have long left Westwood Village. The bus always passes right by the tall buildings that hide this memorial park that contains more old Hollywood Glamour than they will ever see in a 2-hour tour but I am ok with that, this is my proof that I am not a tourist in LA anymore. Because this memorial park is a secret gem in LA, a place where long lines, cameras and entry fees do not exist but you are surrounded by the most famous of them all.

Hollywood Sign Hike

Since I had the day off of work for MLK day, I thought I would take a hike. One of my big goals this year is to hike in many different places around or near Los Angeles. Even though I usually prefer to hike in Malibu for the amazing ocean views, I decided today was a good day to tackle the Hollywood sign hike.

There are many different places in LA where you can view the Hollywood sign. One of the best views is from Beachwood Drive. Follow Beachwood to the end and you will find yourself at a trailhead. You will also find lots of cars, tourists and people trying to look cool while hiking. The three reasons I never have a desire to hike in Hollywood. But I soldiered on because I wanted to see the most unique look you can have of this most famous landmark, from behind.

This trail starts off up hill on a wide path, your biggest obstacle is people hiking in skinny jeans and heeled boots who have just realized this hike may actually take effort.

Once you sift through those folks the path will switch back and forth up the mountain with occasional views of the front of the sign. Before your final ascent to the top you will hike up the back of the mountain and will have good views of Burbank and Glendale. At the top of the mountain you will see the Hollywood sign from behind... "DOOWYLLOH". Success! There you can see the entire city all the way to the ocean. The haze was heavy today, so the views were not very clear but I was impressed to see the Echo Park resovior. The only other time I have seen this random lake in the middle of the city was when I ran the LA half marathon in 2010.

I also had the opportunity to take pictures for many tourists who think they have found the greatest secret of LA. Also, I was lucky enough to see people who jumped the fence that has video surveillance to actually touch the sign. Never a dull moment. After I took in the views and snapped a few photos I headed back down the mountain. Only to be passed by a truck going to pick up the trespassers. There is a gate for a reason folks. For those rule breakers this will be their last time viewing the Hollywood sign but for me I am going to tuck this little gem of a hike in the back of my mind for when people visit LA. The hike was a quick 4.5 miles and I give it 3 out of 5 stars.

Small town girl. Big city world.

It's been over 3 years since I moved across the country from Virginia to California and what a learning experience it has turned out to be. I am still amazed at how different it is living in a big city like Los Angeles compared to my former residence of Richmond or the small town I grew up of Blacksburg, VA. Even though I have lived in LA more than three years, I still think of myself as that small town girl but with big city experiences that have enriched, challenged and shaped me in many ways. It is about time I start sharing these experiences with you.

I anticipate 2012 to be an exciting year. My bucket list is full of ideas and I am excited to tackle them one by one. This includes hikes, destinations, new experiences and just the adventures of every day life. Will you join me?