Yes, you can bowl in Paris. No, we didn’t go bowling.
This is number 171 from Project 365.
Category: Personal
Bon Soir, Paris!
We’ve arrived in Paris! Our home for the next three weeks is an apartment on the fifth floor (they would call it the 4th, but I’m taking credit for climbing all those stairs) in the Latin Quarter. We wandered around the medieval alleys in the evening and soaked in the charm, including these guy on the accordion.
#170 of Project 365.
Three Weeks in Paris
I am leaving today for a three week vacation in Paris. I plan to continue my “post a day” but as I won’t have the time or inclination for writing much, I’m going to use the opportunity to blend the Post a Day project with my Project 365 photo project.
Over the course of this trip, I’ll share the photo I chose for Project 365. It will give you a glimpse into the trip, and occasionally a little context as well.
Regularly scheduled programming will resume when I return in mid-July.
Eleven Times Zones Away
Today and most of Friday I’ll be offline during a marathon flight from Los Angeles to Abu Dhabi, via Frankfurt.
I’ll be in the UAE for a week on business and will be checking in from the road. Abu Dhabi is eleven time zones away, so expect some disruption to the normally scheduled programming.
I’m looking forward to the journey, as it gives me a chance to share my passion for knowledge management with people who are enthusiastic to learn more about it.
The Birthday Hike
Each Wednesday during Daylight Savings Time, I lead an evening hike on what we call the Roller Coaster Ridge in San Clemente. It’s a great 4.6 mile circuit with 360 degree views up and down the coastline and to the mountains, and we are routinely treated to spectacular sunsets behind Catalina Island. It’s beautiful; it’s invigorating; it’s a great workout and it breaks up the week nicely.
Today was no different, as eleven of my hiking friends joined me on our trek to the flagpole and back. The difference? Today was my 49th birthday! As is our routine, we stopped at Wahoo’s after the hike for dinner, and my sweetheart came through with the most delicious cupcakes — yellow with chocolate frosting.
Reflecting on the birthday, it’s great to be energetic, healthy and active, and enjoy the company of so many friends who share the same values. Thanks to Ammie, Amy, Anne, Barbara, Don, Doug, Eve, Karen, Ryan, Stephanie and especially to Joan (who not only baked cupcakes, but treated me well last weekend) — I loved hiking with you, and look forward to the next 49 years on the trail!
Forty-nine Years on this Big Blue Ball
Phew! Forty-nine years. It’s a lengthy stretch of time, and it’s been marked by many momentous milestones.
Although my birthday doesn’t officially arrive until Wednesday, I’m taking the day off, since my lovely girlfriend is taking me out on the town.
Take care, and be kind to each other. I’ll resume regularly scheduled programming tomorrow.
Daylight Savings Time = Bring on the Weeknight Hikes!
It’s no secret that I love hiking. I’ve devoted my SoCalHiker website to cataloging the hiking trails I explore in Orange County and throughout Southern California. Hiking is a great form of exercise, but it’s also a way to connect with nature, to unplug from the technology-driven world of work and reconnect with friends both old and new. Hiking can be almost a meditation, when done in solitude; or an intensely social activity.
This week marks a significant milestone in 2011 — the first week of daylight savings time. Oh, how I love DST, because it means there’s enough daylight after work to get in a great hike in the evening.
For about 1-1/2 years, I’ve been leading a Wednesday night hike on San Clemente’s Roller Coaster Ridge trail. The hike is cross-posted in two Meetup groups, both the Far South OC Social Events (ugh, what a mouthful) and Hiking OC. We meet at the end of Camino del los Mares just before 6pm each Wednesday during daylight savings time. The trail is a beauty; 4.6 miles with over 900 feet of elevation gain and sweeping 360 degree views of the coastal mountains, the blue Pacific Ocean, Dana Point and the marina, and on clear days like this, San Clemente Island and Catalina Island.
What’s wonderful is that in that past 1-1/2 years, I’ve met some wonderful people on the trails. We’ve hiked many miles together, and shared quite a few tacos afterwards (we like to visit Wahoo’s after the hike). We supported each other as we grew stronger as hikers, and as Joan and I trained for last year’s John Muir Trail backpack trip.
But what I didn’t really realize is what an impact we’ve made. Tonight, on our first Wednesday night hike on Roller Coaster Ridge in 2011, we had ten hikers on the trail. Some old friends, and some new. Something Barbara (one of tonight’s ten) said really touched me. She told Joan and I what an inspiration we were for hiking the JMT last year, and how that had motivated her for her own goals.
It’s funny, when you set a lofty, difficult goal, and then do the preparation and training, and actually reach that goal, other problems seem insignificant. And that’s the lesson. We all have the ability to achieve far more than we imagine possible. And once we do, it empowers us to do more still.
If you live in south OC and would like to join me on our Wednesday night hikes, let me know!
Special thanks to Allan, Ina, Dave, Amy, Barbara, Cindy, Gloria, Karen and Joan for joining me on the first Wednesday night hike of daylight savings time!