Out and About

Kate has her shots. I have my shots. I have missed her greatly, so once the vaccines took hold, and I was unlikely to either contract the virus or carry it to her, I decided it was safe enough to go see her. I found myself some N95 masks for further insurance while traveling, and booked tickets for California. Other than a 'whoa-Nellie' landing at my quick stop in Phoenix, my trip was trouble free; I got here early last week. She picked me up from the airport. As she hopped out of the car, and gave me a big hug, a tension I wasn't quite aware I was carrying with me evaporated. I've missed hugs.

She's busy with work and Lexi goes to school each day, so we have stayed pretty close to home. I don't mind at all; it's been a wonderful visit. I've been able to reconnect with Lexi, who has, as children tend to do, grown leaps and bounds since we last spent time together. We've been able to relax together in the evenings. Since I'm not working, I've been able to get some of the household chores completed, which meant this past weekend was to-do free!

With routine tasks off the table, we had some time to venture outdoors. Kate chose Charmlee Wilderness Park in Malibu as a good spot for hiking. I've been nursing some sore foot tendons, and the trails there are advertised as family-friendly; i.e. easy on the knees and ankles.

The park was all it was advertised to be. Only a thirty minute drive from her house, it was a world away from the close confines of her suburban neighborhood. We stepped out of the car, onto a trail, and were quickly enveloped within a quiet wilderness area. We could still hear some distant traffic at times, but there were also times where we stopped, and the peaceful quiet that can only be found in nature settled around us. The sun was warm, and we were close enough to the ocean to feel and smell its refreshing breezes. 

A fire had passed through the park last year, leaving its mark in the blackened bark of the trees and the missing trail signs. You could see, as we walked, the fire's erratic path - here it lingered long enough to reduce the trees to withered husks, there, the trees show no sign of its passing.

People have given Nature a helping hand in the wake of the fire, and the land has already begun to heal. Scars remain, but we saw birds and lizards in abundance. The trails have been reclaimed, grass scrub has largely replenished itself, and many of the trees wore a cloak of green despite their charred trunks.

We weren't able to go too long or too far, given the givens of my gimpy foot, but it was long and far enough to awaken a long-missed connection to nature in my heart and soul. It's been too long since I stood in the sun with the wind in my hair and feasted my eyes on nature's unedited landscaping.

On our way back to Kate's house, we stopped by a roadside stand for some fresh strawberries; the young vendor told me she'd just picked them yesterday. I was hungry and bit into one as soon as we got back underway. The fruit was amazing. The aroma, the flavor, the texture - they were as good as strawberries can be.

It was a good day. The outing provided soothing balm for some parts of my soul which have been withering in the dry isolation of the pandemic quarantine.

This, too, shall pass.
Good Is.