Tuesday July 6, 2010
Malibu, California
Misty Rain! in the AM, cool dry weather in the PM
Strange, strange weather we are having. Record heat in the East, rain this morning in Malibu on July 5! Unheard of. It's been a cool, cool summer with highs in the mid 60s and if lucky 70.
It was also a cool, misty and foggy morning yesterday. Malibu could have easily been a good location to film the Twilight series since we've been covered with the dense "marine layer". So yesterday morning, when taking the dogs (Yuki and Skipper) to their favorite park – Malibu Bluffs Park, Skipper decides he doesn't want to hang out in the park and starts skipping to the trail head behind the park in dense fog.
Skipper and I used to hike a lot and this trail was one of our morning warm ups to get us ready for some more intense hikes. We used to hike for hours. One hike we did was 7 miles long with tough ascents. Skipper loved, loved hiking. But since we've been back, he has showed no interest mainly because of his old body (he is 16 years old). When we first moved back, I took him to one of the trails we used to take but he just walked for about 5 minutes and then wanted to turn around. So thus my surprise that he wanted to do a hike, albeit a short one. It is an easy trail in that its only about a mile loop with flat terrain, but given his age (16 years old), it took us a good 45 minutes to finish. It used to take us about 20-30 minutes depending on how much he wanted to sniff. I was a bit apprehensive taking both Skipper and Yuki because I knew a family of coyotes lived in the area and with all the mist and fog, worried they might be out. But given Skipper's excitement, off we went. Yuki, of course, hates hiking and walking in general so was constantly nipping at me to carry her.
It was a nice and serene hike as there was so much vegetation with no one else on the trail. The fog added to the calm ambiance of the hike.
Skipper made it through the hike, stumbling at times due to his achy body, but was a very happy dog throughout the hike. He even remembered the way as he led us through the trail. When we went home, the dogs had their breakfast and Skipper went to his bed for a nap. He must have enjoyed the hike as he was sound asleep, snoring and at times dreaming.
This morning, in the misty rain, I thought he might want to do the hike again. But his body must be tired from yesterday as he just stood at the trail head, turned around and decided to hang out in the park instead.
Skipper sniffing his way through the trail
slowly…
But then decided to be the alpha male and was the leader.
And picked up speed
He led us through a path surrounded with lush vegetation.
Which opened up to a view of the Pacific Ocean which was just as gray as the sky.
And a view of Malibu Colony where many celebrities live.
Finally, as we made our way back to the trail head, Yuki stopped nipping at me, picked up her pace as she knew the car was about 5ft ahead. Yuki was happy to be back in the car and Skipper had a sense of accomplishment and looked regal and satisfied as we drove back home.