Within moments of beginning my walk around the grounds of the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley this morning, I began to experience that wonderful feeling of peace and calmness that washes over me me when I’m out in nature. Whenever I begin to feel stressed, overwhelmed, quick to anger, or anxious, I’ve learned the bestContinue reading “Want to be Happier? Take a Walk in Nature”
First Time Camping with Kids? 5 Tips!
It’s that time of year when parents with young children are beginning to plan that very first camp trip with their young child. Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve read a ton of articles about camping with kids. What can possible be added to the discussion? I have a few extra tips forContinue reading “First Time Camping with Kids? 5 Tips!”
Five Tips for Joyful Hiking with Little Kids
As someone who leads a lot of hiking outings with little kids, today I’m going to address a question I’m frequently asked by parents…. “How do I get my child to enjoy hiking?” Listed here are what I believe to be the five most important tips: Keep it short: The first thing you must doContinue reading “Five Tips for Joyful Hiking with Little Kids”
October Sunrise
The season of beautiful sunrises is beginning. I so love this time of year.
Mavericks Beach, Half Moon Bay, California
Another summer highlight…. and when did my boy grow taller than me??? Mavericks Beach, located near Half Moon Bay, is famous for the annual big wave surfing competition, Maverick’s, which is held here every year.
Friendly Friday: Up Close and Macro
Things have been extremely dry here in California this year, so I was excited on Monday to wake up to a wet city and the beautiful scent of fresh rain. Here’s my photo, an attempt to capture the droplets of water on one of the plants in my front yard.
Bodega Bay, California
As part of our homeschool studies last year, we did a unit on Alfred Hitchcock movies. One of our favorite Hitchcock films was The Birds. Of course, while in Bodega Bay, we had to check out some of the places filmed in the movie, such as the schoolhouse and the church. But the highlight of the trip was our hike on the Bodega Head Trail…
Finding Calm, Redwood Regional Park, Oakland
The scent of the redwoods…. one of my favorite things. This is my happy place…
Spring in Yosemite
I just realized I haven’t posted here in ages. To get back into it, I’ll begin by sharing posts this week from a few places we’ve visited this past year.
Holiday Highlights
One of my favorite things from this holiday season? My daily hikes and walks with my son. These are from our New Year’s Day hike. Happy New Year!
Yosemite Retreat
Do to the events of 2020, we haven’t taken many trips this year, making our time in Yosemite last week feel extra special. Feeling thankful…
Unwinding…
As with everyone else these days, I’ve been feeling stressed. The months of pandemic, the wildfire smoke here in California, adjusting to online teaching, political strife, healing from an injury that has kept me from hiking, combined with worries over the health of close family members… I’ve been feeling, well, stressed and overwhelmed. I’m puttingContinue reading “Unwinding…”
Focusing on the Beauty
Keeping healthy and sane with local daily hikes and neighborhood walks during this period of social distancing….
Writing from Experience: Hot Chocolate
BraveWriter Keen Observation Assignment : Descriptive writing using the five senses. Hot Chocolate.
Autumn: Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve
Autumn: Bishop Ranch Regional Preserve, San Ramon, CA
Freewriting Fun: Take it Outside
Walking and writing… this is our writing focus this week. We’ve been experiencing beautiful, warm fall weather, an ideal time to head outdoors for some writing. The assignment? The daily focus may vary, but every day, my son is to take a walk and then complete a 10-20 minute freewrite about the experience. What isContinue reading “Freewriting Fun: Take it Outside”
Photography 101: Glass
The challenge? WordPress Photography 101: Glass
Photography 101: Treasure
While drinking my morning tea, just a few minutes after I looked up the photography theme for today, my son ran in from the backyard and excitedly said, “look at these treasures I just found!” Perfect! The challenge? WordPress Photography 101: Treasure
Rainy Day: Angles
More images of plants in my front yard… Sunlight: After the Rain Photography 101: The Natural World *** The challenge? WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Angles
Weekly Photo Challenge: Angular
For more photos from this trip to Devils Postpile National Monument, see Photography 101: Experimenting with Composition *** The challenge? WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Angular
Swarm: Ladybug Clusters
It’s that time of year, when the ladybugs return to Redwood Regional Park in Oakland, California. I haven’t hiked out to see them yet this season, but I’ve heard from others that the clusters are back (I’ll head out next week to see for myself and take more photos). Until then, here are a twoContinue reading “Swarm: Ladybug Clusters”
Photography 101: Moment
To capture a fleeting moment….. but aren’t they all? The challenge? WordPress Photography 101: Moment
Photography 101: Architecture
The Living Roof at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco… The challenge? WordPress Photography 101: Architecture
hike.wander.wonder 