Take Me Home, Country Roads...

Last week the kids and I packed our lunches, beach towels and sunscreen and hit the road.

"Adventures" has always been our thing, far longer than they have had a say in where or when, we have always been going to see, do, visit and explore.  I love it - and they love it.
The other day Abby was missing Connecticut and she said "I miss trees.  I miss freshwater - lakes and rivers.  I miss just going somewhere and being in the middle of nowhere."
My little country mouse was feeling a little crowded, I think.

Backpack loaded, ready to go!

We live in SouthBay, it's beautiful beach cities.  Beach.  City.  Lots of sand and gorgeous places to relax and eat, shop and see.  But not a lot of....  shade.  Or quiet.  Or dark.

We had to take the freeway, this was the second time I've driven on the 405 and while getting up over 40 mph is a nice treat, it still feels very foreign.  I am thankful for my large car.

What's really amazing is how this state can offer us the beach and the sun and the amazing ocean breezes at home and just an hour away, a little bit northeast it offers us hot desert sun and mountains that resemble what I saw in the Lion King.

Entering "The Shady Path".

We don't know what this tree was but it was super big and cool looking!

Skull Rock!

The thing that led us to Malibu Creek was the Lava Rocks swimming hole.  Fresh water in the most natural of natural surroundings.  Cliffs and rock formations made thousands of years ago by nature.  Safe?  Sort of, I guess.  There are people swimming there all the time, but there's no lifeguards and there is a sign that says maybe think twice before you jump.  From where we parked and walked the "Lava Lake" was a little over a mile.  We were hot and hungry and happy to find this little oasis.  

This seems pretty clear to me.

This was not the highest point these guys jumped off of on this beautifully hot day but I had to stop watching.

This really was as serene and cold and fun as it looks.

  
While the pond swimming was fun we knew there was more to see so we left the pond to the daredevils and canned beer drinkers and moved on with our day of nature and trees.

This park is where they filmed M.A.S.H.  I was excited at the idea of seeing that as I have seen every episode of that show and the song plays almost constantly in my head.  Miserable song but somehow, that show was happy and funny (usually) in spite of the premise.
It is also where they filmed Planet of the Apes and few other shows and movies,  this is LA after all.
But, after the one mile walk to Lava Lake and the next 2 miles - mostly uphill - to Century Lake - I didn't think the kids had another mile just to see an open field of nothing that would mean nothing to them other than an additional mile back.  So, I skipped it.  No biggie.

After Lava we headed uphill to Century.

We didn't know what to expect but we did know that swimming in both pools of fresh water was our entire plan for the day so even though we now know what this guy feels like - we made it.

Century Lake was sort of hidden.  We walked up a very hard, dry, sun soaked path (came to find out later that we were on an "easy to moderate" hiking trail the entire time, so I guess - technically - we hike now.  

When we stumbled upon it (literally, down a tricky little pricker-y path) it did not disappoint.

It was shady, the water was deep and cold and the only thing missing was the bugs we, as east coasters, have become so accustomed to with shady fresh water.  Pure heaven.

There was a log that they climbed up on to climb up onto the ground.
Very efficient.

Hi Daddy!

The view from the top of the hill we climbed to reach the lake.
(Pinch it to see the port-o-potty island that both of my kids had to poop in.  Why waste a perfectly good, desert-cooked shitter, am I right?)

We don't go anywhere without a wrong turn, this bridge led to a Visitors Center
that was only open on the weekend and had no toilets.

At the end of the day we managed something around 6 miles of "hiking" and we swam twice.  We picnicked, we chatted and we enjoyed silence.  The kind of silence that these 3 country mice forgot how much we miss.  Nothing but wind through leaves and tall grass and bugs chattering - I do not take that kind of peace for granted.

No one cried.  No one argued.  No one got stung, hurt or upset by anything.  It was the best day.

Oh, and on the way back down the hill, I was lucky enough to catch this:

Yes.  They are holding hands.