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Although I haven’t had an actual summer break in three years, I still experience the same feeling of anticipation as the sun begins to set later and the days start to get longer. I remember the countdown to vacation break and looking forward to three sweet, unproductive months to do nothing, or anything and everything.
I admit that working a full-time job and being out of college quickly put a damper to that state of mind. I developed the mentality that I would never have a real summer break again and that I should get used to watching the sun go from east to west from within my office. But lately I’ve been trying to work on balance, in all areas of my life, and I realized that those were two extreme perspectives.
So to keep myself in line with doing and not wishing, I’ve decided to kick off my first AFTC series: Summer Is For Adventure. First hiking trail destination: Abalone Cove in Palos Verdes, CA. I asked my friend Mellie to join me since she had gone before, and together we filled the afternoon with plans of cute outfits and Nike poses. Like me, Mellie is a fitness enthusiast so there was absolutely no shame in taking and retaking a million photos of and with each other. Unfortunately, this lack of shame also included appointing randoms who happened to be there at the same time as us to be our designated photographers.
Now, we didn’t actually make it to Abalone Cove, I don’t think. After parking we hiked our way down the trail to the beach and followed it until we hit the first challenge. We arrived around noon so the tides were at their peak, and we had to ever so slightly scale the side of the rocks to get to the other side where there was a flat (but rocky) surface. There wasn’t a whole lot of moving space as there were a few other parties and the crashing waves further minimized the amount of space. In order to get to Abalone Cove though, you had to then jump into the water and swim across a small canal to reach another flat area. Then from there you could explore the rocky tide pools before making it to Abalone Cove.
Since I unpreparedly brought a hot pink duffle bag filled with my iPhone, three pairs of shoes and my Canon Rebel t5i, I thought it unwise to copy others and toss my bag across the canal in hopes of someone catching it. At the time I felt like a party pooper, but after seeing someone unsuccessfully catch his friend’s purse (and watching it plop into the water) I felt confident in my earlier decision. It worked out though because we got to spend the afternoon leisurely watching the waves, getting to know each other, and of course, taking so many photos that we got asked if we were Nike models. Definitely the highlight of the day.
All in all I considered it a successful first summer adventure and loved the photos I got out of it. I hope you feel the same and I can’t wait to share my upcoming adventures with you all! What are some places you have on your summer list?
