WE RISKED IT AND IT PAID OFF!

The last time Laurie led a walk in the Malibu/Palisades region …. well…we have some stories. So, when she offered to coordinate the June walk, some of us were a bit apprehensive. 🙂 But she redeemed herself a few times over with a fabulous 7 mile walk along the Sullivan Fire Road, complete with hills (to prep for San Fran), some intriguing graffiti art and even a memory that put a old “favorite” tune in our heads.

The day started with a trip to a bakery that we discovered next door to Starbucks which is our usual stop prior to venturing into the wild. Great baked goods, good coffee and unfortunately a ticket for Carolyn’s car. Those parking police are quick!

We had a beautiful morning to walk up the fire trail that comprised most of the walk. Some nice cloud cover kept us cool enough to enjoy the scenery and amazing views.

Don’t worry, the beer is a joke. We have those AFTER the walk.

The turning point on this in/out walk was a huge oak tree in the center of the path. Providing a welcomed shady break, the tree didn’t mind some adornment. Of course ribbons and oak trees reminded us all of that menacing 1970s tune “Tie a Yellow Ribbon around the Oak Tree” which, of course, we could not get out of our heads on the walk down.

Tie a Pink Ribbon round the old oak tree.

The turning point..now we head back for lunch.

Before making our way to our cars, we took a detour to have a look at the historic Murphy Ranch which was built in the 1930s. Local lore says it was a haven for Nazi sympathizers and later became an art colony. It is now literally covered from tree branches to rocks in graffiti art. We got more than we bargained for with the detour as an endless set of stairs was our only route back to the trail.

The Detour

The Art

The Stairs!!! – hundreds of them.

A short drive to Santa Monica allowed us to get to our lunch and some hydration. Seasons 2 turned out to be a perfect refuge for our hungry and thirsty bodies. We think we’ll let Laurie plan a few more of these, it was a pretty perfect day.