Carolyn, the planner of our December walk warned us…there would be hills.  But, I’m not sure we all really believed her. Well, she was telling the truth. It turned out there were a lot of ups and downs but despite our heavy breathing, it turned out to be an absolutely beautiful day in the hills of Anaheim. We started the walk with a fabulous view to inspire us.

First stop…a great view..version 1 with Terri.

First stop…a great view…version 2 with Carol

Look Mom, I’m on top of the world. 🙂

The paths were sometimes narrow and shared by biking enthusiasts.

Our energizer bunny walkers…taking a break here to let the rest of us catch up.

Tucked away among rows and rows of luxury homes in East Anaheim, there are miles and miles of wilderness trails. Though named Santiago Oaks Regional Park, there weren’t all that many oaks until the end of the hike. About three quarters of the way through we passed the ranger station – complete with bathrooms – always a welcomed site. We all grabbed trail maps thinking we’d be back again! The park has a lot of history. Evidence of its past can be seen while passing the small dam comprised of river rock and cement which was built in 1892 and still stands.

Gotta get a selfie..

Or two!

The latter part of the hike provided much welcomed shade.

The historic dam is hidden among the oaks.

Leap frog anyone?

We ended the walk a bit earlier than planned, but luckily our reservation at the Reunion Kitchen in Anaheim Hills was available early. This restaurant was the perfect ending to our day with a delicious selection of both meals and drinks. The big hit was their grapefruit slice – twice bruleed with white and brown sugar. It originally came on a grapefruit martini, but was so spectacular that we requested a round for dessert – which they provided on the house!

Heather – recovering from the flu – joined us for lunch.

The amazing bruleed grapefruit (oh and a delicious martini)

The Bloody Mary’s came adorned with the cheese stuffed jalapeno (wrapped in bacon) that we enjoyed as an appetizer.

Cheers!

Thanks Carolyn for planning another adventure for the Pink Bragade.

Check out the trails at Santiago Oaks Park: http://ocparks.com/parks/santiago

The rolling hills of Ojai were the setting for the Pink Bragade’s November walk. To extend the timeline for adventure, the group rented a house in Ojai and went up early on Saturday to enjoy the town and beautiful location. That’s when the fun began which always seems to happen when one or more gather in the name of the Pink Bragade.

A small but mighty group took on the hills of Ojai.

Despite the revelry of Saturday night, the group faithfully got up for an early start to walk on Sunday as planned.  Before the day was over, they had treaded over 9 miles exploring a new route in the region that has been a tradition since the team’s beginnings.  Wendy picked the route which took them through the hills and away from the highway around Lake Casitas and even under a fence to get out. 🙂

Along the road less traveled.

On a bridge to somewhere.

A thirsty lake…

Confirmation of reaching the destination.

Lake Casitas Selfie

Thanks to the recommendations from a few odd fellows they met along the way, they took a side jaunt that led them to an Eagle’s nest and the sighting of a bald Eagle in flight. Further along the hike, they met two other locals…donkeys behind a fence that eagerly approached for some bites of Lori’s apples.

Spectacular scenery

Isn’t nature amazing!

Fall is on the way.

What a find!

What, did you say apples?

LIsa’s new found friends.

Some uninterested onlookers.

Fly like an Eagle.

Though their meandering took a bit longer than planned and they missed the market, the group did happen upon a great new Mexican restaurant…Agave Maria’s…which served excellent tangerine margaritas.

Cheers.

To complete the weekend on the way home, both cars made a stop at a fabulous nursery which they had come across during the walk.  Of course, while they were there everyone found a few things they had to bring home, so a trip back with the cars was a must.  Chalk up another unique adventure for the team.

We never pass up a chance to wear pink or was it supposed to be orange????

Fittingly, this year’s Pink Party – aka PiNK is the New Orange – was held in October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Usually we get to enjoy Lisa’s beautiful garden in springtime, but this time, guests were treated to the tricks of the fall season with her house spookily decorated for Halloween.

It truly was bewitching how Lisa had transformed her house with witches, spider webs and other ghostly images. Much of the Halloween feel came from her original artwork hung just for the season.

We want to thank everyone who attended and supported our event by participating in the the raffles, silent auction and pink elephant sales. A huge thank you as well to Shari Huffington, Stella & Dot consultant, who donated 1/3 of her profits from the evening to the team.

Our pink party has always been such an amazing event for the feeling it generates. The work everyone on the team puts into the afternoon, especially our hosts Greg and Lisa Vaughn, coupled with help from individual team members who helped out in so many ways and provided a scrumptious table full of food.

The end result was that we raised nearly $4,500 for the Pink Bragade’s Avon Walk. The monies raised will be split among each team member’s fundraising goals.  We still have a long way to go, both on raising the required amount to walk and to get into the physical shape to take on the hills of San Francisco.

Lynne and Carol’s college friend Ann came all the way from Denver for the party.

Witch one is Lisa?

Drinks anyone?

Wendy surrounded by Simpsons. Thanks Connor for the beer donation from Stone Brewery.

Denise and Mona are checking out the raffles.

The welcome crew.

Once again, thank you to everyone who supported our event. The names written on the posters spread throughout the yard will be posted on our honor roll here on the blog and we will wear a ribbon in honor of each person during our San Francisco walk in July. Let us know of others you would like to honor with a ribbon.

Actually, it’s called the Bridge to Nowhere….:)

Although aptly named the Bridge to Nowhere, we knew exactly where we were headed when we set out for our October walk in the hills above Azuza, we just didn’t know how far it actually was to Nowhere. Another amazing adventure transpired for the Pink Bragade thanks to Paula who planned and pre-scouted the route the week before. We got an early start, which was absolutely necessarily, not only to land a parking spot for this very popular walk, but more importantly due to a forecasted temperature of over 100 degrees. The walk was set to be approximately 4.5 miles in and back out the same distance. There were four to five expected stream crossings, though with the drought and being at the end of a dry summer, that wasn’t too much of a concern.

Ready to go…bright and early on what was to be a very hot day.

The majority of the walk was along the river bed. Mother nature had decorated it beautifully with yuccas dotting the landscape. The crossings weren’t difficult, but required a bit of careful stepping to avoid soaked shoes. (Carol just said to heck with it and walked right through the water. – Enjoying nice cool feet for most of the walk.)

Each stream crossing required some clever stepping.

A little friend along the way. Thankfully, since we moved in close for a picture, he decided not to jump.

Just so we knew where we were. 🙂 But we never seemed to find any of those sheep.

Following the river bed was sometimes a challenge. This way or that way?

The yucca were astoundingly beautiful all along the walk.

Varying colors of greens made the scenery spectacular.

Built in 1939, wonder if they every figured out just where the road was supposed to go

One of the more challenging aspects of the walk was trying to stay on route. Luckily, Paula had done the hike recently and was a good guide.  It was amusing however, as we were all expecting a shorter hike, so each time we passed someone on their way back, we’d ask the question…”how much farther to the bridge” often getting dramatically different responses. When we reached our destination, we passed right by it to find a nice spot for a bit of a rest and a good viewing point to watch those who had a bit more courage than we did.  There were at least 30 brave souls lined up to take the bungee jump off the bridge. Turns out it took a bit of bravery to reach a good resting spot, as the path got very narrow over a steep grade.  But once we ventured through, we had a great view.

On the bridge ready to leave before someone asks if we want to bungee jump.

Lisa, Laurie and Carol spent a few minutes in the very cold, but very refreshing water in the small river that ran under the bridge. Clothes and all got drenched, which turned out to be a cooling factor on the walk home.

Brrr…. 🙂

We thought this was a bear, it was a log..ha!

Someone left a trail marker, but it was a bit too confusing. Or maybe it was a rock city.

Taking a break by the river.

As with every good walk, comes a great lunch. We ate at the City Cafe on Azusa Blvd. Greeted by baskets full of fresh homemade potato chips and nice cool drinks, we were all good! We all had a nice lunch, some delicious soups and sandwiches. After filling up, we filled up Paula’s car to head back to Orange County, Laurie to Calabasas and Karen, for once, had the shortest drive…just back a few miles to Pasadena. Going nowhere…turned out to be quite the adventure.

A potato chip or two for every mile! Well deserved.

Thanks Leanne for coloring our walk with your Waterlogue App!

When first reading Karen’s email describing September’s walk, many of us started to think of some really good reasons that we might have to miss. But, courage prevailed and seven of us met up for the 10-mile adventure she had planned in the Hollywood Hills.

Ready to go – thinking about those secret stairs.

The initial walk was in the Hollywood Hills through a very eclectic neighborhood. Karen had set up a loop to add to the total number of miles and wound us around through the houses.Up and up we went on our way to the Hollywood Reservoir which we were set to circle before it got hot – not much shade here.

First glance at the reservoir!

This dam had some personality – stone wolves or bears (we weren’t sure) on one side – swimming turtles on the other. 🙂

After getting around before the sun became too overwhelming, we made our way back through the hills of the neighborhood – this time going down. As per every walk it seems, we met someone special adding something new to our walk. This time it was Carol, who brought out her neighborhood map and also explained the history behind the Alaskan Clan drawing on her garage door.

Ready with a map to the Hollywood Sign for lost tourists –not us!

Carol and Paula were able to share their knowledge of clan paintings from Alaska.

A few other pictures from our walk through Hollywood-land!

Whew — a needed stop!

Hollywood Lake – really beautiful on this clear warm day.

How’s this for getting mail?

Hollywood da, da, da, da Hollywood

That would be us!

Of course, we had to take a selfie.

Yep, we missed you Heather!

Our fans….

Nice!

Guess where we are?

Once done with the loop – we had a remaining 2.5 miles to finish up on the stairs…again, reasons not to go…several…but we forged on.  We were here, might as well go for it, plus it was only 850+ stairs – piece of cake.

Thanks to Karen’s meticulous planning, we found the first staircase no problem – just 170 or so steps up!  Then we found the next and the next, luckily a few were down!

First set up….

Second set — guarded by a gnome…

and a gargoyle!

On our way down…

Another set down…

The Grand-daddy of them all – double sided! Back up again.

This was an historic walk!

And back down the double set again…

Here’s a look at some of the houses we passed on our Secret Stair walk:

A cool cottage…

Ivy league….

Great garage doors…

Tiny tree house….

And our favorite:

Homage to Sir Valient!

All in all it was an excellent adventure, interesting, challenging and fun.  We summed it up with another great meal, this time at the Beechwood Cafe which was RIGHT where we started so that made for an easy drive to lunch!

Beechwood Cafe – no line for us. 🙂

It was!

All done – all smiles.

Thanks Karen for a great walk….next up October 11 – Bridge to Nowhere.

We felt this was an appropriate title for our August training walk for a few reasons. (A shout out to Wendy for coming up with the wording. 🙂 )The title was befitting due to the fact that we hiked to the top of two actual dams and more to the point…it was Damn hot. By 11 am, when the temperature was already in the 90s, it was time for “That Damn/Dam Hike” to come to an end.

Due to the projected temperatures, we got an early start meeting in the parking lot of the Snail’s Pace in Brea, which was the same lot for the restaurant that was to be our final destination – Tempo Urban Kitchen. The location for our August walk was originally determined by the Avon Foundation staff who was holding a training event for next month’s Santa Barbara walk. We had planned to join in the 7-mile hike, but when we learned the starting time was nearly 9 am, we altered the plan. For something different, we decided to loop Brea’s two regional parks, taking in two city dams and, believe it or not, a grove of redwoods.

The walk began at Carbon Canyon Regional Park with the loop accounting for just over 3 miles. About halfway along the dirt path which meandered through the native landscape, we came to Southern California’s only Redwood Grove! Really, we aren’t kidding.

Taking a break in the shade of the redwoods. The trees were planted in 1975 as part of a bank promotion where new account openers got a small redwood tree. The extras from the campaign were donated to the park for its opening celebration.

On about 10-acres are more than 200 redwood trees. Though a bit stunted at the height of 100 feet due to an improper climate and the fact they are only about 40 years old, (compared to their 1000+ years old, 300 ft tall Northern California cousins)…they are truly beautiful. Their branches offered us a cool canopy for what was already a hot morning.

On a side note, we must mention that for the first time, we accompanied by one of our four legged friends.

Our guide dog Loki — well not really, but we were glad to have him join us.

Lisa’s dog Loki joined us for the walk through Carbon Canyon Park.  It was great to have him along and we were all truly thankful that he didn’t jump out of the truck on his way here. (There is a back story here.)

The rest of the walk was an easy stroll including a short climb to the top of the Carbon Canyon Dam. We took the wandering path around the lake back to our cars making the most of the shade from the mixed collection of oddly shaped trees.

Now remember…this is the hand signal for making a right turn!

Time for a tree cuddle.

Nature’s “muffin top.”

The second half of our regional park tour began with a caffeine break at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, in the same center where we parked our cars! Then we started the 3.5 mile loop around Craig Regional Park hopefully mostly in the shade. Halfway around the park, we climbed to the top of Fullerton Dam, stopped to take a quick photo and then headed back with our lunch destination in mind. After a slight mutiny of a few walkers who took a cooler and quicker path, we all ended up back at that SAME parking lot and directly into the welcomed air conditioning of Tempo Urban Kitchen.

We wasted no time in getting a cool drink and taking advantage of a great sign -up discount with the Avon Walk folks who were waiting for their walkers to return from their 7 mile walk in the late morning heat.

Although the visit to Tempo Urban Kitchen was highly anticipated due to past visits where the food and service had been extraordinary, our experience wasn’t the best. Food selection was limited due to a Saturday/Sunday brunch menu which did not include many of our favorite menu items. Unfortunately, the service was muddled and slow, which didn’t blend well with a table full of hot and tired walkers. We will give the restaurant another try sometime soon. Why? Because the margaritas are huge and delicious and everyone deserves a second chance.

Kamilla, Karen’s friend and official photographer for our other group shots actually made it into this one. 🙂

Looking forward (sort of) to our stair walk next month. :0!!!!  Gotta get some stair stepping practice in over the next few weeks.

Leanne, Carole (peeking from the back), Kamela (Karen’s friend), Karen, Suzanne and Lori.

A ten mile trek starting from Carole’s house and winding through the hills of Fullerton took place on Saturday, September 18th.  Carole planned the walk to help her friend Suzanne train for the upcoming Avon Walk this September in Santa Barbara. She usually trains alone and as the date gets closer, the preparation walks get longer. So, Carole asked for some support from other members of the Pink Bra-Gade and out they came! The walkers had a nice cloud cover and cool breeze for most of the route, which was a blessing as it as a very hot day.

Suzanne is walking the Avon Walk for the first time with her best friend Bea who is a two-time cancer survivor. Suzanne hasn’t quite reached her financial goal so if anyone would like to donate to her efforts, you know what to do.

Click here to link to Suzanne’s Page

So…what to do? It’s 11 am and already 85 degrees, not a cloud in sight and the only way up is pretty darn steep…and your navigation tool shows no way out. Well, not being of the males species, we asked for directions!  And in doing so, met our guardian Angel, Portuguese Bend resident Joan Kelly!

Joan was in her front yard gardening when we caught her attention and asked if she could recommend a “gentler” way up the hill. She instantly responded by telling us, there was no other way out and she absolutely discouraged us to attempt the climb in the heat. She and her dog make the hike several mornings a week, but always return by 8:30, the heat is too intense at this hour. But the thing is, Joan didn’t just tell us good luck, drink lots of water and have a good day.  Instead, she ran into the house, came back with her car keys and insisted in driving us back to our cars at Del Cerro park…just a short drive (not!).

Joan wouldn’t take no for an answer (not that we were going to tell her no) so we all piled into her Lexus that happened to have enough seats for the five of us. (Thanks Leanne for climbing into the back.) During our “short” ride to the top, which really was a 10 minute winding route through Palos Verdes, Joan explained that she was a member of the Portuguese Bend Conservancy and had worked to help save the land in this beautiful area for public use.  She also serves as a trail guide and, (she may have said this just to make us feel good) has often taken hikers just like us, back up the hill.

On Saturday, Joan truly was our guardian angel in her Lexus chariot. And we were eternally grateful. 🙂

Joan saved the day.

In the spirit of paying it forward, Joan asked that we visit her other passion –             Ten Thousand Villages at 1907 Catalina Avenue in Redondo Beach.  The organization’s mission is to provide fair wage income for people in the developing world by marketing their handcrafted products and sharing their artisan stories. The store has fair trade treasures from throughout the world, including gifts, home decor, personal accessories, jewelry, chocolate, coffee and more. In fact after taxiing us around, she was off to work there. So let’s all make sure to stop by and do some shopping to support the cause. (Maybe we can do so on one of our South Bay walks.) Visit their website for all the details.  It sounds like a wonderful place:  Ten Thousand Villages *

So Joan, here’s to you!  Thank you for reminding us why we walk and that the world is full of wonderful women who don’t hesitate a moment to help others, rescuing a car full of strangers or ensuring that women and girls around the globe have better lives.

Here’s to Joan and a wonderful, serendipitous day.

Ahh, the toast…well, after Joan dropped us at our cars, we did find out way to the Original Red Onion, just a few minutes away.  Ordered our drinks pronto and enjoyed an atmosphere that had a great 60s vibe.  Food was pretty good too.

*For more information on Ten Thousand Villages,

LIKE THEM ON FACEBOOK: Ten Thousand Villages Redondo Beach Facebook

Or call 310-465-1600 or email redondobeach@tenthousandvillages.com.

It’s not that people don’t like classical music. It’s that they don’t have the chance to understand and to experience it. – Gustavo Dudamel 

A few months ago at one of our walks, we discussed how diverse many of our interests are…some of us are into music, some into art, some are book lovers. We are quilters, seamstresses, colorers, wine lovers, cooks, bakers, athletes and needlecrafters, So, we decided to expand our horizons and start up a new branch of the Pink Bra-Gade—The Culture Club – a chance to explore areas that are new to many of us.

Our first adventure was spurred by Lisa’s desire to see Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic. Laurie managed to get six tickets together and last night those of us who were fortunate enough to get the tickets had our first Culture Club adventure.

We landed a spot for our picnic dinner at the very top section. It was the last of the tables available and we enjoyed an amazing view.

We discovered that taking the Park and Ride bus from Pasadena was a stress free way to get the Bowl. Once there we were given an absolutely lovely evening for our picnic of wine from Laurie and Lori, cheese from Lisa, sandwiches prepared by Leanne and Wendy’s famous Orzo salad. Dessert was a variety of speciality dark chocolates. Yum. Then we headed to our seats. Which were perfect.

Our seats were perfect. Center stage with no-one in front of us so we have a great place for our feet.  And, right behind us, without a bit of prior planning, happened to be long time friends of Laurie’s who she hadn’t seen in several years – true – right in the seats behind us. And, on an even “smaller world” note…her friend was the designer of a bathing suit that Leanne just happen to have in her bag. (For details of this story, best to ask one of the Dudamel six.)

Anna and her Mom. Anna was the one who designed Leanne’s bathing suit.

Lisa provided the whoop, whoops, throughout the evening. 🙂

From Carmina Burana, Ecce Gratum(Behold the Pleasant Spring):

“A wretched soul is he who does not live or lust under summer’s rule.” 

It is hard to describe how wonderful the performance was. The acoustics of the bowl made the tones of a single flute distinct and highlighted the amazing range of the soloists. (You can share in the beauty of the music if you are on Facebook and can visit Wendy’s page to find the link to the video she took.) But if not, trust those of us who were fortunate enough to enjoy the magic of Dudamel and the talented musicians and vocalists under his direction. We will never forget our adventure into the discovery of the beauty of classical music.