Hiking and Biking in 2018

~ Evelyn Mitsunaga

I’m happy to see 2018 end.  Too much drama and disaster.  Still, I cherish good memories of our many bike rides, hikes, and walks in the past year.  Being outside always improves my spirits. In January and February, we stuck close to home.

IMG_0166
A nice walking and biking trail goes through our local Vasona Park.
IMG_0217
Walking trail past my old office, now the Google complex, Mountain View.

March was exciting, with wonderful hikes and activities too numerous to mention, during a trip to Patagonia.

IMG_1616
Iguazu Falls.  You can get real wet, if you want to.
IMG_2087
The beautiful Torres del Paine National Park, Chile.
IMG_1994
A hike up to the lookout at Cape Horn.

Sometimes my local walking is for the town’s highway clean-up effort.

IMG_2360
A certain section of the local highway always yields an abundance of vodka bottles.  Scary!

May was another great month for walks and hikes––this time in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji.  Fantastic trip with sister and brother-in-law.

IMG_2467
4-mile beach at Port Douglas, Queensland.
IMG_2740
Bronte to Bondi Beach, along Sydney’s East shore.
IMG_2982
Hells Gate sulphur springs, Rotorua, NZ                

Early July: a drive up Highway 5 to Oregon means a stop in Redding.

IMG_3443
We walked across the beautiful Sundial Bridge at Turtle Bay Park.

Late July to August was filled with rides and hikes, starting in Toronto, Ontario.

36251564_10209573575936137_5213193113035603968_n
Toronto Bicycle Tours hits all the high spots, but an easy city to ride on your own, as well.

We boarded a Holland American ship in Montreal, first stop Quebec City.

IMG_3911
Nice tour in Quebec City.
IMG_7076
We rented bikes at the pier in Charlottetown, PEI.
IMG_4038
In Bar Harbor, we did the bike excursion in Acadia National Park.

The cruise ended up in Boston.  Nice walking city, but don’t go in the summer, like we did.

IMG_9855
Freedom Trail.  It was too hot.
IMG_4086
Beacon Hill was a pretty walk.  I need to write more about the Boston area.

We flew from Boston to Washington, to share a celebration with friends in Port Ludlow.  Nice peaceful place.  Beautiful weather.  The cool felt so good after Boston.

IMG_4126
Waterside at Port Ludlow. 
IMG_4143
Back home, we walked along Santa Cruz beaches a few times.

Some walking is involved in volunteer efforts to rid the creek environs of homeless camps, but mostly it’s just work.  Thanks to South Bay Clean Creeks Coalition for making it happen.

IMG_4163
We see a big improvement along the creekside trail, as a result of the clean-up efforts.

Ashland has a delightful bike trail, but this year southern Oregon had two solid months of heavy smoke from the fires.  In September, we did manage a hike through upper Lithia Park,

IMG_4207
where we saw Manzanita and madrone.

We felt lucky to be home for the 2018 Viva Calle SJ ride in San Jose, where local streets are closed to automobile traffic.

IMG_4227
One version of a taco truck at Viva Calle SJ.

October found us back in Canada for a trip to see the polar bears––still need to write about that fantastic trip.  We love Canada, and were very impressed with Winnipeg, as I’ve written.

IMG_4400
An easy hike through the aspen grove at Fort Whyte.

We spent a couple days in Santa Rosa in late November.

IMG_4892
Plenty of hiking trails at Jack London State Park, Glen Ellen, CA.

In December, we were lucky to have great weather for a bike ride in Sacramento: American River Bike Trail

IMG_4907
The last bike ride of the year.

Happy New Year and Happy trails to you!

IMG_4127
A walk in the woods in Port Ludlow.

 

Published by Evelyn Mitsunaga

Evelyn is a retired industrial hygienist/occupational toxicologist living in Silicon Valley. She writes stories about her travels and about the absurdities of everyday life.

5 thoughts on “Hiking and Biking in 2018”

    1. Happy New Year, Liz and Harry! It made me happy to remember all the 2018 outings. Even then I failed to mention a Christmas Eve hike up to the El Sereno Preserve above here, where we saw fresh mountain lion tracks in the mud. Alas, my camera battery was dead (should have grabbed Jon’s pic).

      Like

      Reply

  4. Great photos! A very nice wrap-up of your year of travel. 🤗 Pauline

    On Mon, Dec 31, 2018 at 8:41 PM Travel Tales amongst my Ramblings wrote:

    > Evelyn Mitsunaga posted: “I’m happy to see 2018 end. Too much drama and > disaster. Still, I cherish good memories of our many bike rides, hikes, > and walks in the past year. Being outside always improves my spirits. In > January and February, we stuck close to home. March was ” >

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment