Iron Mountain Trail

The last time I was in the Poway area was when I hiked El Cajon Trail. Iron Mountain has been on my list for a while because of its popularity and relatively short duration with a reasonable elevation gain.

I arrived at the trail head around 8.50 AM on a Saturday, and the parking lot was already full. I was lucky to find one parking spot that someone was just leaving from and successfully parked right next to smelly naturally composting restrooms. There is also plentiful parking on the street. The group left 20 minutes later, and the journey uphill began.

San Diego area has a term "June Gloom" defining its usual cloudy June weather. I personally like it, especially for hiking. Since the trail is fully exposed to the sun with no shade in sight, June Gloom was just what I wanted for this hike. The pictures did not come out as good as they would on a sunny day, but that was the only disadvantage. Clouds were high enough to allow almost full visibility of San Diego and rolling hills of California.

At the top, there was a circular guide indicating the distance to other peaks and prominent geographical locations. It also conveniently showed where to look for those peaks. There is also a small picnic area on the top, but with the size of the group, we did not have much space and soon started the descent.

A post-hike brewery 20 minutes away was exactly what I wanted. Second Chance Brewery (reminded me of Second Chance Hiker, one of my latest favorite hiking YouTube channels) offered delicious beer and plenty of parking, a very important feature in San Diego.

Overall, a great hike with wonderful views. Maybe a bit too popular, so it's best to go there on weekdays.

Bear Canyon Loop Trail

I rarely hike the same trail twice, but since this one is located right nearby and I wanted to get some Sunday morning exercise, I decided to join a group to complete Bear Canyon Loop Trail, a bit shorter and that Sitton Peak I did a few months back.

Parking is right across the street from the trail head. You need an Adventure Pass (SoCal specific hiking pass) or America The Beautiful (a more expensive, but also covers National parks) passes to park there. One of the hikers said he got a ticket, which was $5, the cost of the one day parking. To be on the safe side, I would get one of the passes

Last time I hiked the trail there were quite a few people, but on Sunday there were occasional hikers and the parking lot got almost empty by noon, possibly because of the holiday weekend.

I was surprised to see so many wildflowers still in bloom. I thought the season was over, and everything turned "golden brown".

There was no real "culmination" point like on Sitton Peak, so we headed straight back as soon as we approached the midpoint of the loop. On the way back, flies were brutal... Luckily, I had my headnet that I bought a while ago and used it once. It helped tremendously to keep the bastards away!

One of the hikers' dog got somehow injured, so I stayed back with him as he carried the dog back to the parking lot. Luckily, the dog was able to walk just a bit, so we moved quickly. Everyone else has already completed the trail and were meeting at a bar, but I was a bit tired and decided to head back home, exactly 25 minutes from the trail :) 

Mt. Rubidoux in Riverside, CA

I have seen many hikes going to the top of Mt. Rubidoux, but have never actually done it myself. After a yoga class, I decided to give it a shot. The temperatures have already hit the low 80's so it was not going to be a cool hike, but at about 3 miles round trip and a little over 500 ft elevation gain, this was not something I would shy away from, even on a hot day.

I parked on a street nearby the trail head and started my ascent. The trail is easy to hike, it is paved all the way to the top. Even with my regular sneakers, I did not have any issues. There were lots of people, a really heavily trafficked trail, even in the middle of a hot day. It seems like locals come here to exercise regularly running or just walking.

The views of the city were a bit obstructed by worse than average air quality, but you could still see the mountains in the distance. For some reason, Riverside reminded me of Fresno...

The park itself is very well maintained. In addition to being clean, it has multiple seating areas overlooking the city on all sides of the mountain. The infrastructure is definitely well-thought out and family-friendly. There were a few interesting spots that I took note of. One is the Peace tower dedicated to Frank Miller, one of the founders of the Huntington Park Association and a guy who donated the property to Riverside in 1955.

Another spot is the peak of the mountain that is decorated with a large white cross. As I found out from one of the fellow bloggers, the Easter Sunrise Service takes place here yearly. There were several people there, so I did not want to take a picture of it. I am sure you can find it everywhere else online!

I also spotted a cool bridge and could not help but appreciate the wooden structure of it that has held up so well through the years.

Overall, it was a good walk. I probably would not do it in the middle of the day like this time, and maybe even wait until the end of the summer for the weather to cool down. I have also become quite sensitive to air pollution after living in Fresno, so the best time to go there is after a good rain.

As I left the park and headed to buy groceries, I found some news on my phone saying that there was a brush fire less than an hour after my departure. I guess the wildfire season is starting :(

Back to Long Island

Oh, how I missed pizza... There is nothing better than New York style pizza in the US. It's been 3 years since I moved to California, and I still miss every minute of pizza-eating activity. It was time to go back and get my fill of this cheesy (literally) deliciousness. Well, and also see a few old friends...

Last time I visited Long Island was in November, 2017 when Heidi, my dog, was diagnosed with a heart tumor. I flew there urgently because I didn't know I would ever see her again. She recovered, but sadly died in late December that year. It was one of the most devastating events in my life. Now I was visiting again, staying at the house we used to live with her. While another dog was adopted recently, there is no substitution or replacement to Heidi. It was strange not seeing her running around anymore. The new dog, Penny, is still in transition and is not fully adjusted to the household. During my stay, I took her for a 6 mile walk to Blydenburgh Park. She really enjoyed it!

Some beautiful views

Delicately trying to avoid mud

She is a scared dog and needed being comforted once in a while.

And I ate... A lot... One of the highlights was The Trattoria restaurant that I dined at before years ago. This was the first time that I asked Google Assistant to make reservations for me. After watching a demo of Google Duplex, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) based project, online, I could not wait but to test it out myself. Using my Pixel 2, I asked Google assistant to make a reservation at The Trattoria in St. James for 2 people at 7 PM. Less than 15 minutes later I got a confirmation that my reservation is complete.

When I arrived at the restaurant, the waiter asked if we were the people who used Google to make a reservation. He said he had a conversation and would believe it was a human if the caller ID on his phone did not say "Google". Also, my Google account has only "Christina W" as the name instead of my full name. When the restaurant asked for the first and last name, Google Assistant said that it "didn't feel comfortable giving a last name" and asked if it was ok to just provide a first name and the first initial of the last name. How insane is it??? I am going to use it in the future any time I need a reservation!!!

Pizza, as I mentioned, is heavenly in New York!

So is anything Italian... Like this Eggplant Parmesan

...and Creme Brulee 

Later in the trip, I visited another park, David Weld Sanctuary. It's a little park next to the bay that sees little foot traffic, especially on a weekday. I truly enjoyed the peace and quiet, nice views and even several deer. After living in California for a while, I realized how much I missed rich greenery of New York.

While my trip was not long, I enjoyed spending time back home. Or is it still home? I don't know... I can tell you that I loved driving a Tesla... "Loved" does not even define the experience of driving that car. I don't think I could ever buy another gas vehicle, so when mine is at the end of its life, I am replacing it with an electric car.

In the meantime, New York, I will miss you, but California is my home for now.

Finding Meaningful Relationships

Back in school, I used to have a best friend with whom I would do everything together. Back in the 90’s, there were no cellphones, no text, so we would call each other every day if we did not get together after school. During school breaks, we would hang out at each other’s place, go for walks or just do nothing. We had a group of friends who we would spend time with, but the two of us were a “unit”. When I moved out of town and later out of country to the US, this friendship faded and disappeared. Distance often changes relationships, but moreover it’s the change in values and priorities.

As many of my former classmates and friends got married and had families, their “units” have changed. In the meantime, the same trend occurs as people get in and out of relationships, move and just go on to the next stage of their lives.

In my early 30’s, I find it is harder and harder creating long-lasting relationships. And it’s not that meeting people is that difficult. In fact, with popularity of social media and meetup sites, it is easier than ever, but for some reason these first-time interactions stay just that, one time deal. Of course, there are outliers, and I have created a few friendships that way, but it is certainly not the norm, at least not for me.

Could it be because people have already established their “units” and are not looking for any type of “commitment”? Is it that the culture of individualism consumed the idea of community, friendship and partnership? As we age, do we have stricter requirements for friendships? Or maybe we just don’t work hard enough to create and maintain those connections?

Regardless of the reason, as I travel, I find this trend in many other developed countries and wonder if there is any connection between how well off people are compared to others and the number of meaningful connections they create. The sense of community is so different among states within the US and countries in general. Culture is another factor that affects how we establish relationships. In some countries, there are closer bonds within families and among friends, more social interactions, while in others people tend to be more by themselves or stay in small “units”. As I continue exploring this topic further, I wonder how future generations with unlimited online access and increasing remote work opportunities will create and maintain meaningful relationships.