Girls Day Out

For many women, this might mean a nice lunch with a fancy salad, facials and pedicures. I've been known to do those things...rarely...just to be social, but people who know me know that's really not me at all. This, on the other hand...

Uh, yeah. That's a lot more like me.

So, when a friend is feeling kinda down, I'm not all that likely to take her for lunch and nails. If it's just the right friend, I'm likely to take her OUT. Really out.

Wait, is that a cliff I'm about to go over? Nah. I wouldn't jump off a cliff with my oh-so-precious cheese!

I might not be into fancy lucheons, but I do like my cheese. In moderation of course. But my friend N, and I had driven to Point Reyes for the day and I happen to know that it's home to some super yummy cheese. So we had to make a little stop in Point Reyes Station before setting out.

This is my idea of a fancy lunch.

After that fun little diversion, two ladies of a certain age took really bad self-timed photos of themselves in front of Tomales Bay foods, looking especially dorky in unintentionally matching fleece sweaters...

before setting out for the day's adventures.

I'd thought we might take a hike at a state park a little inland from Point Reyes, but the weather forecast was so promising that we decided to head for the coast instead...and National Park #6 on the year for me (I'm ludicrously proud of how much I've hiked and kayaked this year).

There's something a little symbolic about that photo, I suppose. Light at the end of the tunnel and all. We took a hike along the coast from the South end of Point Reyes National Seashore to Alamere Falls, a waterfall that falls straight from the cliffs onto the beach. The hike passes a couple of really nice swimming lakes.

If I'd thought it would be warm enough, I would've suggested bringing swimsuits. There were plenty of people out there swimming and a neat-looking rope swing. I doubt the 20-somethings out there would have appreciated a couple of 40-somethings in their swimwear, however. (That's really just me, I'm talking about, N. I'm sure you look hot.) There is a tiny, poison-oak lined path that leads down to the cliffs from the main trail. N will be dismayed to know that although I was wearing shorts, I didn't get a lick of oil on me. Or at least I never broke out. She was smart. She wore pants. Before getting to the falls, there were plenty of other pretty little falls in the creek to admire.

Alamere Falls isn't much to look at in the late summer, from the top of the cliff and if you want to avoid tacking an extra eight miles onto your hike, getting to the bottom requires scrambling down the cliff. Naturally, neither of us gave that a moment's hesitation.

Perhaps I should've hestitated just a little bit more, since I turned my ankle on the way down, but in my usual fashion, I shrugged it off and kept on going. "Huh, that didn't feel good. Whatever." (This photo is actually of me scrambling back up the cliff on the way back.)

We finally reached our destination.

The nice picnic log by the falls was already occupied, so we opted to climb up a rock (see the first photo of this post) and eat our cheese, with apples and crackers. It was a bit chilly, but I can't complain. It was the perfect perch for a picnic.

After a bit, we climbed down and explored the beach a little bit. The sun finally came out for a while, although the fog was still swirling.

It turned into a beautiful day and we had a great time hiking, yakking all the way. It's been a while since I had the opportunity to do something like this and I've missed it.

We headed back and you know that ankle? Well, yeah, I actually hurt it. And about halfway back to the car it started really bugging me. Still, I made it back without incident, still talking coherently, I think. On a Sunday afternoon, it was a long drive back and the ankle was getting worse. N's mood wasn't improving either as she'd read some unwelcome news on Facebook as we crossed the Golden Gate bridge. So the drive back was painful in more ways than one.

Hopefully, there'll be plenty of comic relief in the memory of me working really hard to get my hiking boots off before we went to dinner. My ankle was killing me and I limped barefoot along the sidewalk to the restaurant...where we had a couple of nice cocktails and a terrific dinner of tapas.

Despite the ankle (which healed mercifully quickly) and the rotteness provided courtesy of social media, I think we both agreed it was a terrific day. And just what the two of us needed.

Accompanying blog post with gross exaggerations of my photographic abilities to be found at The Doudna Doings.