Nevada, California

I woke pretty early today, woke Joey up just before sunrise.   We had a restful night in Boulder City, just outside of Lake Mead National Park and the Hoover Dam.   We ventured out to take some pics of Lake Mead as well as the Hoover Dam.   Funny thing, we had to turn back around to our hotel after being stopped at a security check point.  Something we learned today is that you’re not able to take firearms with you to the Dam.   :  )

It for sure was a sunrise to sunset day.   After a hearty breakfast at the local diner (Thank you Best Western for the $10 discount), we were off in the Fiat!   During our drive from Nevada to Northern California, we were able to accomplish a lot!   We stopped in to have lunch with our friends, Ruth and Jerry, who live in Bakersfield (Got to have lunch at In & Out your first day in CA, it’s tradition!); drove thru the San Andreas Fault; up the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway); then back in to stay at the Oakland Airport Executive Hotel for a couple of nights.

Highlight of the day was for sure hanging out at a place called Ragged Point to watch the sunset and take some beach pics.  We found this Nature Trail ‘Coastal Access’ and decided, let’s do it!   For sure in flip flops, so we can get in the water too… well, little did we know it was steep, ragged, and pretty rough trail.   We trekked down to the bottom (without injury and without being bit by snakes, yes there were snakes!), took our pics, enjoyed the sunset, and back up to continue on our journey.

A thought I had as I was climbing back up, which if you have every hiked a steep dirt trail (especially in flip flops)  it is much easier than going down as you’re looking into the mountain and able to balance yourself better, etc.   Thinking of spiritually going down and going up… when you’re going ‘downhill’, meaning making wrong choices, you are more likely to slip; fall backward; get hurt by falling without being able to catch yourself; lose control.  Yet when you’re going ‘uphill’ you can grip; fall forward; still get hurt, yet able to catch yourself; be in more control as you have more ability to do so.   So there you have it, if you ever find yourself going ‘downhill’ remember you can always turn around and go ‘uphill’!