Jennifer Fontaine

Caves and Creeks and Conductors! Oh My! – Hiking Malibu Creek Trail with a Toddler

Posted on July 29, 2013April 28, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

On this week’s Friday Family Hike, we journeyed 30 minutes north of Los Angeles to trek the Malibu Creek Trail to the Rock Pool! After almost two years of hiking with my babe you can imagine that we’ve been all over LA and beyond! There are so many old favorites that we go back to again and again, so it’s a lot of fun to venture to a new park and discover that it can be easily explored by a 2 1/2 year old. After Friday, Malibu Creek State Park is definitely one of our new favs!

When researching the trail information, we read that there is a $12 fee for parking, but there are also two designated state park parking lots available for free .2 miles away from the Park’s entrance, on Mulholland Drive, so we parked there and walked along Las Virgenes Road into the park and to the trail head.

It was a warm and misty (at times downright rainy) summer morning; perfect for staying cool and comfortable! Just steps into our hike, we made our first creek crossing and V was sure we had made it to the Rock Pool! After a little coercion and necessary time spent throwing various-sized rocks and sticks into the water, we were ready to move on!

The trail mosied ever so slightly up then leveled off when we reached the grasslands, a sprawling swath of meadows with so many nooks and crannies to explore, you can almost end your hike there, which we almost did. We found this felled log along the trail and decided to stop for lunch…

which turned into an hour-long playtime complete with V conducting Mother Nature’s orchestra and a bit of quiet contemplation!

I assumed, by that point, V would want to head back, but she wanted to explore some more, so we continued up the trail along a dry creek bed where I spied on the other side a huge rock face full of large wind-eroded holes. So, off trail we went, over the rocky creek bed and spent another hour carefully traversing the rock face and exploring every person-sized ‘cave’ we could safely climb.

We sat, looking out, enjoying our newly-found perspective perched high above the trail, sang songs, played patty cake, I Spy and even were lucky enough to coerce some hikers over to snap a picture of us!

At that point, it was getting dangerously close to naptime and with all of the hiking V had already done, I decided there was no reason to push on, we would have to make it to the Rock Pool another day and you can be sure, we’ll be back to Malibu Creek State Park soon!

[Food Series] Crimini Mushroom and Mint Stuffed Zucchini

Posted on July 25, 2013February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

I would say that 95% of the meals I prepare daily for our family are in-the-moment compositions. I am generally not one to set weekly menus, we just buy what looks great and I get to have fun exercising my improvisational skills. I concocted this recipe by mingling 3 different ideas; drawing on my memory of making Turkish Dolma, seeing the hundreds of Zucchini Boat pics on Pinterest (Ha!) and using the fresh ingredients that were already in my fridge, writing down measurements for you guys as I went along! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

Crimini Mushroom and Mint Stuffed Zucchini

Ingredients
4 medium size zucchinis
1 large clove of garlic
1 cup of crimini mushrooms
2 green onions
1 medium size tomato
1/2 cup fresh mint
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard

Scoop out the seeds and inner pulp of the zucchini, leaving the sides and ends intact. Give a rough chop to all of the veggies (except the tomato) and herbs, toss them together (including the innards of the zucchini) with the spices in a mixing bowl, then throw everything into the food processor for about a minute while slowly adding the olive oil. Carefully scoop the mixture into the zucchini shells and top with thinly sliced tomato. Place stuffed zucchinis into a baking dish filled with 1/4 inch of water, cover with aluminum foil and bake at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes. Voila! A healthy and yummy light summer dinner!

Hiking & Hijinks in the Majestic High Sierras – Family Camping in Sequoia National Park

Posted on July 22, 2013February 24, 2016 by Jennifer Fontaine

We’re baaaaaack! Fully recharged, feeling rejuvenated and reconnected to this beautiful world we are blessed to call home. There’s something about being 6,700 feet up in the High Sierras that lifts my soul up, reminding me of just how grateful I am to have what I have and to do what I do and to be who I am, evolving and growing and mastering my awareness that I am always changing.

Hiking the Kaweah River Falls trail with toddler

Basking in the beauty of the Kaweah River Falls!

As is necessary when camping in Sequoia National Park during the summer months, we made our Lodgepole Campground reservations back in mid January and eagerly counted down the days. All One Hundred & Eighty of them! Fortunately, we had also planned a late spring camping trip to Big Sur as well, so we were able to bridge the seemingly infinite gap between trips.

This marked our third trip to the high Sierras and we enjoy it a little more each time! Within minutes of entering the park’s main entrance, we were greeted by 3 deer crossing the canyon floor. Early the next morning we were treated to another deer having breakfast 10 feet from our campsite!

Then, we all watched in amazement as a gorgeous brown bear made it’s way across the rocky creek bed a mere 100 yards from our tents! We were all so caught up in the awe of the moment that none of even thought to grab our cameras, but when the momma bear showed up later to fish in the creek with her cubs, thank goodness Uncle Joey snapped some pictures!

Mama Bear with her Cub (Can you spot her cub?)

We walked the land that John Muir fought so passionately to preserve so that we could all drink the deep breath of its wild air. “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine into trees. The wind will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop off like autumn leaves,” he said and we did.

Hiking Tokopah Falls Trail with a toddler

Snack Break on the Tokopah Falls Trail

The more we camp with our toddler (this is her 4th camping trip), the more experience we gain, the more organized and prepared we become, the more we realize that we can do this….MORE! Thanks to our much smaller and more useful tent, our meticulously packed camping bins and tons of food prepared ahead of time, we were able to spend much of our days playing, exploring, discovering and taking lots of pictures!

Frolicking through fields of wildflowers

Discovering hidden creek-side beaches

Sketching the sweeping Sierra vistas

Learning how to skateboard with Uncle Joey

Swimming with the Trout

On our last night, my hubby and I sat curled up next to a crackling fire, V tucked snugly into her sleeping bag, and we were already discussing how we are going to squeeze in another camping trip before the end of the summer! We can’t wait!