Last Friday our hiking group took to the foothills of the San Gabriel mountain range to explore the Monrovia Canyon Falls Trail. The Monrovia Canyon Park boasts some 80 acres of trails and serene picnic areas a mere 10 minutes off the 210 freeway. It was agreed by all in attendance that this is now one of our new favorite trails!
Starting out at the trailhead, you ascend fairly quickly via a number of semi-steep switchbacks with breathtaking views!
The weather couldn’t have been more gorgeous, but I would think that even in the middle of the Los Angeles summer, this would be an ideal trail for toddlers because of its abundance of shade and generally easy incline, just watch out for the poison oak! The kids had a blast navigating the numerous creek crossings and were rewarded handily with an early spring frolic in the falls!
What better way to spend the day! Lunch on a boulder, next to a creek, listening to the peaceful sounds of the waterfall and exploring nature with the babes!
Photo by Megan Flowers
Next week, we are Big Sur bound!!!! Let the countdown BEGIN!!!!
As most of you may know, I’m from New Orleans. My ancestors are a mixed bag, coming from as far away as Spain, France and the Canary Islands, and as close to home as the Chitimacha Indian Tribe, so I have always proudly referred to myself as a mutt. My husband is from Istanbul, Turkey and with his ancestry comprised of 4 diametrically, politically-opposed nations (Kurdish, Turkish, Syrian and Greek), it’s a massive lesson in compassion that his lineage even exists at all.
Lounging on the Mediterranean Sea in the South of Turkey [Photo Courtesy Kerem Hanci]My husband and I embrace our cultural differences. They are distinct and beautiful and we try to impart the variety of customs and traditions to our dsughter while also creating new ones.
Living in Diversity
We are blessed to live in one of the most culturally diverse cities in the world! Los Angeles has a very large and active Turkish community, as well, and we have built quite a beautiful network of friends in the almost two decades we have lived here. In addition, we have numerous friends who are also raising children in a multi-cultural family from Chinese to Mexican, Filipino and Indian, an essential example to our kids of the ever-changing landscape of what family looks like. We have all bonded together to form a nurturing environment in which to raise our tribe’s children.
Our LA hiking tribe [Photo Courtesy Kerem Hanci]Multi-Cultural Cuisine
The kitchen is one place where the diversity of our cultures is highlighted in our house! Any given week, we are serving up the United Nations of food, from red beans and rice to mücver. I have embraced Turkish cuisine, and have mastered an arsenal of traditional recipes, but I also enjoy experimenting with my own take on the various Turkish and Southern cuisine flavor profiles.
Mucver aka Zucchini Fritters [Photo Courtesy Kerem Hanci]Speaking in Tongues
A priority for us from the very beginning was ensuring our little peanut would have the ability to speak to her Turkish relatives in their native tongue, giving her the ability to absorb her Turkish roots. My husband only speaks to the baby in Turkish and I try with only about 40% success to speak to her in Turkish, but we are rapidly discovering that as her language progresses, my tarzanian Turkish is not enough to ensure her fluency in the language. Rosetta Stone is a great tool, but I’ll be signing up for Turkish language classes this summer, for sure!
In the end, I hope that my daughter’s experience of being raised in a Multi-Cultural family will allow her to be a conscious, global citizen who has an empathy, understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the world she lives in, integrating herself into the large world tapestry of cultures and traditions.
The Galata Tower, Istanbul, Turkey [Photo Courtesy Kerem Hanci]
It is with a heavy heart that I sit down to write this mid-week post.
Almost two weeks ago, one of our own, a devoted mother, lover of mother nature and single track trails and beaches and all things bikes, Jen of VeloMom and her husband Randy were told the unthinkable. Their youngest boy was tragically killed.
I have been following Jen and her family’s incredible journey since September of last year when they set out across the country with their two kids, travelling from coast to coast and then down south to Mexico. They were living their ultimate dream, their Big Adventure. Travelling, working, exploring and loving life, I lived vicariously, listened intently and admired them deeply.
Live Boldly.
I have never had the pleasure of meeting Jen or her family, but they are my brothers and sisters. The memory of their son lives on in each of us; in every wave that breaks on the shore, in every leaf tickled by the afternoon breeze, in every breathtaking vista we look out upon, we remember you Axel.
Go out today and do something for someone you love; Make their heart sing, make their eyes sparkle, let them know, without a doubt, that you love them.
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If you would like to send a donation, the Charrette Family has set up a Fund that will be used to continue Axel’s passion for bike-riding by providing bikes to kids who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford one. You may send checks to:
The Axel Charrette Fund
Alpine Bank
119 Liddell Drive
Ridgway, CO 81432
This post was written in concert with my Outdoor Colleagues, in honor of Axel’s memorial service today.
Mommy Hiker 