The sun peering through the blinds is what woke me up on Monday mid morning.  The prospect of walking in hot weather pushed me to get up and head to Grant Park by 10:30 with two kids in tow.  I hurried because I foresaw walking in the sweltering heat.  Sunny skies were quickly hidden behind overcast skies the closer I got to my destination.  The sudden change in weather reminded me I live in Ventura.  My oldest asked, “Why is there no sunlight here?”  Because we are close to the coast and the marine layer is thicker I said.  It is great to live in Ventura County.

It took less than 15 minutes to park and start walking from the moment we left our place.  We got lucky that morning.  We walked right into a wedding!  It was grand.  When they exchanged vows, I told my daughter that her mom and I had done the same thing but in a different place.  My oldest daughter proceeded to tell me that she wanted to get married in Philadelphia where she was born.  I wanted to laugh.

We mulled around until my daughters asked me to explore.  My wife had previously taken them and they wanted to follow the same trail.  I told them we would be taking a different trail, one through part of the Ventura Botanical Gardens.

From the main road to one of the trails to the top of the mountain was fairly manageable.  My six year old climbed at a good pace and my two year old was on my arms.  I stopped occasionally to switch until we made it to the top.  I took a moment to learn how to take panoramic pictures.  

It was nice to look at plants throughout and little critters.  The marine layer started to burn off right about the time we made it back down.  We stopped and took a few more pictures on the way.  Fellow hikers were very friendly.