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"Biking through the Azusa Foothills"
Saturday, May 15, 1999
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Le Tour de Azusa
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The next morning, Rich had planned a biking excursion through the Azusa foothills. The trip to the bike path was sickening. It involved an annoying and nauseating drive around mountain roads. Just as we arrived, I almost lost possession of my breakfast, but managed to still myself long enough to recover.
Rich had procured a bicycle and helmet for me and the two of us set off for a leisurely ride through the hills. I have never been into riding cycles and jumped at the chance to give it a shot. I was not used to the thin-style bicycle seat and didn't enjoy the many bumps and bounces we encountered on our ride, but did enjoy the incredible scenery. It was a relatively flat terrain, which made for a relaxing ride. The bike path followed a stream for much of the trip, which recalled to me the peaceful scripture, Psalm 23:2 "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul."
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"like something out of a Robert Frost poem"
(Click to enlarge)
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I found it striking how unspoiled everything was. There were two times during the ride that I made Rich stop so that I could greater appreciate some of these unspoiled scenes. The first was during a stint where we were passing by a calm portion of the stream. I couldn't resist taking out my camcorder, which Rich was kind enough to carry in his backpack, and walking down by the stream. I had never seen waters so calm and clear. The stream was so clear that although the bottom of the stream was covered with small pebbles, it appeared as if the pebbles were floating. However, this illusion was only true upon closer inspections. At a distance, the waters looked more like a mirror and I couldn't help capturing the moment on film. The scene reminded me of some fairy-tale, Daniel Boone snapshot that is usually captured on a cheap, flea market oil painting with a tacky frame. Personally, I found it very beautiful and could have stayed there for a couple hours.
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Azusa Foothills shrouded in mist |
The second time we stopped was to appreciate the beautiful, sharp-edged cliffs and canyons of the foothills. Actually, we also stopped a third time after I attempted to blaze up a large hill and ran out of gas halfway up. Rich graciously offered to make that point the "end point" of our trip and I accepted with pleasure. I was tired, dizzy, and not nearly in the shape Richard was in. Oh, and my butt hurt from the seat. So, we enjoyed a nice ride back and called it an afternoon.
I snoozed on the way home and we stopped for lunch. When we got back to Rich's place, I took another nap (I think I was still jet-lagged) while Rich went out and ran some errands. I woke up around 5PM and went out for some sushi with a couple of Richard's charming friends. From there, I got to party "California style" at an in-house Luau hosted by Rich's friend Martin:
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It was cool; way more laid back than the unsophisticated beer-drinkin' parties they have on the East Coast (even the more refined and chic people seem to throw them.) This one was very fun, festive, and lite. I was much more comfortable in that environment than I usually am. I'm not a very big party guy and don't regularly enjoy going to large parties where I don't know many people. But here, I seemed to fit in well and enjoy myself. Unfortunately, I couldn't stay too long, because I had a long drive ahead of me.
I left the party around 10PM, and drove to see a friend of mine from college, Michael Trent. Michael lived in Corona which as about a two hour drive from where I was (it actually took longer, because I had no idea where I was going and got lost.)
Michael Trent was my "big brother" in Upsilon during my college years at Lee University in Tennessee. He graduated from Lee in 1996 and after spending a year or so in the south, took a job as a youth pastor at a Church of God in Corona. His wife Kristy had recently given birth to their first child : Faith.
I arrived late that evening and after greeting them and chatting briefly, we called it a night.
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Friday : Arriving in California, meeting Richard Geib
Saturday : Biking through the Azusa foothills
Sunday : Hanging out in Corona
Monday : Echo Park and the Sunset Strip - Mann's Chinese Theater, Hollywood Walk of Fame
Tuesday : Santa Monica, Venice Beach, and Marina del Rey
Wednesday : The Getty and a beautiful sunset near Santa Monica
Thursday : Avalon, Catalina Island, Casino Ballroom
Friday : Newport Beach, beautiful photos of the surf and ocean
Saturday : Leaving Newport Beach and conclusion
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