Growing up in Fort Collins, Colorado I have always been a fan of sunny weather, nature hikes, fresh air, and a good view. There’s nothing better than a morning hike to start the day followed by a cup of coffee! A few years ago, I moved to the California coast and I couldn’t be happier. I love the climate and perfect weather that California has to offer. It reminds me of summer time in Colorado. Since I have been here, I found many beautiful destination hiking trails, many that lead to a panoramic beach view. Those ones are my favorite!

One of the first places I hiked to was right by the Dana Point Harbor https://danapointharbor.com/. It was called Headlands Conservation Area. Along the way you will walk through fields of sunflowers and end up in a loop that will take you along the sand then back up to the top. The loop totals up to be just over a mile. After, I always go down to the harbor and grab some breakfast at a local bagel shop. The next hike I like to do is called Top of the World, which is by Aliso Viejo and not too far from Laguna Beach. It is a longer hike with more hills. My friends and I like to do this hike on Saturday mornings. After, we always go to Laguna Beach for brunch. Some of our favorite places to eat in Laguna are: Urth Caffe, Zinc Cafe, Active Culture, Banzai Bowl, and Ginas Pizza.

Next weekend I will be going back to Colorado for a few days to visit my family. We like to visit CottonWood Hollow Natural area https://www.fcgov.com/naturalareas/finder/cottonwood which is a hiking trail in Fort Collins. This is why I love to go hiking. It is so pretty and leads to a that we always stop to take pictures. This year when we go to CottonWood Hollow Natural Area, I am going to take a lot of pictures and videos along the way to attach to Penless stickers. I will send these stickers to my friends in California that I go hiking with. We also always go to Sunday brunch after the hike at a place called Locality Kitchen and Bar. I always look forward to spending the day with my family.

My family is also going to take a trip to visit me in California for a few days during the year. They will probably come in the winter time to escape the snow in Colorado. I have been sending them Penless stickers of all the hikes and activities I have been doing by the beach and they cannot wait to come! I am so excited to show them around and take them to all my favorite restaurants down by the pier.