Hot, Windy and Too Close

Our weekend started off great. Jamie and I took Friday off of work and decided to do a hike with David in Laguna Canyons. We started a little later than we had hoped and could feel the heat building as we made our way down the trail. The hike along the ridge was fine but the drop into the canyon was brutal. No wind and the sun beating down. By the time we finished the hike the winds were starting to pick up.

After our hike we went down to San Juan Capistrano to look at the mission. I haven't been there in about 5 years and Jamie was interested in seeing it. It was a beautiful, clear day and since it was a friday, hardly any people were there. The gardens were lovely, nice and green. A far cry from the canyons we had just hiked in. The mission was founded in 1776 and is the 7th of 21 missions founded statewide. The great stone church was completed in 1806 and was destroyed by an earthquake in 1812. Jamie was pretty surprised with how big the complex is. It's so peaceful and relaxing.

I'm glad we did the hike on Friday morning because Saturday was a completely different day. We left the house around 10:30 am and could already see the smoke building in the distance. With the Santa Ana winds starting there is a high risk of fire, especially with so many careless people about and the all too common pyro just waiting for the right conditions. The fires have been close enough to raise an eyebrow and make you think of what you would take with you if it got close enough. But it would have to burn through miles of dense city before it would get to us. The fires were very close to three of my Aunts and a few friends. Luckily they weren't evacuated but were definitely worried. The air quality was pretty poor and the wind and heat made it pretty miserable to be outside. We had planned to go out to Riverside for a hike but as soon as I heard about the SAnta Ana winds I questioned that and I'm glad we didn't go. It would have been far too close to where the fires were. So instead of being outside we went to go see the new Bond film, get some In-n-Out, and basically stay inside and cool. Unfortunately not the most fun filled weekend we've had but nice and relaxing to say the least. Sunday we had a bbq with my parents, carne asada and chicken. Delicious.

Here is the view from our house, the smoke building in the sky.