Tag: nature

Lee Vining Day 2-Game Day

backinphilly3 Comments

Today, we woke up to our pregame breakfast. First off, this consisted of a 4 pound slab of bacon (purchased from the Mahogany Smoked Meats Co.).

You have never seen a group of guys go this wild for meat.

With the bacon, we made sausages, eggs cooked with the bacon grease, potatoes and onions cooked with bacon grease, and threw it all into breakfast burritos. Clearly, there was salsa and cheese involved. But it was meat-tastic.

After breakfast, we relaxed and either slept or went into the freezing cold river for a nice wake up dip. We then gathered to elect team captains while getting game gear ready to go.

Each player had to vote for three players that they think displayed the greatest form of leadership. Although we only planned on having three captains, the vote was so close that the coaches added a fourth. The result was John Olivo, Cody Triggs, Grant Spencer and Min Ung Choi.

We checked our gear one last time before loading up into the vans and blasting pump up music. We all got into our own zones, and prepared ourselves for battle.

We arrived to the field with one goal in mind: Win. We showed up an hour prior to kickoff, and began our warmups. The captains led the team in their stretches and agility workouts, and then broke up into individual position drills.

The whistles blew, and the starters took the field to compete in what very well may be the greatest 48 minutes in OVS history.Read More »

Retainment

eternity10304 Comments

Retainment

But she hesitated
She sighed.

When callous sap absorbs
the last wisp of air
He knew it was the time.

Wind flicked his body
He closed his rind tardily
as the first time, also the last.

He held her tightly
with the fringe of his branch
She looked upon
as the first time, but the last.

They clearly remembered
last splendid spring
with the excitement of first meet

He held her tighter tighter
She left
carried with the breeze
with his
Retainment.

Winter peacefully arrived.

She hesitated
But she sighed.

The Beauty of Independence

Daphne Psaledakis5 Comments

About three weeks ago, on my way to the Ojai Valley School for the beginning of the school year, I was dragged out of bed at six in the morning and loaded into my dad’s truck along with my luggage and two little brothers.

We were on our way to the airport in Denver, Colorado, and set off from my hometown Aspen so early in the morning because of the four hour drive ahead of us. Although the drive might sound long, it is not as tedious as one would expect.

My dad starts the truck with just a little bit of trouble, enough to make me look over at him and raise my eyebrows in a sleepy haze. He’ll blame it on the cold of the morning, but I think he was just as tired as the rest of us. He did manage to successfully back out of the driveway (without hitting any mailboxes or trash cans), and we were en route. Knowing these were my final hours with my family before not seeing them for three months, I settled in for the drive up Independence Pass.Read More »

An Ideal Sunday.

Yourcupatea1 Comment

Papa Lennon's

Sunday is traditionally a family day, a day of rest, good food and relaxing. A day that includes some sort of walk or exercise and family bonding.

I woke up, ate breakfast and as my family travelled to the farmers market to gather provisions of fresh fruit and veg for the week, I sat studiously doing my homework. Traditionally on one of these days lunch  consists of a pub lunch, but as I now live in America the steak and ale pie and chips had to be constituted with a panini from Ojai’s delicious, Papa Lennon’s.

After eating some delicious food my family and I travelled up the 33 to Rose falls. Here we followed the short trailhead to the magnificent falls, nature at its finest.

After a period of time we travelled onwards to White Rocks where we admired the view from the roadside. After a long day we travelled back into town stopping for a handmade pastry and coffee at the artsy Ojai cafe, Bohemia. We  travelled home, as the sun set, preparing ourselves for the feast that would be cooked by my mother.

Now I am looking forward to a night in front of the fire with a good film and a cup of hot cocoa and a big slice of chocolate cake, after I have stuffed myself with dinner that is.

What a relaxing, ideal Sunday.