Marked out on the calendars for the first weekend in May, were plans to walk our fifth Avon39 event in Washington DC. Housing and travel plans were in the works, funds being raised and energy building. All this came to an abrupt halt however, with the announcement by the Avon Foundation that all future Avon39 walks were cancelled. Wow! What! Why!

With the real details unknown, the walks are done, refunds scheduled and plans for a new fundraising effort to be released in Spring. The impact on teams like the Pink Bragade – well – this changes things – but not necessarily in a bad way. We Pink Bragaders are a creative bunch.

Serendipity was one our side as we soon discovered that a fundraising walk for a cause that has touched our lives in such a personal way was scheduled for the same weekend. We have switched direction now and plan to focus our powerful ability to raise awareness and funds to brain tumor awareness and research.

We will be walking in the RACE FOR HOPE – DC under the new name of Pink BRAiniacs! This is one of the largest fundraisers in the country benefiting the brain tumor community and the proceeds support the National Brain Tumor Society and ABC² (Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure).  With our Pink Guy and Katie M. foremost in our hearts – we’ll try to make a difference in finding a way to end this horrible disease, just as we have had our impact on breast cancer funding.

So for now, this ends this blog – hopefully it will serve as a reminder – a scrapbook of sorts – a place we can all go to rekindle great memories about the many miles we’ve walked as the Pink Bragade.

It’s an annual Pink Bragade tradition to spend a fall day in Ojai and this time we picked the perfect day. Lynne switched things up a bit with the walk – starting at the Farmer’s Market just as it opened. It had a different feel from when we usually get there booths just opening rather than getting ready to close, but as always delivered up some fantastic merchants offering the freshest produce and a myriad of other delectables. The big hit this year were the Creeping Charlie plants that crept their way into three of the cars for the journey home. Heading down to the park made the walk a bit easier, every curve entrenched in our memories from the many times we have taken this path. We made good time completing almost 12 miles, in time for lunch. The Ojai Beverage Company had the perfect table in the back for our large group and we took advantage of the hearty offerings on the menu, burgers – of different variations – being placed in front of most of the hungry group. Linda ordered the fried artichoke – that was a favorite as well, the culinary curious among us trying to figure out how to re-create the crisp light batter. The camaraderie with this group, as always was incredible. Just a kind of friendship and energy that is hard to describe. Oddly, this would be the last “official” walk of the Pink Bragage as we have known it over the past 10 years.

It’s October in Southern California, so we head to the water for our monthly walk. The forecast for the day was over 100, so thanks Leanne for taking the coastal choice. We had a cool walk, literally and figuratively, around the Bolsa Chica Wetlands offering up plenty of opportunity for birdwatching and photographing. A quick stop on the small bridge crossing the lagoon gave us a chance to watch some sting rays safely from above. 🙂 The walk, which tallied up about 8 miles, ended at the perfect time, just as the So Cal sun was bearing down with it’s best effort. Which of course, took us in search of beverages! We had reservations at a nearby cafe called the RED TABLE  and since we were a large group – sat down at the actual RED TABLE. Food and drinks were a little slow in making their way to the table, but once there were delicious. Collectively, we quickly downed five (or was it six?) baskets of various flavored fries – the sweet potato ones winning pretty much hands down. A beautiful day in our beautiful state! Next stop — our traditional Ojai adventure!

Since the camping group once again had to cancel our trip, we decided to fit in a Sunday walk and chose Descanso Gardens in La Canadå-Flintridge as our destination. It was a good decision. Although the gardens weren’t as spectacular as they would have been in April or May when the camellias are in full bloom, it was still a beautiful and peaceful place to spend a Sunday morning with friends. We got a bit of a history lesson at the Brody house, a beautiful estate which was once the home of Manchester Brody who purchased the land and thousands of camellia plants in the 1940s. There was also a small art gallery with a collection of works that didn’t necessarily fit into a theme, but was interesting nonetheless.

Not able to get a seat at the cafe on site, we were lucky to find a culinary treasure in the Luna Grill – a Mediterranean restaurant – that had a large table for seven and a kitchen full of delicious food ready for us to enjoy. We left full and happy knowing that other Luna Grill locations were popping up within close distance to those of us both in the Valley and OC.

Meet Opie – A very sweet, but shy friend made along the walk.

Just a small group of Pink Bragader’s walked the September walk and found that they very much enjoyed the opportunity to talk, take their time and enjoy one another’s company. The group meandered their way around Santa Monica, where Laurie used to live and noticing the many changes that had taken place over the years. Being a new UT Austin Longhorn fan, Laurie also noted all her bovine compatriots who were in So Cal for the UT/USC football game which was on Saturday. Be kind when you ask Laurie who won. 🙂

A bright, beautiful and COOL morning was just what we ordered for our walk around Balboa Island and up to neighboring Corona Del Mar. We met for a short quick sticky beak (an Aussie term) of Carole’s fabulous new home which was days from the Cassell clan move in day. Of course, we all wanted to move in right along with them, but…another time…the walking called. We’ve made this walk a few times before, but most often we have been smothered with 100 degree weather, this felt like a cool Fall day. Loved strolling along the marine parade looking at all the amazing homes, stopping to pet numerous four-legged friends, passing by the Farmer’s market and back to the coast and more beautiful homes, secretly choosing which should be ours. 🙂

Back over the bridge for another mile around the island was perfect timing for our reservation at Village Inn – which served up some tasty breakfast fare and Bloody Mary’s that passed the PB taste test! We enjoyed a quick visit from a woman who saw our group and came over to say she wish she could stay and join us as we looked like we were a fun group. Turns out she was a breast cancer survivor – many years back. We will add her name to our honor roll. Because that is the reason we are here.

One of our favorite walks when the temperature rises is along the waterfront at Redondo Beach. So with the recent heat wave we headed out once again with the thousands of other So Cal beach lovers for an eight mile stroll along our usual route. The walk didn’t disappoint and the miles seem to tally up relatively unnoticed when there is so much to see and good company to share the experience.

The lunch location is also becoming a favorite – a restaurant of landmark status in Redondo – Captain Kidd’s for fresh seafood (and a burger for Anna!). Sorry that Tracy couldn’t join us for lunch after her drive from Calabasas…but with her son’s baseball gear in her trunk – which was a surprise to both her and her son – and a game at noon — mother love called.

Here are a few shots from the day:

No words can sufficiently express our joy for our friend and fellow team member Lori Martinez upon her marriage to Jim Steinbergs. It’s been many miles of walking and talking leading up to this day and we are so very happy for the both of them.

Congratulations Lori and Jim. 

           It’s Official!

       Alec gave the bride away. 🙂

A cloudy and cool morning was the perfect backdrop for our June walk in San Clemente. Thanks to Heather for organizing the walk which totaled about 9 miles by the time we were finished taking a few trips back to check our parking meters.

It was an interesting walk along the tracks, with beautiful flowers, rocky cliffs and a shore with waves crashing continuously. It was a great time to catch up with friends and make plans for our upcoming walks as we work toward the 10 year milestone for the Pink Bragade with our walk in Washington DC in 2018.

Concluding a wonderful walk was our breakfast on the beach at the Fisherman’s Restaurant and Bar. With the chill in the air, our usual Bloody Mary’s were replaced by expressos and coffees, but everyone enjoyed the breakfasts ranging from California omelets to eggs benedicts – even ones on a waffle.

Thanks again to Heather who not only planned the day – but hobbled along with a recovering broken foot to make sure our walk happened!

Next on the schedule is July in South Bay.

On the ride home – Lynne captured this pup – clearly looking like he was ready to call it quits on his motorhome travels…as eager as he looked to pull a “Lokie” and bolt – he stayed inside until we passed by.

Our May adventure took us to Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks on a warm and wonderful day. An early meet up was a good idea as the sun was out quickly. The first portion of the walk provided a lot of shade and took us to the foot of a wonderful waterfall. If we’d have come to the falls a bit later in the day, the signs warning not to get in the water may have been ignored. But as we were there early, we just enjoyed the site of it. A nice blend of wide and narrow paths took us through some beautiful wooded areas smattered with wildflowers and even a palm tree or two. Toward the end of the hike, we came out of the covered and shaded area to view Lizard Rock which seemed to stand just short of the heavens. Forging ahead, determined to get to the top, we were pleased to see that the journey up was carefully planned by someone who believed in switchbacks which made the incline bearable and doable. Standing on top of the volcanic Lizard Rock – after spying a few rare Roadrunners guarding their nests, we felt glad that we braved the early morning trip to this beautiful destination.

As always follows racking up some miles, we landed ourselves at great lunch place serving up delicious food and cocktails. LURE in Westlake was the final destination where we enjoyed some excellent seafood and the usual camaraderie. Plus, we made plans for our next adventure….we will be off to San Clemente in June.