Mountain Refresh: Smelling the Pines
It’s good to see you! Thank you for stopping by.
I have been wanting to share a little bit of a personal post with you today. Partially because writing helps me process and relive these precious memories; partially also to highlight the importance to get out and refresh mind and body - before returning to our normal routines. And those certainly look different for each of us.
A change of scenery is always lovely and can give us new energy, as well as a more positive outlook in many ways.
Retreating to the Mountains
My husband and I haven’t been away for a weekend since our first son was born more than four years ago. Since our second boy is at an age where we felt comfortable leaving him with grandma and grandpa, as well, we jumped on the opportunity and finally made it work: a slow weekend in the mountains, two nights, just the two of us.
It was such a wonderful time of reconnecting: both with nature and each other, while slowly exploring a small town that we had on our radar for a while: Idyllwild, CA.
Friday
We arrived on Friday around noon. Since we were early, we couldn’t quite check in just yet, but the Innkeepers were kind enough to accommodate us for an earlier check in nonetheless.
Temperatures were in the 40s, sunny; the air was cold and smelled like firewood and pine trees. There was snow on the ground, and I loved the crunchy sound it made as we walked through it.
We headed over to Tommy’s Kitchen for a hearty lunch. Log cabin style all the way surrounding us.
After check-in - the lodge we stayed at was wonderfully cozy -, we put our winter jackets and boots on and walked into town, about a 10 minute walk.
We wandered around for a little while, in and out of shops, grabbed some homemade ice-cream (don’t mind the wintery temperatures), and eventually, after dark, warmed up and had dinner at Café Aroma before snuggling up for the night.
Saturday
One thing I absolutely adore about Idyllwild is that you will not find any large stores: There are solely independent little mom and pop shops, which make that little town center even more charming. A nice lady we got to chat with in one of the shops described it as “straight out of a Hallmark movie during Christmas time”.
Sleeping in these days means waking no later than 7 am for us as parents of young children. Since breakfast at the lodge was not ready until 8.30 am, we - naturally - needed a little sunrise snack. My sweet husband went to the small donut shop down the road and then grabbed us a hot beverage at Pure Bean Idy across the street from there.
Fifteen minutes later, we had the patio door wide open, all cozied up in bed again, and enjoyed our fresh morning snack breathing in the cool air, while looking straight into the trees. What peaceful bliss and solitude.
After a then hearty and fueling breakfast, we spent the morning hiking at the Nature Center. What a great place to take in the woods. We learned that there are six (or was it even seven?) different types of pine trees in the area.
This reminded me of essential oil chemotypes: referring to plants, such as rosemary, the essential oils are extracted from but depending on where they are grown, their chemical composition varies. Yet, these pines all grow in the same area. But, also, not all batches of essential oils have the very same constituents; these can slightly vary. Just a fun little fact and reference.
On the way back to the lodge, we grabbed a sandwich and coffee at The Sunflower Café. I think this is my personal favorite local spot.
The rest of the afternoon was spent reading, hanging out, and eventually bundling up for a walk down to the village where we browsed through shops before sitting down for a simple dinner at Idyllwild Brew Pup.
Sunday
We enjoyed the hot-coffee-in-bed-with-the-sliding-glass-door-open-smelling-the-crisp-firewood-morning-air scenario so much from the day before, that we quickly headed three minutes down the road after the sun had just risen to check out another local spot for our hot wake up beverage: Alpaca Coffee + Tea.
I am an early bird by nature and filling this usually quiet time with a good cup of coffee, a book or simply a slow and undisturbed chat with my husband while marveling at the large pine trees outside is incredibly nurturing to me.
After breakfast, we went for a short snowy, icy hike (Ernie Maxwell trail) with a view. A beautiful and serene area; seemingly untouched and very inspiring in my humble opinion. I was wondering what such a quiet life in the woods - as we spotted log cabins here and there - would be like.
We eventually checked out of our beautiful lodge by midday. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit sad about having to leave already. This time, just the two of us, was refreshing and soul-filling to say the least.
My husband and I decided to take in some natural vitamin D in The Sunflower Café backyard one last time.
Over hearty sandwiches and warm beverages, we reminisced about the last couple of days up here in the pretty San Jacinto Mountains - a place so close to our home, yet so different. An even slower pace of life in a seemingly little mountain bubble that we, for sure, will take our children back to sooner than later.
