Vitamin D

I was feeling agitated today. This agitation stemmed from multiple sources, but long story short, I knew that the cure I needed was to get outside in the sunshine. Being inside my apartment for more than half a day lately starts making me feel like a caged animal; I go from job hunting to watching Gilmore Girls, to checking my email, to playing a game on my phone, to reading other people's blogs, to eating a meal or snack, and back to job hunting. Don't get me wrong, I'm being productive and finding plenty of jobs to apply for, but there comes a time during the day or week where I reach my limit of cover letter writing and resume emailing, and I just need to get out!

Grabbing a book, I got in my car and headed toward a park a couple of miles away that I had only seen in passing. I got to the parking lot and turned off the engine for a while, but didn't get out. The park was too busy; it didn't look like I'd find a good spot to read uninterrupted. Changing my plans, I headed to See's candy for their awesome cinnamon suckers I only recently discovered. On the way there I happened to drive by another park I had never been to, and decided I'd swing by on my way back with my sweets.

It was a great park. I pulled into the dirt lot, left everything but my phone, car key, and book in the trunk of my car, pocketed a cinnamon sucker, and headed up the path on the hill. The wooden walkway crisscrossed its way upward through the trees offering viewing points of the city, which would have been much prettier if it weren't so hazy out today, but it was still enjoyable. I walked around the baseball fields at the top of the hill before retracing my steps to a bench in the sun. I was there for more than an hour reading, taking in the view, and occasionally moving to different benches as the sun started casting shadows from behind the trees as it drifted toward the ocean. I finally gave up and headed for home when it got too windy and chilly to be outside in just a t-shirt and flip-flops (I know, California has terrible weather, right??).

My agitation wasn't completely soothed, but it definitely helped to get away from the world and do a little exploring in my own neighborhood. I'm sure I'll be back to visit this park again soon!