DAY 42: THE RING

DAY 42: THE RING

Miles: 4.5
Elevation Gain:  50 Feet

Time: 3 Hour

Difficulty (1-10):  10

Reward (1-10): 0
Description: The Day I lost my ring!

Where?: Ventura, CA
Directions: From the 101 Freeway in Ventura, exit at Telephone and head to Portola.  Turn left and drive to the end and turn left on Thille.  Drive to just before the end of Thille and turn right on Tarlow.  Make your 2nd left on Ellington and turn right on Parish.  Park on the cul-de-sac

***MY 42 DAY SUMMARY:  148.25 Miles  +22,075 Feet***

Well, if you follow the aforementioned driving instructions, you will find paved walkway that is less than a quarter mile in length.  I'll get back to this later...

Earlier in the day on Sunday, Ayden, Jess and I drove out to Camarillo to pick up a desk.  It was located in the residential area at Cal State University, Channel Islands Campus.  The rock formation back there is spectacular and I WILL find a trail back here for a hike down the road.  On the way out, we noticed a gravel road with a sign that looked like a typical trail sign.  This road is just off University Drive, which is just of Lewis Road in Camarillo.  We drove down the road and nearly saw an airplane crash, into another airplane.  It was a model airplane field.  Cool, my son loves flying objects, unless I;m throwing them at him.

We hiked around the area for a bit and watched some airplanes fly around.  In the far off distance, there was a clear shot of the beautiful Los Padres, specifically the snow capped Topa Topa Peak.

Back at home, it was getting late.  I was diligently watching the Charger game and my fantasy QB Philip Rivers put up a dud for my Fantasy Super Bowl.  I am currently down by 25 and watching the Monday Night Game right now.  It's not over yet because for the first time since 194something, there will be a Tuesday Night NFL Game.  Yeah, it doesn't look good for me...

So yesterday, I went out at night to the above referenced location.  I took the two dogs and Ayden and his famous bike.  I could have just accepted the mile travel from the model airplane field as my hike, but I didn't want to rip myself off.  So, after running a few errands with Ayden first, I hiked up and back.  Real quick, snapped a few photos of pretty Christmas lights and allowed the dogs to spread their legs.  After the less than half mile adventure, I drove to Lowes in search for a couple of bolts.  I won a new TV while I was on vacation and I need a 6 mm width bolt to attach it to the wall mount.  When speaking to a worker, I noticed my ring was gone.  My stomach dropped to the ground and I could not finish talking to the guy.  Meanwhile, Ayden said, "I found it!"  My emotions changed with poignancy as I realized he was holding a metal washer.  Ugh, my ring will be lost forever...

We went back to the spot and searched the grounds that we just covered.  Being that it was dark, it was near impossible to see and NO, I did not find my ring.  I dropped Ayden and the dogs off at the house and hoped by chance my ring fell off there.  Nope, not there!  Jess was mad...  To keep it simple, we've been married for less than three years and about six months after we were married, I gave her my ring while we were at the gym.  I was playing basketball and didn't want to play with the ring.  Well, she lost it and I never heard the end of it!  The ring I lost yesterday was my 2nd ring and I really won't hear the end of it now.  Let's not forget, I am quite depressed from this and in despair, really!  

I knew the ring was loose, especially lately.  I've lost about five pounds since beginning this hiking adventure and that may have been the difference that it took for the ring to just fall off without me noticing.  I was probably handling both dogs and their leashes, but who knows.

So last night, I bought a flashlight, drove to Target and Walmart twice.  I dug through the trash, I took nearly 2 hours retracing my footsteps on the trail and still couldn't find it.  I came back home and went through all the trash at my house too.  It's trash day and it wasn't but a couple months ago that I threw my wallet out in the outdoor trash can.  But I can explain, every time I exit the car, Jess starts handing me things to throw away.  She did it once time when I was already holding stuff.  It was trash night and when I was getting ready for work the next morning, I noticed my wallet was gone.  Good thing I found it before the garbage men came.  Anyhow, there is more I must say, but I will save it for my Day 43 entry.

Sorry to vent for so long, but I kinda need to, ya know...  I'm still hiking and I do have photos.  I will update Facebook, when I get around to it!