Expanding Horizons
            Gazing in the distance where the sky meets land or sea, the weight on our shoulders feels lighter. Problems don’t feel as big.
          There’s a sense of possibility. Whoever we are, whatever is happening in our lives, we can see beyond our small selves.
           Those coping with daunting developmental or physical challenges may find going to new places overwhelming.
           Getting far enough from home to find a horizon to gaze at can feel impossible for caregivers, too.
          Our autistic son used to find the slightest change from the familiar intolerable, to the point that we felt virtually housebound for years.
     With extraordinary support new and old (In Memory and Thanks), gritty determination, and unconditional love, we even managed to get our son to do overnight cabin stays, immersed in a forest, facing the ocean, somewhere away from home.
         He—and we—evolve into new selves even by the end of a brief hike. Being outdoors, stopping to take a deep breath, and seeing the bigger world around us not only calms us but opens our hearts.
        Take a moment each day to look up at the sky, the trees, or shimmering water, even if it’s just dewdrops on a spider web.
         Small moments offer broader horizons, too. Keep putting one foot forward!
     This week’s Hike Notes are from the HikingAutism archives, Point Bonita Lighthouse in the Marin Headlands, a great place to catch a daylight or sunset horizon view.
            Do you have a favorite walk? Share with readers in World Walks! Two or three sentences and photos allow other readers to share your special hike. See the World Walks link for how to submit your walk to share. It’s easy!
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 13): Point Bonita Lighthouse
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

Sharp Contrasts
            Starkly delineated shadows of roots, trees, rocks, people… Contrasting shadows trigger emotional sensors. Why does the silhouette of a lone figure—human, animal or tree—stir our hearts?
            The frequent foggy, overcast days in my ocean beach neighborhood mean that my typical visual landscape is subtle shades of gray. On a bright, clear day, though, watch out. The dark shadows against zingy blue skies stand out like a Maxfield Parrish painting.
            There is always something dark happening in the world, something tumultuous occurring in our individual lives. Enjoying calm moments despite rough stretches is a key to survival.
            A walk along a beach, a hike on an earthy trail, a brief neighborhood stroll, a moment tending plants, or just looking out the window watching birds, have been the magic tricks for turning dark times to moments of gratitude for me and my family.
            May we all learn to enjoy the bright spots as we navigate unpredictable waters. Keep putting one foot forward!
            This week’s Hike Notes, Crissy Field East Beach and Crissy Marsh, leads readers along a stretch of beach at Crissy Field that has amazing views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge facing one direction, and a sparkling marsh dotted with water fowl on the other.
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 137: Crissy Field East Beach and Crissy Marsh

Sharing Beach Walks, Old and New
            Eons ago, I had the luxury of six weeks traveling around Asia, a rare break floating between years of living in Japan and a return to living in the U.S.
            One of the places my husband and I stayed was a sea turtle refuge on the east coast of Malaysia. Visitors were woken before dawn by staff to run down to the beach with flashlights and see the last straggling baby turtles make their way to the water, inviting visitors only after turtles emerged and made their way to safety. Turtle egg poachers were as big a concern as natural predators.
            We met a wonderful couple from the Netherlands during our stay at that Malaysian turtle beach, and have remained friends decades later. They visited us in the US, and we visited them in the Netherlands.
            Life sometimes throws us curveballs that prevent us from traveling much, but we can still enjoy looking at other places, and thinking how we may enjoy a beautiful place, whether virtually or some day in person.
            Our Dutch friends’ World Walks share, this week’s highlight, starts from a city train station and ends up at the beach: Hague Central Station to Scheveningen-Netherlands. This scenic Dutch World Walks is a great example of beautiful hikes within an urban environment. Hague Central Station to Scheveningen-Netherlands ends near a scenic pier, which triggered a memory of this week’s Hike Notes from the HikingAutism archives, Pacifica Pier from Mori Point. 
            It’s a treat for me to vicariously enjoy walks from locations far from Northern California. Have a favorite walk? Share with readers in World Walks! Two or three sentences and photos allow other readers to share your enjoyment. See the World Walks link for how to submit your walk to share. It’s easy!
 
This week’s Hike Notes from the Archives:
(Original Hike Notes 62): Pacifica Pier from Mori Point
 
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism

Get Up, Get Out
            Weather’s not great. Weighed down by a long to-do list. Feeling sluggish, mentally and physically.
            There are a million reasons to say, “I don’t feel like going for a walk today.”
            In our house, overcoming those instincts are a matter of necessity and habit.
            Getting outdoors for fresh air and exercise has proven to be the top stabilizing force for our severely autistic son over the years.
            It took a lot of work for him to overcome extreme sensory overload to get out in the world, but now our son nudges us to get ready for an outing if we’re not moving fast enough.
            “Black shoes, brown-yellow shoes, brown shoes, blue shoes!”
            Listing each family member’s shoes means he wants to go out. He sees the shoes lined up by the door and knows we’ll be leaving for the day’s adventure soon.
            Getting up and getting out doesn’t have to be a big destination trip. Sometimes we take old familiar walks, or explore nearby paths we haven’t tried before.
            Fresh air and seasonal light, trees and flowers, bird songs and the whisper of a breeze—these are highlights most of us can experience near home.
            We just have to get off the sofa and out the door to enjoy them.
            This week’s Hike Notes, Lake Merced East Walk, takes readers on paths along Lake Merced, a refreshing sight on foggy or sunny days, at the southwest corner of San Francisco.
            Click Insights/Hike Update News for inspiring reflections. Browse hikes on the main Hikes page or on the Hike Search by Area (was Quick View Hike List) page. Click World Walks to see or share favorite family-friendly walks! Stay in touch with Lisa Louis and HikingAutism via Contact.
            Check the Home page for the broader background story. If you’re not able to take one of these Northern California hikes, hopefully you can enjoy the photo galleries at the bottom of each hike page! Please feel free to share, and follow on Twitter at @HikingAutism
New this week:
Hike Notes 136: Lake Merced East Walk