Yep, between those..echinacea / goldenseal and tea tree oil, I'm pretty much covered for whatever hits me.

echinacea also works if you have seasonal allergies... so I take that one daily

Anyone here ever gone horseback riding before? I'm planning to take my niece for her first ride tomorrow. This will only be the second time I've gone, the first was over 25 yrs ago....

Wondering if there is any advice out there for first timers. I remember walking funny for a long long time the last time I went

Good Luck! The last time I went was about 20 yrs ago... On the beach at Half Moon Bay. Coaxed that horse about a mile south on path along the beach... at some point it decided it didn't want any more and headed for the barn.... RAN to the barn. I was scared!

Susie you and I must have rode the same horse! The one time I rode was on my honeymoon in halfmoon bay...'cept I dont think we even made it a 1/2 mile before that horse decided that he just didnt wanna go to the beach

That's funny, Annmarie! And you dare try it again? Maybe the altitude in the mountains will calm the poor beast! I love horses and generally had good experiences with them as a child. Don't want to rustle with them anymore, however!! Seriously, be safe!

I will be safe Did you notice the part where I said last time I went was 25 yrs ago? Only going this time cuz my niece REALLY wants to go. I figure if we succeed it will be one more thing I can cross off my 'bucket list' this summer. Next week we are going zip lining THAT terrifies me!

Yea! saw that it's been 25 yrs. since you've ridden!!!! Yikes! I'd never walk again! Remember how sore your bottom bones get?

My niece is in Ojai and hasn't asked me to go zip lining... what is it?

edit: spelling

I haven't been on a horse in 52 years.....oh my.

I'm glad you're taking your niece. I think that's very important. When I was very young I asked my Dad constantly to take me riding. Being busy and not interested in riding, he never did. When I went to live with my Mom and step-dad, the first thing I asked was if they'd take me riding and, bless them, they did...immediately. I've never forgotten that. There may be other things they were not so good at, but I will always forgive them because they took me riding. My Dad was, years later, to feel very bad that I'd asked for that and he always said he'd take me, but didn't. From my point of view, it's important to take her if she's asked.You may not get the chance again,she may not get the chance again.

I have to add that, at the same time, I'm really glad that nobody is asking me to take them horseback riding....lol.

wcgypsy said:I have to add that, at the same time, I'm really glad that nobody is asking me to take them horseback riding....lol.

I'm wishing I could say the same My son wanted me to take him parasailing and I gladly said NO! and my niece also asked about white water rafting and also got a resounding NO!

zip lining is when they put you in a harness, attach you to a zip line (really just a cable strung across a valley, you hang from the cable and zip across the valley kinda like flying. My 70 yr old aunt did it in the Cayman Islands last year and posted pix on her facebook page....which is where my niece and son got the idea They said, and I quote "if great auntie Sharon can do it, then you can do it too!"

My daughter recently when skydiving.... I dont know where these kids get their guts from but I dont wanna be the one who discourages them.... so zip lining and horseback riding....but I refuse to do ANY water sports!

I have a heights issue so....No, don't think so. My BIL went parasailing in Jamaica when one of his daughters was married there a couple of years ago, got the bug, and now has been raving about parasailing since doing so in the Alps last month when his son got married there. We were over at the coast yesterday and quite often stop at the Gliderport in La Jolla to watch the hang gliders, parasailers. We asked ourselves again whether or not we would want to do that and the answer is still no. There's a lot of hot air ballooning here and I've tried to convince myself that I should do that. I don't know if there are any who do that for people with 'heights issues'...who get barely off the ground and say, "Nope...put 'er back down"...lol..

I've done parasailing twice... once up the Pitt River at Shasta and once at Lake Tahoe. I LOVED it. I'm terrified of heights. I can't do the outside Fairmont Hotel elevator. Collapse in a pile of fear on the floor. Can't stand next to a window in a highrise, hate to fly in an airplane but I loved parasailing. So smooth and quiet and a point of view you'll never see elsewhere.

I don't think I'd do the zip lining, hot air ballooning (definite NO), skydiving (ditto). Remember bungy cord jumping? The platform, the crane the cord? I remember long ago during that fad. There was a small operation in San Jose. The operator on the platform got the "victim" ready for his jump... forgot to buckle the ankle piece secure... guess what happened when he jumped.

I have the same issue with heights, can't dive into a pool, can't use outdoor glass elevators, can't use "down" escalators, etc., but I also think I'm missing the adventure gene because it goes beyond heights. I've never ridden a roller coaster in my life, nor do I want to. I have no urge to go white-water rafting or deep-sea fishing. I just think all of it is pointless, but then I never liked board games either. Talk about pointless!

oh I love board games! I guess I have a pretty big competitive streak in me and love to win, win, win....but I play fair too


I think my fear of water is equal to your fear of heights. I dont get scared when I'm high up there, but if I get the teeniest bit of water in my face/nose I completely panic

I LOVE to be in any water, any body of water.

I had a fear of rollercoasters at about 12-13 yrs. They built an amusement part called Pacific Ocean Park (POP) in L.A. at the beach. I went on that RC 13 times in a row one day to get over my fear. It worked until I grew a brain.

I rode that coaster over and over and over...loved it. My cousin Bobby rode it once with me and then wouldn't go again. So how did a kid who would do that gain a fear of heights? I was okay until I was 16 and then BOOM! don't get upon that roof...lol.. We lived in Venice briefly 38 years ago and the first thing I thought of was P.O.P.!

I was "a Valley girl"... Encino. Portola Valley Jr Hi... and Birmingham for a short while before moving to San Francisco... thankfully!

I drove off a 250 ft cliff in La Honda in 1972. Can't drive south on Hwy #1. No way.

Few flashbacks? Yeah, that'll do it. I was Valley also, but San Joaquin...lol...until high school and then moving to Whittier...and yes, thankfully.

Yea, flashbacks. Not fun. I know what it's like to fall. It was the impact of the car hitting the side of the hill that I remember most. Was wasted but you don't forget that.

Best friend from high school moved to Porterville in about '68. I spent lots of time visiting, Orange Blossom Festival comes to mind. Sanger, Porterville, Strathmore, Lindsey, Visalia... fishing at Three Rivers, waterskiing in reservoirs, etc.

I visited Venice couple years ago. Boy, it hasn't changed much over the years!... except the city hardscape is a little different.

I miss water skiing more than anything. DH is not a water person...oh, he needs to be near it, just notin it. Haven't been back to Venice in years now. There are things I miss in L.A. that I'd like to go to for nostalgia, if nothing else...Philippe, Farmers' Market, the Garment District, but the traffic is just a nightmare.The worst thing about living where we do is the time it takes just to get out of here and head north. I used to leave at 3 a.m. whenever I was heading North. Need to go live somewhere else...have to admit, I'd like to be not farther than 30 miles from a Trader Joe's though...lol...someday I'll be sitting somewhere out in the boonies saying, "Boy, do I miss Trader Joe's."