Returning to El Matador -- Part 2

My family has made the Spring Break trek to Los Angeles every year since Katherine's stroke.  Packing it in, "carpe diem", YOLO (you only live once), all seem to be hard-wired into our DNA (see my sister Alex's take on this here).  But as much as we love the idea of the beach, truth be told, we don't get there as often as we should, considering our current home is about 5 miles from it.  So of course, out-of-town visitors are usually a good motivation for heading to one of Southern California's greatest treasures.

{all the phenomenal pictures in this post by my talented sister, Alex Wolf, of All// Delighted People}

For some reason, this particular time, we were feeling very nostalgic.  A day in Malibu with my visiting family seemed like a fun thought.  Moreover, maybe it was time to go back to El Matador with Katherine.  As anticipated, my family was up for it.

As my rather rusty Spanish translates, "El Matador" does technically mean "The Killer" (usually referring to bullfighters in Spain).  Needless to say, the washed out cliffside-trail before you even reach the steep stairs descending to the beach could have rather easily fulfilled the "El Matador" name.  Katherine and I slowly but confidently walked in tandem, arms intertwined and legs in sync.  We received some much-needed back up from my Dad and sisters as we reached said "killer" washed out portion.  After successfully traversing that and the stairs, which actually took around 30 minutes to maneuver, we came upon this sight.

Like all good things in life, sometimes the most perilous, challenging journeys, result in the most spectacular light at the end of the tunnel.

The hours we spent following that descent will forever be ensconced in my memory as some of the sweetest I have ever known.

So whatever your "El Matador" might be, whatever mountain you may need to climb up or valley you may need to descend into, you should do it.  The path will likely be worn and steep but the precious time spent there will be well worth the journey.