Last week when the cousins {and auntie and uncle} were in town we walked the bob jones trail in Avila Beach. It’s pretty much perfect for a stroller and a group of kiddos. It’s easy, and once you walk a mile or two there is a great deli/grocery store where we stopped and had lunch. 
The only problem? We brought a little friend home with us. And when I say little friend, I mean a completely unwelcome little tick that somehow found a cozy spot inside my niece’s belly button. We didn’t believe her when she said there was a bug in her belly button, but after closer inspection, there was! Oh my goodness, the crying, the screaming, the laughter. It was seriously one of the craziest things ever. Thank you google for helping get rid of that awful bug!
Have you had an encounter with a tick?
I dont know that I should publish my encounter… birthday trip with my hubby to one of our favorite camping spots in St. Augustine, Fl… not till after we spent the afternoon downtown and came back for a fun night together did I find the little pesk… I’ll just leave it to you imagination as to where it decided to park. 😉 Very embarassing (only 1st year of marriage at the time)… Thankfully I had finger nail polish with me – on a camping trip no less! – and my husband is great with a pair of tweasers!! It is a moment we will Always look back at and laugh!!
Haha! That is insane. Definitely makes for some good memories!
What beautiful pictures!! Just wanted to let you know, California has a very high rate of Lyme disease. I’m sure your niece will be fine, but you may want to keep an eye on her for the next few weeks to make sure she does not come down with any strange symptoms. You can also take the tick to your local health department, if you saved it, for testing. Don’t want to scare you, just let you know.
Love, love, love your blog 🙂
Love that trail, when we first moved to Paso Robles I loaded up my kids and did the trail, that little deli store has the best whoopI pies ever made!
Hi Lisa,
living in a bushy part of Sydney, Australia, ticks are a (disgusting and unwelcome!) part of our daily life… I removed one from each of my child yesterday and the day before, and they are a huge risk to my dog and cat. We use tick preventatives every 2 weeks on the pets
Thanks for sharing your walk. I love dropping by for a little glimpse of your life.
xx
Lovely photos, must have been an enjoyable walk!
I live in Slovenia (Europe) and we get ticks a lot. Our country is covered with forests and in the summer it is very likely ‘to bring home a special friend’ if you go hiking. My brother, whom ticks seem to love (as a wildlife photographer, he spends most of his time in the forest), even managed to get one (or two) in our parents’ garden…
I love your blog, it’s so inspirational!
My daughter got a tick BEHIND HER EAR last year. I would’ve never known except that night during her bath I was washing behind her ears and she yelled out “OUCH!” I looked and that nasty thing had already burrowed halfway into the back of her ear. I was so grossed out!
After asking all my MOPS mom friends but getting conflicting reports of how to get rid of it, I took her in to the pediatrician. He told me the last thing you want to do is yank it out because you need to ensure you get it ALL. If you take a wet, soapy cloth and rub counterclockwise direction it should unscrew it out of the skin. Isn’t that gross? but they burrow down into the skin in a clockwise direction.
P.S. We’re in New York and its a bad year for them here too!
love these pictures! my most recent encounter with a tick was when i was feeling the nape of my neck in my hairline last week and came across what felt like a scab. i picked it and pulled out a TICK! it was dead, but it creeped me out nonetheless!
One of my sisters had one on her neck one time. I remember her asking one of us to check and see what was on her neck….and being grossed out by the little legs….only half of them…. sticking out! yuck! I’d risk it for a walk along that path though.
Great pictures. Ticks are nasty!
Beautiful pictures, and thank you for not putting a picture of the tick. Those things just gross me out!
my last tick was in the same place as hers, the belly button. Ick ! Here in NH, in the woods that surrounds us, they are everywhere. 3 cats and 4 dogs- collies no less. we do a tick check all the time. Just part of life.
Hey Lisa! Love the pics as usual. What are the boots you have one? Frye veronica slouch? Thanks
Can’t WAIT! To have a decent amount of sunshine and warmth to do this with small one C:
I’ll take the tickless path! Lisa, thought Matthias would be interested in my current giveaway…
http://www.feellovdeveryday.blogspot.com/2012/04/lovd-giveaway-official-lego-star-wars-t.html
Ticks? Oh my, yes. They didn’t name the town I live in LYME, CT for nothing … hehehe.
We have to pull ticks off my dog on a regular basis and my husband has had a few himself, while out cutting the grass. Both have contracted Lyme and are doing just fine, today.
What a beautiful place for a walking path! Thankfully it isn’t too buggy in California. I actually never think about picking one up but now I guess I better.
Multiple times, and for my elder son, in a very, very, VERY delicate spot, if you get my drift!! 🙂 My younger son had Lyme a couple years ago, thankfully treated early and is fine.
Oh how beautiful! Looks like spring.
I live in Oklahoma…we have ticks. Often. Yuck! Sorry she had to experience that!! 🙂
I went to Bob Jones University…I’ve never heard of the Bob Jones trail…I wonder if they are related!
Lisa, I would like to say no I have never encountered a tick but I would be lying! 🙂 Living in Wisconsin, and camping ALOT, I have had more than I would like to count. But once you get over having “the willies”, it’s not so bad! My grandma used to keep a mason jar on her kitchen counter w/ lighter fluid in it for all the ticks we kids picked up running out in the corn field on their farm.
On a side note, love all your pics. What a beautiful place!
Haha, have I had an encounter with a tick? Yes! Thirteen so far this year. I have inside dogs but walk them outside in my rural area so I have found them on the dogs, on my wall and even one attached to my leg after we had been in the woods! We had a mild winter so it is to be expected they will be worse this year. Oh, and my dogs are on a high powered flea and tick medicine. =P
What a beautiful walking path! We have had our first encounters with ticks after moving to Massachusetts a couple years ago — we found them on our dogs and had no idea what they were. Now that we know — yikes! And apparently this is a really bad year for them. We’ve already gone into red-level inspection mode every time they come in and (I fear) are overdosing them on tick treatments. It almost makes me afraid to go outside!
ugh ticks!…. I live in the middle of 15 acres of woods in Missouri. Ticks are my life. I have them, my husband and kids and especially the dog. We have to be very diligent to check nightly before bed for them. BUT I wouldn’t change it for anything, we love this country.
Oh yes! I grew up on a farm in northern Minnesota on the Iron Range and there were always ticks after coming in after a day of hard work. I can’t remember a summer where we didn’t find at least one. We were very careful though… especially after more awareness concerning some bugs that they can carry.
Love your blog and your pictures!
Blessings always!
Emily