“Thwack!”

The sound of the hard-hit pickleball was heard all the way to Westlake.

“Those guys are pretty big,” said a spectator to no one in particular, as she stared in awe at the size of Andrew Mooney and Tom Hare, a quarter-ton of sculpted physiques between them (yes, I’m referring to myself in the third person).

Thousand Oaks is a city known for open spaces. And it’s not by accident.

Established in 1977, the Conejo Open Space Conservation Agency was formed by an agreement between the City of Thousand Oaks and the Conejo Recreation and Park District. Its mission: to save natural lands and protect them from development.

You’ve heard of going the extra mile. What about two? Or three or four? For some Conejo Valley High School students, the road to school is longer than it should be.

At least 10 students currently enrolled at CVHS have to walk over three miles to get to school every day, said Pete Martinez, a member of the Conejo Recreation and Park District’s youth outreach staff.

Wildwood Regional Park might have too much of a good thing.

Drawn to the open-space area by its main attraction, Paradise Falls, weekend crowds quickly overwhelm the small dirt parking lot at the main trailhead at the western end of Avenida de Los Arboles and spill out into the neighborhood.