The Walk

This weekend we went to check out a newly renovated park by my parent's house....one that was a quarry/bird sanctuary that is now a gorgeous array of water conservation lakes, trees and native plants. Saturday there were some kid's activities (eddie made an adorable pinecone bird feeder) and a horse drawn wagon ride to tour the property. The wagon ride sounded the best for us - Eddie would love to see the horses and we would get to see the property without much work.

Too bad for us the wagon people brought PONIES to pull a wagon full of adults and kids, and halfway through the already shortened tour, they stop and say "who wants to walk back?" which, let's face it....it's code for "the ponies are hurting and some of you fat asses have to go." So, my parents, Eddie and I decided to hike back. About a mile.....Eddie was almost at nap time, it was 90 degrees and I was in a maxi dress and gladiator sandals. But hike we did, and save for the poor tour guide who had to walk back with a toddler who stopped every 2 feet to pick up rocks, it was a pretty good time.

So when Mac and Amy were around the next day, we decided to hike again. I grabbed the hiking backpack, my gym shoes and wore some real live excersise clothes. We packed a bunch of water, and in high spirits we went on our merry way.

I have lots of pictures to show you, but they are on my mom's camera, so they'll have to wait. The moral of this story, however, is that 90 degree weather, gym shoes that give you huge blisters and 32 pounds  in a hiking backpack pretty much sucks. Add in a little over a 3 mile hike and I think I'm dying.

About 2/3 of the way through our walk, I threw a toddler style tantrum, almost in tears saying that I couldn't hold Eddie in the backpack any more. I just couldn't. After Hubby took the pack and the bug man, I promptly took off my shoes and walked in just my socks on gravel. Can I tell you how great of an idea that was? So after I pouted off by myself for a bit, I jumped back on the horse and decided to at least walk next to Hubby and Eddie. We comforted eachother in our misery, confirming a zillion times over that a 3 mile hike in the middle of summer, with no shade in sight was a horrific idea.

At one point, I got a little hysterical, asking Hubs where the cameras were and when do I start drinking my own urine to prevent dehydration? Should I pee on my shirt and throw it on my head? Why do all the survival methods have to do with pee? Discovery Channel survival - I know what I'm doing, people....well, at least I remember all the things to do with my urine, right?

Maybe we'll try again in the fall.......

......probably not.