Day 187 ~ Call of the Not-So-Wild

July 6, 2014

My Instead: I took two of my grandchildren and one of their friends to hike some trails at Pere Marquette State Park. 

I had noticed some of my friends on Facebook enjoying a hike at Pere Marquette State Park. From that seed of suggestion grew such a gravitational pull…I had to make the trek past Grafton and do the same. My grandchildren, Tyler and Abbey, would be the perfect hiking companions, along with Tyler’s “frother” (friend/brother), Danny.

The ride to the park was long enough for Tyler and Danny to get their naps in. Abbey did not want to miss a thing along the way, so sleep was not an option for her. We arrived around 3 o’clock and hit the trail running. The day’s mercury reading was higher than the days prior, but shade was in abundance to reduce the afternoon’s fever. I had packed plenty of bottled water to stave off dehydration (translation: thirsty kids whining and begging for a drink). 

I encouraged the kids to explore the trail and to find “weird” things to share. That suggestion made it more of a quest. They were all so into it. We also discovered physical challenges: “balance beam” walking on fallen tree trunks, steep slope climbing, and, of course, Tarzan swinging.  My biggest challenge was toad holding. To Abbey, it was second nature…to me, it was toad-al aversion. I have never been an amphibian admirer, but the call of the not-so-wild was loud and clear. Abbey gingerly handed “hoppy” over to me and I held him gently under his armpits. At that point in time, we were kindred spirits.  

We continued on our midsummer passage; Abbey freed the toad; the bottled water outlasted our thirsts; the caramel puff corn silenced the hunger pangs; the navigator got us lost for a while; we lived in the moment; we survived and thrived.  

At the end all appetites were yelling for “Fin Inn” in Grafton. The restaurant has these aquariums right at the booths for patrons to observe the various kinds of fish…and for the fish to stare at the patrons. Creepy. We cleaned up, cooled off, and filled our bellies.

 

We rode all the way back home with the car windows rolled down. The evening was warm enough and the wind was cool enough to fill the car with perfect “air conditioning”. Ahhh…summertime! The kids were Shih Tzu pups with their faces in the wind. I was the kid behind the wheel, feeling enviously blessed…