Back to nature.

We had a great and busy weekend. We went to the BBQ of the century (ending with shots of Patron for some and Maker’s Mark for others). We went to the pool on opening day. They boys and I had dinner with my father. Saturday, we went to Tersiguel’s for a birthday lunch for Andrew’s mother.

It was all fun. But today, we wanted something different. Something for just Andrew and me and the boys that we could do together. Something fun and something we could talk through and just be together.

So we went to Sugarloaf Mountain. It is a Registered Natural Landmark because of “its geological interest and striking beauty.” We parked and chose the green trail for our hike. It was steep. But we all could do it. We saw a snake eating a frog. Way cool. Gross, but cool. Then we came upon a stone path…made with big flat stones in different shapes. One boy called out, “this one looks just like Tennessee.” And then it grew. Each stone was identified as a state. Or, if it just couldn’t be a state, I’d hear “this one is George Washington!” Can you imagine a rock that looks like G.W.? It was a stretch. But the states were pretty darn accurate!

So we kept going. We saw people with rock climbing equipment and watched a bit. The boys climbed on rocks all along the way. It was great. We reached the peak.

And we looked each direction. It was beautiful and peaceful. And it seemed that we were the only people there. (we weren’t.) But I looked at Andrew and the kids with the sun shining on a beautifully perfect day at the top of a mountain. And I felt joy.

We decided to hike the red trail down. It was shady and gradually sloped. We looked for walking sticks and talked and laughed. We held hands and took our time. We hardly passed anyone.

Then, we spotted a big family walking toward us. They had pit bulls (I saw the dogs from way back, fortunately – one of the boys is really not comfortable around dogs) so we backed off the trail to let them pass. One of the kids commented that they were smoking. I think he noticed because there was a sign at the beginning of the trail explaining that the fire hazard was high today. Another commented that the cigarette smelled funny. Sweet, I think he said.

Yup. I guess they were getting back to nature, too.

OF NOTE: When I referred to Andrew’s mother, I meant to say “my mother-in-law” — some think that the way I wrote it seems impersonal. I defintely did not mean it that way!