My husband can find an adventure.
My husband sometimes doesn’t pay attention to all the details when he wants to have an impromptu adventure.Saturday he mentioned we should take a hike on Sunday after church. A guy at work recommended a great hike and where you could watch parasailing. We were all game. It sounded low-key.Sunday after lunch we drove in the vicinity of the mountain. We had the name of the city, a guess at which exit, then followed the direction of the parasails in the air.
No biggie.
We saw a lot of cars, a lot of people, and a sign for the Chirico Trail to Poo Poo Point. Great. Things were panning out.
Ten minutes into the hike I was ALMOST crying. It was a hard hike with a lot of switchbacks and steep grade. I was wearing jean shorts and two shirts and felt like there were five hot-flashes competing for my attention. I suddenly understood why all those other hikers wear those light-weight tan hiking shorts we used to laughed at. They’re the uniform of the PNW. I wished I’d given in to peer pressure and bought the uniform. There’s a reason why you don’t do a serious hike in denim shorts.
Scott was confused and concerned by my reaction. He had intended to have fun as a family, not make his wife cry. After the speed hikers raced by, their calf muscles flexing in time to my Lamaze-like breathing, I explained to Scott I was not crying because I was upset with him, I was upset that it was SO hard for me to hike. Just a few years ago I’d backpacked a steep terrain and carried a 35 pound backpack. It was another reminder of the frailty of human bodies due to aging and cancer, but that made me more determined to finish.
My two teenage daughters were in flip-flops and received many comments as professional hikers stomped by in their professional hiking boots. It didn’t even phase my daughters, they flew up the trail, leaving their mommy heaving in their dust.
In hindsight, it probably wasn’t the wisest choice of footwear.
It can really mess up a nice pedicure.
The parasailers run up the trail with a 50 pound pack on their backs.
My husband hiked up the trail and I was tempted to ride on his back.
Bethany and Beka smiling as they sweat along. The more we praised Beka, the harder she tried and the less she complained.
We rested a lot.
More for me than for her. She was AMAZING!
We reached the first clearing and discovered the view was the cliché,
and brilliantly hued parasails.
To learn, you jump tandem. This young cutie was so light, when her instructor told her to RUN! her feet kept moving in the air in time with her giggles, but she didn’t go anywhere for a few hilarious seconds.
We hiked down and recovered at sea level while watching all the perfect landings. Then, they carefully repack their sails with the bajillion multi-colored ropes.
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