Our Great Adventure

Yesterday was our day off and will be our only day off for over a 10 day stretch so we wanted to make the most of it.  Josh and I went on a date in the late morning to see Eclipse.  I thought it was a little short but still loved it and it was fun getting out with the hubby.  We weren't sure if we would be able to since Carson has had hand, foot, and mouth disease for the last week.  It sounds terrible but has actually been a pretty simple virus.

Then we had lunch with Josh's parents and after hanging out awhile, I convinced Josh that going on a small hike with Carson would be really fun.  Hiking and really anything outdoors is one of my passions and I'm constantly begging Josh to go on a hike with me.  It's not something he's really interested in so it sort of happens once in a blue moon.  We usually compromise with some sort of other activity.  But with Carson involved, experiences like hiking are good for his development, right?  Well, we went to a simple place that I used to go a lot and it always felt fake to me.  Very mapped out and not "real" hiking.  When we went yesterday evening we were planning on just being up in the woods for 20 mins or so.  We didn't have a whole bunch of time because we had to be back home by 8pm.  So off we went up the mountain.  We were trying to hike a trail that would take us in a small circle and back to the other side of the park where we started.  Unfortunately things had declined considerably at this hiking location.  The clearly defined trails were grown over and the signs that let you know where the trail heads were located were worn off.  I was the ring leader and of course I missed the trail back to the park.  So we hike for about 40 mins and we see cars and houses.  Yay, we must be back to the parking lot....nope.  We see a street with houses, but we had no idea where we were.  I hear Josh's strong voice behind me "so, where are we Carrie." My response was "don't know." So we start taking a trail back and then we started using little trails trying to find our way back and when the trails would end, we'd panic. (This is when legible signs would have been very helpful).   I heard "I'm going to kill you" uttered by Josh a few times as we stomped through the forest floor until we found another trail.  We were running out of time.  Had we done this in the early morning, it would have been no big deal.  But we were in flip flops with no water or food.  Again, it was supposed to be a 20 min hike with Carson which really means leisurely stroll.  We also had no baby carrier with us so Carson was propped up on Josh's shoulders getting hit in the face with shrubbery and branches.  At one point, headlines were flashing through my mind of an ill-prepared family getting lost in the woods.  Finally, after 30 more mins of hiking we found a place we could get out to the street.  There was no trail and we scaled down some rocks and walked about 3/4 a mile on the sidewalk until we finally found our car.  We had planned to get milk shakes after our hike, but the stress of the event diminished the desire for one. We stopped for ice cream anyway but I really could have skipped it and there was no enjoyment while I ate it.  Very disappointing.   It will probably be quite awhile before I will be able to convince Josh to go hiking again.  It did break my heart that these once busy hiking trails were so neglected and barren.  Josh kept whispering to me how this is where all the creepy people hang out.  I thought yeah right, this is a family place and you might occasionally see someone creepy, but that's every where.  Well, while we were following deer trails we stumbled across a guy that had no shoes on and was just standing in the woods.  Okay, that was a little weird.  I do hope that it becomes a place for families again and that maybe someone would pay the place a little more attention.