Hiking in the park

Many weekends ago (weekend before Thanksgiving, maybe), Chrys and I ended up finally taking the hiking trail in the park across the street. We took Roo with us and alternated carrying her, but it was mostly Chrys. We only went up and came back down as we'd pretty much reached the limits of Roo's patience.

Roo's favorite part was playing in the leaves. She wanted to stop every few feet and get put down so she could work on moving all of the leaves from outside her legs (which she had spread apart on the ground) to between her legs and back again. This was not a terribly fast process, but she enjoyed it. When we got bored of that spot, we'd pick her up, distract her, walk as far as we could with her squirming and then let her play some more. Sometimes she'd walk on her own, sometimes she took a stick with her until she poked one of us with it, sometimes she just screamed for a few meters.

Chrys and I enjoyed doing something neither of us had done in over 5 years. I missed having my boots (which I left in my closet at home thinking I wouldn't be hiking in Japan), well, my wussy ankles missed having my boots. We loved the gradual climb and seeing where we'd been when we got home.

There's a little gazebo at the top with some benches and table. It would be a nice place for a picnic. I've heard there's a beautiful Koi pond on the other side, but we'll have to work on Roo's endurance before we head down only to have to go back over the mountain to get home.

It was beautiful, though, and we both agreed we should do it more often. We haven't gone since. Sad, huh?