Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Playin' hookey


To save all my time off for when the kids are out of school is to miss an opportunity.  Yesterday, I played hookey with my husband.  We pretend we were dating again while we talked about the kids (you know you do it too).


him:  "Honey, this time of year you need some blaze orange, people are crazy.  So, if you need to go out and buy some that's cute to wear, do it."

me:  (thinking) cute?...blaze orange?...oxymoron.  "Nah, I'll just borrow something of yours."


We walked, (honey, where's your orange?)


and sat, and ate at Baja Bean and then walked some more and made believe we were all alone because the rest of the world had gone back to work after the holiday.


It brought back memories as these walks usually do.  It reminded me how we met one night long ago and the next morning I picked him up at 7 a.m., me and my dog, and made him go for a twelve mile hike with us on the AT.  I wanted to know what I was dealing with.  He didn't want me to go alone, he thought I was crazy.


Fifteen years or so later these are still some of our best dates.


Hiking and knishing (I knit, he fishes), top two.


Next time mountain bikes.

The info: 
Ivy Creek Natural Area (in Charlottesville)
Walnut Creek Park (15 mins south of C'ville)

Both were easy walks through the woods, really, great for kids.  No pets at Ivy Creek, no running at either place supposedly but Walnut Creek looks like it could get crazy crowded with mountain bikes and swimmers in the summer.  Oh, and it has a disc golf course...you know you're in a college town.  Walnut Creek is funded in part by a grant from Dave Matthews' Foundation.  Love that.


 

2 comments:

Julie said...

How fun! When we lived in C'ville, Walnut Creek was a favorite of ours (and the dogs). I used to run there sometimes and cycle on the roads surrounding the park. So gorgeous!

Hiking on the AT was my first date with my husband too! We often went hiking in Shenandoah and were married in Crozet with views of the mountains.

Now we're hiking with kids on our backs around Tahoe. And that doesn't suck either. :) What we're not doing enough of is getting time together without kids. Miss that...

amy said...

Julie--I liked walnut creek the best, so many trails! Outdoor dates are the best. Finding time alone is tricky, we have to put it on our schedules if we want it to happen. Crazy.