Wonderful Winter Weekend

Thanks to the great person who offered to take our photo.

Being outdoors is second nature to me.  I am more energetic, I ache less, and smile a lot more.  With my two kids now  more easily able to get outdoors with me, my wife and I are finding it easier to get out and enjoy the wilderness.  While these forays into nature are not what I used to engage in, any outdoor time is rewarding.

This weekend I was able to be outdoors 3 consecutive days.  If you're a parent, you know how rare of occasion that can be.  Given we have karate, swimming, skating, guitar, and drama, I'm lucky to get two (let's call them adventure days) a week.

The first adventure was a night at Poley Mountain where my son wanted to try snowboarding for the first time.  Since his karate teacher at Two Rivers Martial Arts was away as a judge at a tournament, we had a night off karate and thought this would be a good way to spend it. I was not ready to try snowboarding my self so I went and watched.  My church was hosting a Holy Poley night so I felt I could find someone to chat with if need be.  Our pastor was going to provide Seth with all the gear he needed and gave him some pointers to get him started.

Once he had his boots, helmet, and board ready to go there was no stopping him.  I walked with him as he confidently strutted out to the bunny hill where he spent the evening learning to turn, stop, and control the board.  His second run down, he went the whole way without falling.  He was hooked.  As the snow fell that night I continued to watch him and created a bond with him as I would help him strap back into the board each time he came back to the top.  For the most part he was alone while his peers skied on the big hill and he worked away at getting better.  Now I guess I'll be checking Kijiji for deals on youth snowboards.

The next day was a beautiful winter day.  Much to nice to spend doing the laundry and dishes that were piling up in our house.  Instead we packed up some gear and snacks and went for a hike to the Bluff in Sussex Corner.  The sun shone through the trees as we made our way to the rock face.  The kids shook the fresh snow from the night before off each tree and played games.  Their laughter was enough to make you smile, no matter how cold your heart might be.  A very nice person offered to take our family picture at the top and it turned out great considering it was only a cell camera.  We had a cup of hot chocolate and some light snacks while at the Bluff and then headed back to the Jeep.

Following church the next day, the good Lord blessed us with another chance to get out and enjoy another snowshoe adventure.  This time we joined a large group from Go Outdoors Sussex and hiked along the Cotter Holler Road.  The steep valley has lots of ice walls along its rocky ridges and the group enjoyed a side trail into a small ice cave.  My family spends lots of time in this area and my kids took pride in the fact they could lead the group up the road and to most of the sites.  My wife and I enjoyed the conversation with numerous people and loved catching up with everyone.

Words and photos can't do a weekend like this justice.  This was a quick recollection of the weekend and I feel silly even putting it out here but this is for my kids so that maybe later they can come to this blog and remember fondly such a great weekend.

See you in the woods or on the water.