Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Day Trip to the Park

About this time of year, I get that strange familiar feeling of that dreaded back to school time.  So, I got all the kids together yesterday morning and we brainstormed some fun things we wanted to cram in before Lauren leaves in a short 2 1/2 weeks. Well, less than 30 minutes later, we were packed with a picnic lunch, a full cooler of drinks and our hiking shoes on!

We headed to John Bryan State Park in Yellow Springs, Ohio. It was our first visit not only to the park, but to that area of Ohio.  We ate as soon as we arrived and then hit one of the longer trails.
Although it was a warm day, once we got inside the woods and down low by the river, we felt like we could walk all day. Well, we were a little optimistic and energetic to start, but about 1 1/2 hours into our walk, we realized we had to walk the same distance back to get to the car.  The water bottles were quickly emptied and we started to tire quickly.  Although the trails were gorgeous, it was not "smooth walking" by any means.  We went up and down and over and under and by the end of the over four mile hike, we all had a great workout!  There were caves and cliffs and people rock climbing.  I felt that I was somewhere far away. The landscape, hills and terrain were nothing like we have here in Auglaize county!
We were ecstatic (really!) when we saw our Yukon with cold beverages inside!  I had read about Young's Dairy which is right outside Yellow Springs and mmm, was that homemade ice cream, good!  (and quite a hit for some hot, weary people!)  For a Tuesday afternoon, the place was packed.  It is a bit of a tourist trap, with not only a ice ceam parlor and restaurant, but a complete set up with a petting zoo, driving range, putt putt golf and lots of things for little ones to do!

So, although we were pretty exhausted, it was a great day...one of those that we will talk about for a long time......
                      Creating memories....one of my favorite things to do...

1 comment:

Jenna Marie said...

i was never even told about this trip...!!