Saturday, March 04, 2006

A Winter Walk

After church the sun came out and we took the kids out to our favourite place to walk: Crescent Beach.



The tide was out and the sand stretched out a long way into the bay, but we decided take our expedition in a different direction instead.







We walked to the far end of the promenade, then stepped onto the beach and followed the tracks for about 200 metres to where a pedestrian bridge came over the tracks and down to the beach. This was where the "1,000 Steps" come down the beach.







Cheryl walked us all the way up to the top and then all the way down. My legs were burning, which suprised me for all of about 5 seconds. My next thought was that I ought to be careful on my way down becauese I had Maribeth on my back.



We stopped for a small snack on the beach at the bottom of the bridge. The twins were let out of the backpack carriers we were toting them in. They stuffed themselves with yoghurt Minigo (apparently this is a soft cheese and not yoghurt) and then tried to make a beeline for the shore. I had to do some astute herding to keep Megan away from the water's edge. When all the snacking was done, we loaded up the twins again and headed back - quickly because Madeleine was wanting the potty and the sun was going down.





On the way back Michael found a clam shell. Madeleine found a clam shell. Melissa found some clam shells too, but more importantly soaked her shoes. Cheryl had to give Melissa her jacket to keep the poor kid warm. For my part, I saw a bald eagle and got some good pictures of the sunset.









We hurried and managed to get back to the van before the soggy people got hypothermic.



Epilogue - I forgot to mention that this was the last of "winter" that we'll see here on this coast. The crocuses are out, the willows are budding, and the plum and cherry trees are blossoming. I ought to have stopped to take pictures of them too, but the kids were in a hurry to see the beach.

This trip also underscored again the fact that we have "outside" kids. The M's don't consider an outing a real adventure unless there's a lot of climbing up and down or water play. According to them, flat trails are bo-o-o-o-rrrring. The good news is that this is the best way to "wipe them out" so that they're tired enough to want to go to bed at the end of the day. The "bad news" is that right now it's wiping us out too! Other mental notes include - making sure that everyone brings their own fleece, shell jacket, water, and backpack. And we need to also pack spare shoes, socks, clothes, and towels in the van in case anyone gets wet. And we should make sure the first aid kit is in the van too.

So here's to the arrival of spring, longer daylight hours, and improved fitness so we can keep up with these harum-scarums!

3 comments:

Sunny said...

LARGE clamshells!
Lovely photos.
Good times.
(Mommy looks cold.)

Mama Bird said...

Oh, what a lovely day!

I must say that I'm envying you weather that allows such a delightful outing without having to be completely bundled up...

Cheryl said...

Melissa and Maddy soaked not only shoes, but most of their pants and a good part of their sleeves. Both were very, very cold. Which is why one got my coast the other got my sweatshirt layered under their coat. I actually was hot before that and NOT wet so I was only slightly chilly the rest of the walk back.