Hiker Josh
This is a picture from a day hike Josh and I took over the summer. It was to the top of Kennesaw Mountain and back down. Josh walked the 1+ mile all the way to the top of the mountain by himself. We only had to take one break on that climb, and this picture is from that break.
There’s a number of things to note. First is the backpack. This is traditionally Josh’s mode of transportation for these types of excursions. This trip was a first in that he made it all the way through the first leg of the journey without need of this backpack nor Daddy’s arms.
Second is the little red dog. The little red dog is actually a doll of Clifford, the Big Red Dog. Josh likes Clifford a lot, but Clifford has been known to wind up on the ground during the various family excursions. Josh was carrying Clifford on this particular excursion, and Clifford was not dropped once.
Finally the water bottle. What you don’t see is that I had a sippy cup for Josh to use, and I prepared it for him at the beginning of the little break we’re having here. Josh however saw my larger water bottles and would have nothing short of his own larger water bottle. It was kinda funny watching slugging that water bottle back. The day was so warm/hot, neither I nor he particularly minded that it went places other than his mouth – namely down his neck and front.
At the top of the mountain, Josh and I feasted on fruit, cheese, and crackers – and lots of more water. Afterwards, Josh climbed into the back pack, and we headed back home. On the car ride to home, Josh fell asleep and took a big nap.
Josh had such a good day that day that I wanted to show him off. So a week or two later, we took a family trip back to the mountain and invited the Hollandseses along. Suffice it to say that Josh did not do as well that day. In fact, he and I had to split off from the rest of the group to have a little “discussion” about the temper tantrum he was throwing. Ah the life of the 2 and a half year old. It is so tempermentally unpredictable. The good moments are really good. And the not so good moments have a tendency to really not be such good moments. The good moments more than make up for it – as you can see, there’s much more to my recollection of our good trip over the bad.