Onward and Upward

After what feels like weeks of sitting in my bathroom, scrounging up whatever bits of open wireless connection I could from other people in my neighborhood (yes, it's true), we're finally back online.  I'm still not hopeful that the problem is fixed for good, but maybe it is.  All I know is that it's working right now, and I intend to take full advantage of it!

On Sunday, Louie, my sister, Marge and I took a truly awesome hike in the autumn woods.  We were out there a good while, and covered somewhere from 3 to 4 miles.  I'd like to squeeze another in before our trial on Saturday, but I don't think I'll be able to (the beach might be an option, though).

As we started on what is arguably the most scenic trail in all of the woods, we stopped off at the big lake to let the beauty sink in. 

 

Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous.  And, to make things even better, we found a brand new spot along the lake for Marge to wade.  The drop off is extremely gradual, so she can walk around in the shallow water.  It'll be an exciting place to take her in the Spring and Summer!

She developed a reddish, bumpy rash on her inner thighs after we arrived home, but I don't think it was from this water - she's gotten this rash periodically, and I think it might be from the smaller ponds we stopped at.  We'll try to stick to wading in the larger bodies of water, like this one.

We then walked a short distance down the trail to the next body of water, a pond, where the colors were as vibrant as can be.

(click HERE to see the same place in July!)

We walked on for at least a mile, surrounded by trees.  For some reason, I really felt the pain in my calves as we climbed.  I hope that with repeated trips, the pain will cease.  At least the trip down wasn't so bad!

We wandered off trail a bit, too (which is a huge act of courage by me!).  We found this little pond.  It was murky (no wading for Marge here) and not exactly picturesque, but the idea of being secluded in the forest was enchanting.

Our ascent was finally complete, and we peered out towards the ocean and New Jersey.  It was Louie's first trip on this trail with me, and I think he enjoyed it - it's wonderfully scenic.

We continued onward a bit more, but a group of young children were making their way up the trail, and their screams bothered Marge (and me).  So, we headed back down the way we came, our calves sore, our adventurousness quenched.  We'll be back for more soon.

(I have a million things to talk about, since I've blogged a grand total of five times so far in the month of October.  Look out for a pre-trial post on Friday, and then a trial recap on Sunday).