hiking and swimming
splish splash
We had a flexible morning yesterday. We woke up thinking we were going to meet friends at Walden Pond at 10, but we learned before breakfast that they weren't actually able to make it. Then a different friend invited us to Berry Pond, only to cancel at the last minute (with justification: she was going into labor!). At that point we were already in the car, so we headed off to the pond by ourselves. It wasn't easy to get there: the storm the day before hit the towns to the north of us pretty hard, and not only did we need to take a detour for a crew clearing a downed tree, there was another detour on our detour! But we got there eventually, to find that we had the place entirely to ourselves.
Because now we weren't meeting a nine-months pregnant mama with a kid in a stroller, we got warmed up for our beach time with a little hike. Berry Pond is in Harold Parker State Forest—tucked up at the edge of the sprawling preserve—and the forest is just packed with trails. We followed one pretty much at random, and while there was some nervousness from some of the party about just how long our loop would be, it ended up being a beautiful hike.
adventurous terrain
When we got back to the pond it was still empty, and we were hot and sweaty enough to appreciate the chilliness of the water. Berry Pond is smaller than Walden and the water isn't as clear, but despite being in a pretty regular suburban town it feels much more like a backwoods mountain swimming hole. If it weren't for the ropes restricting swimming to just a tiny area around the beach, it would be amazing. Just look at those rocks on the other side! No swimming there, sadly.
the beautiful waters
As we ate lunch the beach started to fill up—by which I mean three or four other groups arrived. No worries, there was still plenty of space for us to make an epic sand castle city. It was a good warm up for our planned trip to the Cape next week, because there were no waves or tide to threaten our city walls; except when someone splashed too close, that is. We lost the lighthouse on the point that way, but never mind, we quickly rebuilt it.
finishing touches
While we would have loved to spend some quality time swimming with friends, it was also nice to have an quiet outing just with us boys. We're trying to collect our thoughts as we get ready to head into the new "school year" and the way everything played out was just fine for an easy and relaxing outing. We'll take it.