Photos from Hocking Hills, day 1

When we got to the cottage that we rented in Hocking Hills, we were very pleased with the place. We chose to go with a more modern facility that was set in the woods rather than a cabin that was "more authentic." If you are ever in the Hocking Hills region, I recommend Heritage Cabin rentals to you. We were all happy--and the girls were running around when we first arrived, exclaiming about how much they liked it and asking why couldn't we live there all the time? (A small part of me that didn't care about schools, jobs, snow and ice agreed with their feeling.)

There was a cat visiting when we got there and Sarah and Grace enjoyed the novelty of a pet. They played with the cat on the large deck off the living area.

Hannah also liked the experience. While this photo doesn't show it, she spent time wandering around on the deck, trying to pet the cat and enjoying the cool, early Spring air. At various points in the weekend, Hannah would pause, shout very loudly--leaning forward with each shout. Perhaps she was testing out the echoey hills?

We planned on a more long-term hike on the only full day (Monday) of our short trip, but given some of our experiences in the past with "walking" we were a bit hesitant. I mean, if they balked so badly with straight ahead city-walking, how would they handle actual hiking, with slopes, roots, and stuff like that.

So, we took a mini hike in the early evening of day one. Down the road--and down the hills--from where our rented cabin was sat the Clear Creek Metro Park. It offered several walking trails and the one we chose was basically a stroll through a meadow alongside the creek. It was a good way to get everyone acclimatized to the walking and to get Hannah comfortable with the backpack harness that we borrowed from a church friend at the last minute--and BOY, was THAT a good idea!

The weather was very good that day, if a bit chilly. (Sadly, we wouldn't see weather this nice again for the rest of the trip. But everyone took it well and we had a good time on day one stretching our legs.

There was some predictable squabbling about who walked in front of whom and stuff like that. I remember similar fights from my childhood camping and hiking past. We could have taken some of the other trails that branched off from the Clear Creek starting point, but we didn't want to run the risk of turning an ankle or anything.

Here is the last shot from day one of our trip. Hannah seemed to enjoy--overall anyway--the time spent hanging off of Lynda's back. It was a bit difficult to strap her into it without a lot of fussing. But once that was accomplished and she was hoisted upwards, she usually quit fussing and enjoyed the sunshine and the motion. Hannah does enjoy being outdoors it seems. Let's hope we can continue to cultivate this interest as she (and the others age).

I was impressed with the harness, so much so that I am tempted to get one for ourselves--assuming that the family wants it back. But that is probably a foolish hope since Hannah will be growing up faster than we'll likely take another trip like this. And I don't know if they make a similar harness for a two+ year old.