3 States of the Appalachian Trail for Father’s Day

Only 1165 miles left!Cooling off after a Long HikeDSC04244DSC04243DSC04241DSC04240
DSC04239Looking Into the ValleyDSC04234DSC04232DSC04231Taking a Break on the Trail
Taking a Break on the TrailDSC04226DSC04224DSC04222DSC04221DSC04220
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Basically my favorite thing in the world is to spend time outdoors with my family. So, my father’s day gift from my wife was to let me take a hike on the Appalachian Trail with my daughter. We went out with my daughter’s besty, Lydia, and her dad, and set out first thing in the morning to touch three states on the Appalachian Trail – Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland – all with our munchkins strapped to our backs. Our wives then met us at Harpers Ferry with our sons.

In addition to being a fantastic day in the outdoors with the kids, today basically marked a milestone with my daughter, in terms of her interaction with her friends. We’ve often referred to Lydia as my daughter’s “friend” – but in reality that meant plunking two babies next to each other and watching to make sure they don’t stick their hands in each others mouths. But now, the two of them are giggling, talking to each other, sharing juice bottles, running after each other, etc.

Their dialogue was summed up in an interchange at a restaurant in Harpers Ferry, where we stopped for food & ice cream:

Lydia: “I HAVE A BIG RED TOMATO!!!”

Mackenzie: “WOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!”

Simple, yet just enchantingly cute to behold the two of them – Mackenzie at 1.78 years old, Lydia at 2.84 years old, chatting away like buddies.

Slide show of our hike follows:

2 thoughts on “3 States of the Appalachian Trail for Father’s Day

  1. Yay for buddies! Let the playdates begin! By the way, I love that you guys spend so much outdoors time with your kiddos.

    1. 🙂 Oh yeah – sleepovers are soon, I’m sure.

      And yes – it was actually one of my first parental resolutions that I made with Kat when we found out we were having kids — to make sure they had an appreciation of the outdoors. I’m a total computer nerd, and so the last thing I want is to have my kids grow up glued to a computer screen or a TV screen, and not then know how to do things like make a fire or pitch a tent. But more than that, I really just want them to have an appreciation for the beauty of the outdoors, because I just think that’s important & wholesome.

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