3 States of the Appalachian Trail for Father’s Day, a set on Flickr.
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: