Earth Day 2.0

Saturday we spent the day hiking at Hoffmaster State Park with Racie and Dan, and then the four of us went to House to watch Planet Earth and have dinner with Miranda. It was a great day.

Christine and I spent the morning making white chili and guacamole for dinner, then we headed over to Miranda's to plug in the crock pot and meet up with Racie and Dan. Being us, we took the scenic route.

The only person I know who is more directionally challenged than I am is my spouse, and she makes the same claim. As she was driving, I told her that I knew a better way to get to Racie and Dan's than the route we usually take. So we passed the exit we took all last summer due to roadwork, and when we hit the next one, we got off the highway. Only for Christine to exclaim, "We're not going to Racie and Dan's!" So we turned around to get back onto the highway, only to get on going in the direction we had just come from, and because nice weather in Grand Rapids means 131 shuts down, we couldn't get off and turn around until we were almost back where we started from.

So I called Dan to tell him we were running late, only for him to tell me that they were also running late. We finally parked in front of House within seconds of each other.

Dan graciously drove so that they could get an annual pass for their car once we got to the park. Conversation on the way was lively and interesting as usual. I'll spare you the details since this isn't the blog where I welcome debate.

As we neared the park, we passed an ice cream store with a sign that said:

Happy Hour

2-5

Ice Cream

2 for 1

It was nearly two, but we figured we'd be more in the mood for ice cream after hiking, so we pressed on.

The weather was beautiful, and we hiked two of the trails, one to the dunes and the other along a boardwalk with nearly 500 stairs. I usually count stairs, but I lost track. Back at the visitors' center, we saw polliwogs and snakes and taxidermy animals. It was very much as I remember it when my family used to visit on a weekly basis.

On the way home, we stopped for ice cream, only to discover that the bottom line of the sign had been changed to "Sandwiches $1." What a load. But we bought ice cream anyway, and not in sandwich form.

Back at House, the chili smelled amazing, and we watched several episodes of Planet Earth while enjoying chips and guacamole, which turned out surprisingly well for my just throwing together what I thought sounded good. I'm glad I'm getting to the point where I can trust my food instincts.

I slept unbelievably well last night. I'm not used to so much exercise, but I hope to one day say that's no longer true.