A day to remember

It was one of the hottest days of the summer so far and Esther and I braved the heat to be the adventurers we are.  On this day, we would tackle the treacherous terrain of Newton Hills State Park.  Newton Hills was a place I often visited as a child, tramping all over the place as if the place was some sort of haven for active little boys like myself.  Since then I haven't been a nature person, however, for some reason, I absolutely love being outside with my best friend. 

We started down the first trail--a downhill, winding dirt path that eventually led me to the realization that we were parked in completely the wrong area.  After that mini-fail on my part, we got parked in the correct place in order to take full advantage of our collective sense of adventure.  We meandered down Turkey Trot Trail--a one person wide, easy walk.  It was such a fantastic time.  We simply walked, talking at our leisure and finding our British friends (who looked suspiciously like trees) and a toad (or a twig) along the way.

The highlight of this day was the lookout tower.  Walking up to it, I immediately thought, "Hmm, I swear this used to be taller."  We quickly climbed the two stories to the top and looked out over the vast sea of leafy green treetops in front of us.  As it often happens with us, conversation just started flowing.  There isn't a thing we can't talk about.  The wind was blowing all this while, sometimes annoyingly loud.  We took it in stride however, urging the wind that it was ok to calm down.  Whether by our words or just some coincidence, the wind always subsided and we continued our conversation.  At this point, it seemed like the breeze was there just as our own personal air conditioner--turning it on and off with our voices.  An hour or so later, we descended the tower and headed home.

A simple day to most that meant more to me than could have possibly been known.  Conversing with the beautiful woman next to me while walking through a forest of trees and bushes was absolutely perfect.  We didn't have to to anything but walk and hold each others hands, taking in God's creation while basking in the creation He has made and is continuing to build in our hearts.