Lake Calhoun Walk

We had spectacular weather this weekend here in the Twin Cities and we made the most of it. Saturday, late afternoon, found us at Lake Calhoun around which we decided to walk all the way. Fans, it's three miles, and Our Hero walked at least two miles of this trek. Sometimes, he ran! We did not anticipate the extent of Our Hero's stamina and fortitude (Joe refused to get into the stroller until we were almost there, despite the fact that by that time, he was clearly wilting), and so it took an awfully long time to reach the promised playground and beach where the younger set rules. Apparently, riding in the stroller was not so bad, as post-playground and beach, Joe clambered back in for the final leg of the journey.

By that time, he'd made a new friend at one of the playground's sandbox. New Friend remains nameless, but asked Joe his name, and offered a shovel as a token of his goodwill. Joe told New Friend his name was Joe and took that shovel right off his hands. But, he gave it back and said thank you when it was time to go. So civilized! Also by the time we headed for home, Joe had waded in Lake Calhoun, deciding pretty much straight off that he needed to strip down for this activity.

Birdie, for her part, rode about the lake in her sporty red roadster and white sun bonnet. (She felt it prudent since the top was down and it was such a sunny day.) Foot on the dash often. Upon spying her birdie and moose dangling from the stroller, she pointed and cried out and that is how she came to have two things dangling from the rearview as it were. She did get out to ride on the swings for a bit, dip her toes in the lake, and slap the water with her hand. She loved it. (Sort of like a great big Berenice's water bowl, for which Clara loves to make a beeline.)

So it was that we did not make it back to the car until nearly 6pm. Birdie is pretty much done by 6:30pm, and really, really done by 6:45pm. We decided to risk a dinner for the bambini and a snack for us at the Chipotle, where we just beat the dinner rush (a rush exacerbated by the fact that the C team was working the line) and thus made it home, just in time to collapse.