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Beachy keen

The weather this weekend was delicious. Saturday morning we had sunshine and lovely breezes for our cystic fibrosis walk through downtown. It got a little hot, but I think that’s to be expected when you’re walking full-tilt to catch up with a 7-year-old who’s basically running the whole way. He thought that being at the front of the walk was the goal. So he used his drafting skills to pass as many people as he could manage.

Sunday was supposed to be mostly rain. But it was one of those moments this spring when the weather surprised us for the better. Sunshine! And to me, that really called for a trip to the Lake Michigan shoreline. We packed up some snacks and headed to Saugatuck to climb Mt. Baldy. We used to make this climb a lot when I was a kid. I have a lot of fun memories of these stairs, although every time I set off on the ascent I forget just how grueling it can actually be. And since they redid the steps a couple of years ago the number has gone from 282 to 303. Small change, maybe, but it feels significant when you’re on that last bit before the top. Huff. Puff.

Of course Devin did none of the huffing or puffing. I go to the gym three to four times a week, walk my dog, ride bikes and all sorts of stuff and I was seriously out of breath halfway up the darn thing. Him? Big grin on his face and running up every section. Stinker.

Then we descended the other side on the dunes, which I warned the youngster would be difficult to climb back up. But he was determined that this was the best course of action. So we trekked through the sand, climbing a couple of hills, to reach Oval Beach. It was a beautiful day and we hung out for a while, he building trenches in the sand, me simply enjoying the view.

The climb back up the dunes was a bit harder than Dev had bargained for. He grabbed a “walking stick” from the side of the path and commenced to what I’d already been doing…huffing and puffing. But we inched our way upward and finally reached the top where we high-fived each other, drank some water and had a last snack before heading back down the stairs and over to the town for lunch and ice cream. Definitely a great way to spend the day!

That white ball on top of that hill is the summit of Mt. Baldy. We’d walked to the beach from there and now had to return. Which included climbing back up the dune!