Hot Fun in the Summertime

This past weekend, we took a family road trip down to the area where Sarah grew up -- a trip that forced both Elijah and me to meet one of our dreaded enemies head-on: the great outdoors.

Sarah's father has for years wanted to show the two "outdoorsmen" the natural springs and river swimming areas in the wooded region around his hometown. So this past weekend, we followed him through winding two-lane roads to see some really gorgeous areas and swim at Rocky Falls, a true "swimming hole."

Although the heat and humidity was tough at times, the little guy and I survived. As we drove

down a stretch of highway, Elijah commented that this was "a very long street" and kept looking for a set of Golden Arches to convince himself that civilization was just around the corner. The swimming hole was a great success as everyone cooled off in the clean river. Elijah even donned a swim mask to view the fish and rock formations beneath his feet. (We have tried all summer to get him to wear goggles at the pool with absolutely no success. I guess a river offers more sights than the bottom of our park pool!)

But perhaps the most amazing aspect of the day occurred after we had taken a long and extremely curvy path, involving several country highway intersections that were indistinguishable from one another, to get to a spring. As we were headed back to the main highway, Sarah's dad wanted us to follow him on a different path than the one we had taken into the forest. When we reached the intersection at which her dad turned in the other direction, Elijah screamed from the back seat: "Wrong way! We need to go the other way." If we indeed had been heading back to the main highway to go to our hotel, the little guy, a human GPS, would have been absolutely correct.

So we survived our weekend in the forests of the Ozarks, with a great deal of help from the previously mentioned Golden Arches. (A take-out meal for Elijah allowed Sarah and me to eat at an "adult" restaurant while little guy chowed down on his McDonald's.) And little guy enjoyed the river so much that we are planning a canoe float trip next summer in the same area. Hmmm ... I wonder how long chicken selects stay warm while on the river?