Thursday, June 23, 2011

Letterboxing

Mike and I took the three youngest girls to Lake Michigan on Tuesday. We planned to letterbox and let the girls swim in the lake. There were 6 boxes that we were going to find. We didn't get any. The first set of 4 boxes were at a county park. The walk through woods to get to the lake was 90% uphill. The scene overlooking the valley was beautiful. There were a ton of mosquitoes. We walked at a pretty fast clip, because we had forgotten to bring bug spray. The trail eventually took us to the top of a massive dune overlooking the lake. The view was gorgeous!

The girls were hot a sticky, so Mike suggested that we take them down the dune to the lake and let them swim for a little while. The walk down the dune was difficult due to the extreme steepness. We made it to the bottom of the dune. Mike and I sat on the sand while the girls swam. The biting flies attacked us, so we spent a lot of time swatting them back and forth between the two of us. After about 30 minutes, my legs were bleeding, so the girls were told to gather up their things.

The box we wanted to find was at the top of the dune. As I looked up the HUGE dune, I realized that I was going to struggle. It was awful getting back us that hill. Everyone had to rest several times during the climb. While we rested the biting flies were attacking us. Eventually we had it back us the dune. Everyone was tired, sweaty, and bleeding. I suggested that we forget about the boxes and head back to the SUV.

Mike had read the clues and knew that we were fairly close to a couple of the boxes, so he persuaded us to venture into the woods to the side of the trail. While we stopped to reread the directions, the mosquitoes and biting flies were working together to make everyone miserable. Allie was frightened when she saw the blood running down my back and legs. After reassuring her that everything was ok, we continued to follow Mike. Finally, I suggested again that we skip the boxes for the day and return in the late fall. The bugs should be gone at that point. We could also avoid the walk up the dune, so we wouldn't be so tired.

We stopped at McDonald's for sandwiches for Mike and the girls. I had a yogurt parfait instead. McDonald's always puts my little girls in a good mood. It's such a big treat for them!

Although we didn't get any boxes, I did get a really good workout. My calves were are still a little sore today.

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