Blue Hills

While Pretzel Boy and Will wheelied and flew over ramps and had much boyish bicyclish fun, the girls and I explored the Blue Hills Reservation. It's hard to believe that Blue Hills are so close to Boston. Seven thousand acres with 125 miles of trails to explore. It makes me want to lace up my boots, grab a water bottle and gorp, and go.





We circled Houghton's Pond, winding our way through shaded trails, walking on felled tree balance beams, and peering into the pond for fish.



I stumbled across the tiniest sproutling growing out of a felled tree trunk. But darn! I need a macro lens.



We ended up at the Houghton Pond beach. The girls promptly shook off their shoes, rolled up their pants, and splashed into the tea-colored water. We all ended up damp and sandy and happy.

Pretzel Boy wins!

Mr. Picky will now and forever be known as:

Pretzel Boy



This was Pretzel Boy winning the limbo contest at the 15th annual Blue Hills Mountain Bike Discovery Day this past Sunday. We had gone on a last-minute whim. What a blast! Guided trail rides, a bike obstacle course, and bicycle skills contests, all hosted by the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Blue Hills TrailWatch, and the New England Mountain Bike Association.

Pretzel Boy won a very nice Camelbak, donated by Dave's Bike Infirmary. He was so flushed with pride. That Camelbak didn't leave his side for the rest of the day. I'm surprised he didn't sleep with it. It went with him to school today.



And as a mom, my heart sang right along with his. You see. He's one of those kids. One of those who, for whatever reason, never finds his or her niche in mainstream sports. Their shelves are bare of soccer (or baseball, basketball, football, hockey, tennis, swimming) trophies. Except maybe for one or two small momentos from the peewee leagues. So for him, this was the buzzer-beating shot. The game-winning touchdown. The ace down the line for the game, set, match. He'd never felt that rush of victory before. It was new, and it was sweet.

Ride on, Pretzel Boy.