Tunesday : Adventure of a Lifetime

Adventure of a Lifetime

(Written and performed by Coldplay)

Turn your magic on
Umi she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
And we are legends every day
That's what she told me

Turn your magic on
To me she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure, under this weight
We are diamonds

Now I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
And I feel my heart beating
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again

Said I can't go on
Not in this way
I'm a dream that died by light of day
Gonna hold up half the sky and say
Only I own me

And I feel my heart beating
I feel my heart underneath my skin
Oh, I can feel my heart beating
'Cause you make me feel
Like I'm alive again
Alive again
Oh, you make me feel
Like I'm alive again

Turn your magic on
Umi she'd say
Everything you want's a dream away
Under this pressure under this weight
We are diamonds taking shape
We are diamonds taking shape

If we've only got this life
This adventure, oh, then I
And if we've only got this life
You get me through

And if we've only got this life
In this adventure, oh, then I
Want to share it with you
With you
With you
Yeah I do
Woohoo
Woohoo
Woohoo

"Adventure of a Lifetime" might be overstating it, but if I haven't been updating on here as much as I have in the past, I suppose it's because I've been intentionally trying to live more life than just read about it or record events of my past. As per my grand plan to better get to know the offerings of our local community, that all seems to be on track; and we had an eventful long weekend to prove it.

Kennedy and Zach came up Saturday morning (we met for breakfast after boot camp) and Kennedy started Googling for some kind of interesting hike we could take the dogs on. She found a place called the Cheltenham Badlands - less than an hour away and a place that none of us had heard of before - so we packed up the dogs and some snacks and hit the road. The landscape - exposed, undulating clay mounds - was very interesting to see, but unfortunately, all of the trails around the badlands have been closed off due to misuse; all we could do was look out over the mounds from a boardwalk, and that was only interesting for a few minutes.

When we got back to the car, Kennedy pointed out that on the way to Cheltenham we had passed the turnoff for Heart Lake - a conservation area that promised lots of trails - so that's where we headed next. When we got there, we realised that the park had a "treetop trekking and zip line" course, so Dave and Zach signed up for that while Kennedy and I decided to check out the trails (I would have liked to try the treetop experience, but we had the dogs, so on the ground we stayed). We didn't realise until Dave paid for their experience that it could take up to three hours, so Kennedy and I said goodbye and headed for the longest hike around the lake. The weather was perfect - a little cool and no burning sun - and we had a fun time making our way through the woods and up and down the well-worn path; doing our best to keep Peaches and Cormac out of the muckiest bits. Cormac was eventually trying to suck water out of the wettest muck, so we stopped on the far side of the lake for a water and snack break.

We got back to the starting point after about two hours and were lucky enough to arrive just as Dave and Zach were about to zipline back and forth across the lake itself. Sitting at a picnic table right under where they crossed, Kennedy was able to take great pictures and videos for them, and both dogs got plenty of attention from other spectators.

Back home afterwards, out for dinner and some euchre before the kids went home made for a perfect Saturday. The next day, Dave and I decided to check out the bike route that we'll be taking for the Tour de Grand in a few weeks, so we packed up our new bikes in the car and headed for the Cambridge to Paris rail trail. The route we'll be doing is just halfway and back again (a total of about 20 km), so that's what we decided to do and it was no problem (even though neither of us has been on a bike for probably five years). The weather was gorgeous - high 20s, no wind, and beautifully cool in the tree-canopied shade - and there were plenty of people out on the trail: walking, jogging, cycling. This was exactly the kind of experience I had in mind for this summer: Forging an active link between myself and the Grand River while finding my place in the community of like-minded folks. Only down side: the next day, we both had very sore bums around the sitting bones; we'll need to re-examine our saddle situations.

We cooled off with the first swim of the year, and later that day, Dave's parents and my brothers and their families came for a barbecue and then for some fireworks out in the park (I do believe that Dave is done with putting on a show on the street; in the park for just us was just fine with me; so much for strengthening bonds with the community, lol). I found myself telling my younger brother, Kyler, about the adventures we've got in mind for this summer, and he said that they had the same epiphany a  few years ago: they apparently live close to parks with the most waterfall hikes in Canada, and his family has been checking them out whenever they can. Dave thinks we should lean on all of them to join us on some of our planned adventures, and I'd like that fine.

Related, but not involving me directly, I should memorialise the fact that Dave has been taking equestrian lessons from our former neighbour Sam (she and Corey moved to a farm last fall where they can finally have their horses - and a whole menagerie of other animals - on site with them, and she wanted to offer a men-only riding night which Dave was happy to join in order to live out his John Wayne fantasies). Dave has been having a great time and finds himself a natural cowboy, yeehah!

The Monday of the long weekend was a welcomed down day and the only time I spent reading for days - which is good and bad. I want to be more active and engaged, but I can't believe how long it's taking me to read my current book. Ah well, I'll find the balance that makes me happy.

                                                                             And if we've only got this life
                                                                              In this adventure, oh, then I
                                                                                Want to share it with you
                                                                                               With you
                                                                                               With you
                                                                                               Yeah I do
                                                                                                Woohoo
                                                                                                Woohoo
                                                                                                Woohoo