"The mountains are calling, and I must go." - John Muir

 One early afternoon, after the kids were done with their running club, swimming, basketball, and chores, we felt we needed some nature relaxation, and what better way than to go and breath the fresh air of Muir Woods. This was Abel's sanctuary. You have to understand that Abel grew up in acres of gorgeous greenery. What made Muir Woods an even more special experience for him was the lack of humidity.  Alas, Georgia is beautiful but humidity makes it hard to enjoy it.  Just walking and hiking through the woods under a perfect climate calmed your spirits and pumped energy into your blood.

 

 

Charlton had donned his superhero masked all day, since 9:30 in the morning.  He kept it as he ran his miles in his running club; he kept when he had to pick up his siblings from basketball, and although he had to take it off for swimming, he made sure he brought it with him and was able to put it on right after.  We were so glad we had a super hero with us since we truly stayed in the woods till it got dark.

Throughout the hike, the kids played with their uncle.  They loved hiding behind trees, getting into holes that looked scary, and best of all trying to see who can strike the best picture.  My favorite part of taking pictures was seeing the kids laugh with their uncle, especially at Abel's idea of popping out of unexpected places.  As we looked through some of those pictures, Abel proposed that we call that particular series "Where is Waldo (Abel)?"

 

 We could have stayed there all day and night, but we got hungry so we headed home.  The voyage through the mountains covered in fog was so beautiful that I have no doubt a piece of my heart stayed behind as we left.  I made sure we returned on the route that took us through the Golden Gate Bridge, something Abel wanted to do before he left. There is such beauty in this world!  God is so merciful to have made this stunning world for us, as well as has allowed us to be creative and build magnanimous edifices with imposing architecture.  The best part of it all is when nature and human creativity are combined into something unforgettable.

Muir Woods - a spellbound experience (Part 2)

 

 On the last day before my brother's family had to take off for Albania, we decided to take the kids to the Muir Woods up in Marin County and enjoy the trails of the amazing red woods.  We weren't disappointed.  The weather was warm and the natural beauty that surrounded us was striking.  When we visit this particular park, we usually take the shorter trail, the one that is rather flat and whose wide boardwalks are paved and aided often by rails.  It takes you to the most well-known groves of red woods.  However, my older kids wanted to take the long and steep trail that took us through the forest and all the way up and down its course.  We all had a humbling experience trailing through the thousand year old trees.  The older kids didn't stop for rest ever, but Charlton and I, and Marcel and Aubrie took it easy.  I'm happy to say that although we had to walk slow and often find fun spots to rest, Charlton walked all of the almost 4 steep miles by himself.  We had a good time climbing, looking for various kinds of ferns and mushrooms, listening to the birds and trying to find bats flying around.  The hike down was a bit harder for Charlton, who started complaining about his shoes hurting his toes, which was true enough since he didn't have tennis shoes on but boots.  Nevertheless, we all made it, and when we got to the paved boardwalks, even Charlton was getting to enjoy this enchanted forest.

 

 

Here are some of the resting spots that Charlton and Marcel found  for themselves:

The kids had so much fun being together in the nature and enjoying the magical red wood forest.  They collected all sorts of leaves, rocks and above all unforgettable memories with their cousins.  My favorite part of the hike was when we got to the top and could see all of the forest we had hiked, as well as the luscious rolling hills of Marin County that expanded all the way to the horizon where the sea and the sky made love to each other.  Just breathtaking!

 

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”-John Muir-

This was a great way to conclude our time together.  Both my brother and sister-in-law are avid campers and love the outdoors.  This was their favorite part of their whole Christmas vacation.  We made a lot of plans for when we would see each other again.  I hope some of those ideas come to fruition.