Back to where it all began

Today I took a break from scanning and spent the Labor Day holiday with my 2 favorite people. Rather than leave the day to chance I decided to make a plan for us a few days ago. We would be making a pilgrimage back to the spot that marks the beginning of the Wood life as we know it.

(I'm not sure why I chose Labor Day for this monumental event. It certainly would have been better suited for Valentine's Day or our wedding anniversary but the thought came to me last week, so Labor Day it was.)

Handiman & I took the Ocho to Percy Warner park in Nashville for a hike. Our destination?

This was the spot where Handiman and I would come when we were dating. We would picnic in the park then hike up the trail to Quiet Point. There's a ledge with a wooden bench overlooking the hill. This is where we would sit and talk. Sometimes we'd pray. One time he carved our initials in a tree. Another time he pulled out a diamond and proposed to me. We only went back a few times after we were married and our last trip was at least a decade ago. I thought it would be fun to visit with The Ocho and with any luck, maybe we could find our initials in the tree.

We started out grabbing our picnic lunch from Subway. (Once upon a time we would buy gormet pasta salad and pack it in a fancy picnic basket. Those days are long gone.)

Once we finished our eating we headed out on the trail. As you will notice The Ocho was taking this hiking thing very seriously. She came well equipped with everything one would need to survive in the wild: A box of kleenex and her Teddy Bear. They were safely packed away in her Build-A-Bear backpack.

You'll also notice the orange ankle-band. I'm not sure what purpose that served but I think it made her feel more rugged.

Once we found Quiet Point we searched for our tree. The problem was that it's been 16 years since he whittled into it with his pocket knife and it wasn't visible anymore. Because of that, I suggested he pull out his knife and do it again. I was not met with the same romantic whimsy as in days gone by.

Before heading back up the trail we took a few more photos:


On our hike we enjoyed all that nature had to offer. The tall trees, the sounds of birds and bugs, the squirrels in their nests and a baby snake that slithered right across the path in front of me. Handiman attempted to swing from a vine only to hurt his elbow. And occasionally he would stop to try and push over a dead tree trunk. The Ocho demanded he "stop destroying nature!" (I think she's seen that stinkin' Disney Channel "Send It On" video one to many times myself.)

I have to give her credit though. She hiked the whole way without whining or complaining. In fact, she would have gone further but the 2 old geezers she was with demanded to turn around and head back down.

Our trip back to Quiet Point made for a fun day. Not only was it nostalgic but I can sound really outdoorsy when I tell people I went hiking on my day off.