Hotcakes and Hot Hike

We finished up Week One in Memphis with some hotcakes by our friend Grammy Jo. She is darling, but did not want to be photographed so early in the morn'. She always blesses us, and we enjoyed sharing a meal with her.

We had one free morning together. CC had been wanting to hike a "short" trail at Shelby Forest.

I was picturing Shelby Farms, a very up-town, in the city, flat path kind of hike. With water fountains.

Everything started out fine. We were chipper. It was going to be so fun.

A lady jogged by, saw us on the path (which CC thought was the "short" one), and said, "Those kids won't make it." We smiled, continued on what we thought was the "short" trail, and reminded ourselves these kids had hiked a mountainside that Alexander the Great could not conquer (literally.)

Yes, it was all fun and games. We monkeyed around, knowing we were on the "short" path.





However, it soon became clear that we were not on the path CC remembered. We hiked for about 1.5 hours. We did not bring waters on the hottest day of the year in Memphis, TN, because we were just going on the "short" path. Thankfully, Firstborn thought to bring 2 small waters, which were long since gone. We got to the very end, hoping we were just around the bend from our car, air-conditioning, escape. However, CC realized that we would need to hike it straight back, all the way. I was demoralized. By this time, he had to carry Big Ben on his shoulders all the way back. The bright spot, I found out at the very end. CC had carved my name in a tree the weekend before he proposed to me. He wanted me to see it.  Sadly, we never found it. But what we did find is that amid a very difficult situation, we worked together and got out. After our ordeal, none of us spoke. We just climbed in the car, opened our mouths to let cold air flow in, and drove straight to the nearest quick mart. CC bought a gatorade and a cold ice water for everyone. I went into the store, grabbed all the drinks off the check-out counter, and told the man my husband would be good for them, but we needed them now. He commented that I had really dressed up for the occasion. Let's just say I was red. And hot. And dehydrated. And after we all drank the drinks down, and rode for a bit, CC stopped and bought us burgers and fries. And all was well. Thanks for trying to show me the tree, CC.