Day Twenty-Two

I would like to take a moment and thank Pittsburgh for being REALLY terrible at crossing bridges. It's a very well known fact that Pittsburghers don't wander far beyond their own neighborhoods, to the point that I know plenty of grown adults who have never once stepped foot in downtown Pittsburgh despite the fact that it's 20 minutes away. People think it's weird that I will go to Ross Park Mall, Robinson, and South Hills Village all in one day.

It's not weird.

Pittsburgh is weird.

I mean, I used to drive from Minot, ND to Bismark, ND -- 100 miles -- to go shopping because what else was I going to do? There were limited choices in Minot. The next nearest place for choices was Bismarck. Heck, it was frequently impossible to get groceries without driving at least 15 miles when I lived there. Distance is relative, and such.

But don't change, Pittsburgh. I like that you think five miles is too far to travel because it's making it easy for me to find empty trails for hikes with the girls.

That is the rule, by the way. We can hike, but only if there is absolutely nobody around. We've been largely successful in this quest simply because I'll drive a bit to get to a good trail. So far we have explored 4 new-to-us trails and returned to 3 that we already knew. We have decided that our rules are that there can't be any people, but also that there is some sort of body of water.

Because Mila. And her frog boots.

Hiking shoes have to stay in my car because RULES, PEOPLE. I LIKE THEM. That means the frog boots are always available for Mila when we pull up to a trail. It's a good thing, too, because the kid is stomping through the water. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

I knew this, of course, because we've always hiked. It used to be the girls' reward for having the kitchen clean when I got home on Fridays in the summer. Now it's an almost everyday sort of thing, but they still seem to be connecting hikes to an award. So, yay? Please don't tell them that it's as much for me as it is for them.

Because Mila stomping around in silly frog boots will never be anything other than one of my favorite things.

Comments

[S]

As a native pittsburgher I can deeply relate to this. I’m like you hitting the BIG 3 (malls that is) in one day is no big deal.