Rails to Trails

Pat discovered this beautiful hike during his commute to work. There are a whole bunch of trails that were once train tracks and have been converted into hiking paths.

This particular one is in Lexington and is maintained by the cadets from VMI. It follows a river and goes through farmland, you even pass through gates and have to be sure to close them behind you so that livestock can't escape! We were all excited to see what it would be like, and at least one of us (Ahem, Sebastian) had his heart set on seeing horses and cows.

Pat packed us a picnic lunch and we headed down after Mass on Sunday.

Oh my goodness, was it lovely or what! 75 degrees and sunny! Just gorgeous. 

We enjoyed our picnic near the river and then headed out for the hike.

Kia rode in the stroller rather than the carrier, and it was SUCH A LUXURY for me!

Especially since Pat pushed the stroller pretty much the whole way!

Bashy's version of a smile

Who needs a triple stroller when you can improvise with a double?

It was so gorgeous. Many flowers were starting to bloom, and one area had a bunch of daffodils that were just about to blossom.

We also passed a dam, which was in disrepair. This was on one side of the dam, maybe used as a lock? 

As we kept walking, it became windier and windier. We heard the branches creaking and groaning above us. 

And soon, dark storm clouds came tumbling in!

We did NOT want to be caught in a cold front with the kids out in the middle of nowhere! So, sadly, we turned around (we hadn't even gotten to a SINGLE farm gate yet!) and started to RUN!

It was soon raining, and so we yelled at Sebastian (who was riding on the front of the stroller by this point) to HOLD TIGHT! and we ran even faster. 

Kateri must have noticed that her parents needed some serious motivation, because she started yelling

"RUN, guys, RUN!"

"Whoever runs FASTEST, gets a TREAT"

"Go, Daddy, GO, you are going to get some CANDY!"

Thankfully, we made it back. . . 

Just in time for the sun to come out again!

And I have to share this pic of Sebastian on the way home.

Something about it looks just like an old man smoking a cigar and reading a newspaper.

No one slept on the way home, but they did have fun!

All in all, it was a lovely hike and we are hoping to go back soon so that we can open and shut at least one farm gate.

And, totally unrelated, sometimes I turn around and wonder why oh why I ever even attempt to prevent the spread of germs around here!