Best One Yet

     For the past three weeks, my mum has been visiting from Wales.  She comes about once a year and is awesome about getting outside and playing with the kids.  She plays kickball and goes for walks, watches soccer games and cheers for our little cheerleader at football games.  When she is here I often think of the time she spends outside with them as a break for me to stay inside and get things done.  During this visit, I decided to try something new.
     On Tuesdays we drop my 15 year old son, Harper off at the local community college where he is taking a few classes.  Our routine is that we then head home so we can do our home school lessons.  Two weeks ago we brought my mother along so we could show her the school.  After we dropped Harper off, I had an inspired thought!  I remembered that the Walkway Over the Hudson was very nearby.  The Walkway is a special local landmark.  It is a 1.28 mile long pedestrian bridge over the Hudson River that connects Poughkeepsie to Highland, New York.  I suggested the idea to my mum and she was all for it!
     I always shy away from any activity that could potentially make me overheat so I really had to dig deep and want this.  My mum kept mentioning that if we did it I could blog about it so that was just the incentive I needed.  It was cool out and I had high hopes that it would be breezy up on the bridge.  Oliver and Ginger were excited!  Well sort of.  Ginger usually complains on outings like this.
     We started walking and it turned out to be the best outside adventure yet.  The weather was kind to me and the children were having fun.  We stopped at each sign along the bridge and took turns reading facts about the bridge and the area.  About halfway in we discovered the year old glass elevator that we had heard about.  The elevator went beneath the bridge and gave you a view that was almost magical.

Walkway Over the Hudson with Grammie

It took us to a path at ground level that wound around to include a playground, a restaurant, a children's museum and roads to the city above.  We felt like we had stumbled into a secret world!
     Next to the children's museum was a skateboard park full of ramps in various sizes.  Nobody was using it so we went in to explore.  Oliver quickly discovered that skate ramps make terrific slides!  He and Ginger would run up and slide down.  Eventually my curiosity got the better of me and I was sliding too.  Mum didn't join in but Oliver, Ginger and I had a blast holding hands and sliding down the ramps.  We had to pull them away to see what else we could find.

Fun at the skate park

     The playground was another hit.  They were the only ones there and it was easy for my mother and I to sit back and just let them be.  That is where I had my moment.  It was a moment where I realized how much I love home schooling my kids.  I love going out on school days and having places to ourselves.  I love seeing them learn by experiencing like they did when they read the historical signs on the bridge.  I loved letting their interests guide them.
     Eventually we took the elevator back to the bridge and walked the rest of the way to Highland.  Once we got there Grammie treated the children to ice creams.  We walked the 1.28 miles back to the Poughkeepsie side and headed to our car.  By then it was warm and I was getting anxious to lose a layer.  The amazing part though was that I was still having fun.