We made it!! A little worse for wear and a little out of shape (mostly me) but we made it to Winterlude.  The weather on Sunday was a real mix.  By the time we packed up the truck with everyone and everything it was almost 10:30am and sunny.  When we arrived at Dow’s Lake the weather had turned to windy and cloudy.  In fact I thought it was going to rain for most of our skate.  But, it didn’t.  We set out with the wind at our backs.  I kept telling Hubby and A that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with their pace, but set out like it was the Indy 500 or something.  We had barely made it across the Lake when I was panting and out of breath.  Not my idea of a leisurely skate on the canal.  But, we were all out as a family, so I for one was not going to complain.

The first photo up top is at our stop point.  We are in front of Fifth Avenue, which isn’t even halfway down the canal.  If you look closely at my face I am beet red, out of breath and soaking wet from sweating so hard.  J got out of his chariot for a few minutes to run around.  He kept trying to talk to me, with the wind in my ears and the hat on my head it was hard enough to hear him let alone answer.  Apple slept the entire time.

The first half was wonderful, even if it was fast.  We stopped caught our breath and headed back.  Well, the wind was in our faces creating a wind dam against the stroller (which was carrrying 70+lbs of kids).  The ice was a bit rough for a stretch so I could barely skate, it was more of a walk/skip over the cracks and potholes.  Hubby hurt his ankle and thought he could help by pushing too.  Except it was harder to push with him pulling at the same time.  And by this point I needed the stroller to keep me up right.  So onward we went, apparently still trying to keep up with some imaginary marathon.  When we finally reached Dow’s Lake again, the ice was smooth and I was able to skate the last stretch without the stroller and enjoy.  It was a rough hour and a bit, but I was just so happy to have us all out there.

The next photo is at the beginning when we were all still fresh and  raring to go.  Please note the teenager, without proper winter attire.  He also dressed J who did not have his scarf and neck warmer.  We didn’t notice until we were at the canal, thank goodness I brought my scarf and he was able to use it on the way back.  I did not get my Beavertail, so I plan to make another trip during the week.