A hike in the woods

We packed a light lunch, picked Payton up at school and headed to the woods for a walk-about. We headed for the botanical garden not far from school. We didn't know exactly where it was and it turned out to be a good thing. We parked much farther from it than we needed to, but this allowed us - made us - walk through the woods. It was a nice day to do so and we enjoyed ourselves. Note that we packed the little guy too. Kathleen hauled Parker around the whole hike. Mostly he just slept through the entire adventure.

We did have a downer at the end of our hike. Payton and I were goofing around in the parking lot after our walk. He fell backwards, smacked his head and then we were in the ER. He split his head open, but it was a small split. In the back too so any scar will be covered. The Doc glued him back together and he is doing fine.

The Roman Town of Aventicum

Today Payton and I went on a walk back in time. We traveled about 30 minutes to Avenches - an old city built upon an even older city - Aventicum, the capital of Roman Helvetia. We started in town and walked to see some of the ruins around town. We even searched for and found a Geocache!

The first site was right in town - the amphitheatre. Quite a bit of it remains and it can still be used for events today. In its day it's estimated to have seated about 16,000.

Our stroll took us past an ancient temple, Roman baths and at the far end of our 5 km walk to the east gate to the ancient city.

North of the east gate was a reconstructed tower. It was pretty cool with a great view from the top. It was at this tower we looked for and found the Geocache. Do you see the square holes in the wall either side of the tower? The cache was hidden in one these. Payton kept a key chain from the choice of goodies and I left a 2 franc coin. We had walked for quite a while when Payton spied a bench and had to take a break.

The east gate was on the high ground so the walk back to town was downhill. Our last stop was at the Roman theatre.

This was the end of our hike. Payton was a real trooper and I enjoyed my day with him. One last look at town from the theatre and we headed back...

...not to home, but for some ice cream and a soda. Payton was parched and darn near drank the whole soda himself. Dad wasn't a good hiker - I didn't take any water with us. I'll do better next time.

PS... While Payton and I were out having fun, Kathleen, 'Jack-Jack' Parker and Grandma went to town shopping. They bought baby clothes, chocolate and a purse. Go figure.

A walk in the woods

Today is a national holiday in Switzerland - Swiss National Day. It is kind of like our 4th of July - an Independence Day of sorts. All the stores are closed and it is rainy and cool. We decided to head to France and check out grocery store prices. Some seem to think the prices are lower in France. We don't think so. With gas being $7 a gallon, French prices aren't anywhere near low enough to make it a worth while effort.

We took a round-about way back home driving northeast along the border staying on the French side. The River Doubs forms a 40 km border between France and Switzerland. We finally crossed it back into Switzerland. Soon afterward we pulled off the road and parked at a hotel alongside the river. From there we walked along the river just exploring. It made a dreary day turn out quite nice indeed.

Neuchâtel walk-about

Today Payton and I went on a walk-about Neuchâtel. It was a nice walk with my son.

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Creux-du-Van

Today me and Payton drove up to the base area of Creux-du-Van. This is a huge horseshoe shaped cliff. There are trails going up to and around its rim. It may take a lot of patience but I hope to get Patyon to hike up to the top with me soon. He hiked about 2½ miles with me the other day. He did pretty good. I think as long as we hike uphill first he'll be okay.