Ready...Set...Boa Viagem

Wednesday afternoon we hiked 5 miles up the mountain to the water tower above Biltmore Lake and back down to Black Horse Run in 3 hours.  Thursday it was 4 miles on groomed hilly trails at the Arboretum.  Today was 5 miles of the Mountain to Sea trail off the Blue Ridge Parkway nearby. All in an effort to get in shape for a 7-day walking tour in northern Portugal coming up in another week.  Unlike most people our age, we opted for a self- guided walking tour in the Douro Valley along the Douro River and not a comfortable and luxurious Viking River cruise.  Something active, outdoorsy, and adventuresome, we thought to celebrate our 70^th year.  This has pushed us more than usual to be ready to handle what will be walking an average of 8 to 10 miles a day at a leisurely pace with stops along the way and plenty of scenery of vineyards and quintas that grow the grapes for some of the finest port wines in the world.

As we walked along the Blue Ridge trail today passing an occasional runner, dog walker, or fellow hiker and offering a polite ”good morning” and we would get a “how’re y’all doin’ ” in return. I imagined how it will feel to be hiking the vineyards of northern Portugal and was practicing my bom dia or boa tarde followed by como vai voce (how are you) that I would casually say to someone we might pass along the way.  As the morning sun came through the new green leaves on the trees lighting up patches here and there of blue wildflowers – dwarf violet irises, and wood violets, I tried to picture the more wild countryside of Portugal I am reading about.  We will hike through olive groves, vineyards, cork-oak woods and up some rugged hillsides coming occasionally to a small village and ending each day at a country inn along the way.  We will carry our instructions meticulously prepared by Inn Travel  (a UK travel company with a logo “The Slow Holiday People”) as we follow landmarks to get us from one point to the next.  No tour bus, no guide, and no group to travel with.  Just us on our own with our best map reading skills, a camera, and hopefully some Portuguese that lies dormant in me, as I once was fluent in high school in Brazil.

When not out hiking, we are checking lists of what to take or making frequent visits to REI, Frugal Backpacker, and Diamond Brand to pick up one last thing.  We have new Platypus collapsible water bottles, nifty rain ponchos from Amazon, a compass that includes a whistle in case we are in distress and a thermometer to check the outdoor temperature, a Timex pedometer, L.L. Bean head flashlights, and lightweight, carefully researched day packs we hope everything will fit in. With my new North Face windbreaker, super Oboz hiking shoes, wicking shirts, Thorlo socks, and Ex-Officio travel underwear, how can anything go wrong?. We’ve had a trial packing session to see if carryon luggage will work and it will.  We plan to travel light. 

We have traveled all our lives to exotic places.  Twenty years ago we did a 3-day trek with a guide in northern Thailand, hiking up mountains through bamboo forests, and sleeping in rustic Karen villages, river rafting and riding elephants and with no North Face, Patagonia, or Ex Officio…no wicking or easy dry anything….just our old clothes and some walking shoes and a sense of adventure.  I must admit that all the amassing of “gear” has been a new experience, that of delving into the world of “stuff” we never thought we needed but suddenly find ourselves buying and loving. 

Anticipating a trip is part of the travel experience. Trying out our new clothing, gadgets, and backpacks is all part of the fun of getting closer to departure day.  I imagine us in northern Portugal not only exclaiming about the scenery, language, food, and adventure of it all but over how clever we are this time to have the perfect gear to go along with it. Trial packing, shopping, list making, and reading lead to the excitement of going.  We’ll be ready for our Portuguese adventure but I remind myself that trips can take unpredictable twists and turns... no matter how prepared we are we should expect the unexpected along the way. Those will be the stories we’ll tell when we come home. Stay tuned for more…

http://www.inntravel.co.uk/holidays/walking-holidays/Portugal/Valley-of-Gold?tab=itinerary

“Ba” and “Dat”

Mommy, Daddy & Austy

          “Ba….ba…” says Austin as he points to a ball in the back yard.  I pick it up and give it to him and he delights in throwing it down at me.  He makes an attempt at kicking it and is surprisingly coordinated in his effort.  (It's those soccer genes at work already...) And then comes “Ba…ba”…again and we repeat the game.  He says “ba?” as if there is a question at the end. I do recall how toddlers love to do the same things over and over again.  Austin is no exception.

            “Deter…ba boy”, Jess translates to mean “Jeter, bad boy!”  Austin has picked up on the phrase that Jess and Hayden say to the dog, Jeter, sometimes when he’s doing something he shouldn’t.  Austin has the intonation just right parroting it exactly as he’s heard it. Although Jeter and Austin coexist quite well in the same household, they tend to ignore each other except when Austin will come out with, “Deter…ba boy” and look over at the dog underfoot. 

            “Dat…dat” is another Austin saying as he points emphatically to what he wants.  He wants “dat” and Jess or Hayden usually give it to him to explore with his hands and put in  his mouth until his gaze alights on something else of interest and he will start in again pointing to “dat…dat.”  This game takes patience but it’s fun to watch him notice so much around him.

            Austin carefully studies the world absorbing the newness of it all.  Of course, at 14 months I think my grandson is an unusually verbal child.  He expresses much already with just the few sounds he delights in practicing over and over again.  His parents talk to him all the time but they also let him explore on his own.  He has a playpen in the corner of the living room full of toys and yet the wooden spoon or the lid from a pot or the salt shaker is far more interesting.  Jess will sit him on the floor in the kitchen while she’s cooking and he’s content to make his own fun with anything safe she pulls out of a drawer or cupboard for him.

            I love that Jess is prepared with something to entertain Austin in any situation.  She has a nifty small daypack, her "bag of tricks", that holds all the supplies she might need when traveling around town with Austin in tow.  On Saturday night we walked to a restaurant on H Street for dinner and while we waited for the food to arrive she pulled out a battery-powered toothbrush that delighted Austin for a long time until the food came. Forget about the fact that he only has two teeth so far...the brush is soothing on his gums.  She and Hayden love taking Austin places and just having fun with him.  They don’t worry about him in the sense that they aren't asking him what he wants and what he doesn’t want which seems to be the way of so many parents of their generation who try so hard to please their children forgetting that toddlers can't really know what they want at their age.  After all, they are learning. They give him love by creating a secure world around him and allowing him to explore it.

            At 14 months Austin is so like Hayden was at this age. As the cliche goes...they are "two peas in a pod".   Having said that he now has Jessica's curls...a head full of them! He is a calm and cautious toddler…interested in everything but careful and deliberate as he explores his world.  He’s gentle and sweet and his large clear blue eyes study everything around him carefully.   Hayden & Jess can get him to laugh and smile easily but he has a serious demeanor as he studies me or whatever engages him.  He is not aggressive, doesn’t scream, and rarely cries unless he’s hungry, tired, or requires a diaper change.  What he doesn't do is sleep well at night (which Hayden always did unless I've forgotten) and he's running his poor Mom ragged!  Hopefully this too shall pass.  

Two peas in a pod....

            Visting in Washington this past week was a delight as I got to know Austin all over again. It was a thrill to see him walk towards us across the living room without losing his balance.  He seems so content to finally be upright and on his own.  He walks with a bit of a swagger and some unsteadiness which most 14 month olds do but he rarely falls unless he trips over something or misses an incline or a step. Usually he can just pick himself back up again and keep going.  We played a lot of "follow Austy" across the living room and into the kitchen...and back to do it again.

Special Grandma time...

       Austin has already become "Austy" to those of us who are family. It's a playful and affectionate nickname..."Austy, look...."  or "Austy...come here...".  I don't always go for nicknames but I was doing it all the time coaxing him along with "Austy this or that..."  I like it...and Austy it is!  (I wonder how I should spell it...Austy or Austie?)

      I shall have to wait till the next visit to catch up with Austy's new words and expressions but in the meantime I have the memories of last week's visit to cherish for awhile.