Steytsayd Ilongga: "The Hills Are Alive..."

The forest trail was a short 5-minute walk from their house and twice each day P's parents would take their dog, Sammy out for a spin. With Sammy busy hunting for deer, they could do their Nordic Walking in peace. P would join them in the morning, at the ungodly hour of 8 AM (Man, I'm supposed to be on vacation! Don't wake me up before 9:30!!) and got so into it that he purchased new poles and "special" Nordic shoes (looks suspiciously like regular rubber shoes to me) for himself. Met with a raised eyebrow, he stopped short of buying me my own pair. Although millions of people across Europe had taken up Nordic Walking as part of their exercise/workout routine, I have yet to see someone walking along Central Park with these modified ski poles in hand.

For S, the trek thru the forest trails felt like being inside their class' "Bugs Project". She was fascinated by the abundance of ladybugs, grasshoppers, butterflies, aphids, bees, wasps, spindly mosquitos and the occasional spider. P's childhood home (now occupied by his older sister and her family) was located, literally, just over the hill. Wildflowers abound - I almost did a Julie Andrew scene from The Sound of Music.