Friday in the park with Squiggles

We’re in Virginia visiting Tim’s sister for a minivacation.  Not to brag, but it was 75 degrees yesterday.  We took a heavenly walk (without so much as a jacket!) to the park.  Squiggles had her first solo ride in a swing:

 

Do you think she liked it?

I also made her swing with me, of course. 

 

Tim and Gus  took her down the slide several times.

And some friendly stranger let us play with her dog.  Squiggles liked the dog until she experienced her first slobbery face lick, at which point she wanted to admire her from a distance. 

Wanderin’ Blues

You pass through places
And places pass through you
But you carry them with you on the
Souls of your traveling shoes.
     ~The Be Good Tanyas

The above photo is dedicated to Marsha, naturally.
We now return to our European vacation.  Recall that we stayed high up in the Alps in a little town called Murren.  There were several neighboring mountain villages, all connected by trails.  We took advantage of this and hiked past Winteregg to Grutschalp.  The scenery along the way was stunning, and our surroundings were almost silent – it was a lovely afternoon walk.

Part of the trail was parallel to the vintage railroad that connects the villages. Along the way, we had spectacular views of the Eiger, Monch, and Jungfrau peaks, as well Grindewald village, which was across the valley.

We passed this trail, which is actually going uphill.  I will most certainly be biking it on my return to the Berner Oberland.

Feeling a little small:

 

Tim really liked the aqua effect the glaciers gave the snowy mountains.

During most of our stay in Europe, I felt very much like an awkward visitor, completely out of my element.  But in Switzerland I felt completely at home, and was at times surprised to hear locals speaking German.   Maybe this is why: The following picture is dedicated to Cami, who is the only person I know who might feel honored by the dedication.

 

I used to dream of having a family, and my dreams always seemed to be set in a mountain scene: hiking through forests and along rambling brooks with my best-friend husband with our kids in tow.  I guess sometimes dreams come true.

We took the train back to Murren,

 

and walked around the town.  Tim was delighted to see a curling rink:

And I was delighted to see watering troughs for horses.  Did I mention there were no cars in Murren?  Hurray!

We ended the trip by eating at an overpriced restaurant.  Tim had pork,

And I had cheese.  I like cheese.

Squiggles had plastic.