Go west, young man

It was only a matter of time - Zachary now looks to be mastering the skill of cruising to the left, becoming fully bidirectional (and of course pretty omnidirectional when he's got his cart to walk around with).

We've had a jam-packed weekend so far, and it's just half over! Yesterday, after our morning family jog, Zachary and I went hiking with friends J & S in the morning. As with last time, the trail was pretty consistently uphill, and this one rated a whole three stars in the trail guide, but it definitely helped to be wearing Zachary on my back. We happened to choose a state park that was having a "Trailfest" event of some sort; J even got solicited by a hiker heading the other direction with a pamphlet and such. Ironically, despite the apparent event (we never did investigate) and fairly packed parking lot, we had a pretty quiet hike up the ridge. The uphill-ness was absolutely worth it, as we were greeted with an incredible view from the ledge at the top, just over an hour later. (I left the camera in the car, but will post pictures when I get them from J.)

After having to wake him up to start the hike, Zachary was making his nearly asleep noises most of the journey uphill, but stayed awake the whole time. At the top, he was definitely ready to be out of the wrap and checking things out. We all had a snack (he enjoyed a bottle while looking down on Rattlesnake Lake), and changed him (almost losing the diaper bag over the edge of the ridge!) before hiking back down. From there, it was a short drive onward to our second stop, the Microsoft Company Picnic, an astoundingly large annual mob scene (it's so big that they've broken it out into 3 separate dates, and it was still at capacity) highlighted by enormous amounts of food (perhaps 30 food stands with different options - including this year separate vegan, halal, and kosher options), multiple giant carts full of sodas, a giant volleyball tournament, and lots of other picnic/fair-oriented activities (live bands, other entertainers, races, sports, etc.).

The last time Meh and I had attended, we'd commented that it would be a lot more fun to be there with kids. And Zachary had a blast, looking all around, kicking happily in his stroller, and enjoying all of the attention from grownups and kids around us. He even got his first party bracelet -- they wisely require all kids to wear one with parent contact information, even if they're, um, unlikely to wander very far at the moment like the little man. Anyway, we walked through the farm and headed to the food area, where the four of us had a nice lunch together (he enjoyed some pita in addition to cherries, grapes, cheerios, and some pasta that he still only shows mild interest in; I had a very tasty tuna sandwich and strawberry shortcake) and walked around a bit before parting ways so Zachary and I could head back out to meet up with mommy at her afternoon break.

We had a nice visit at mommy's work (Zachary and I showed up a bit early, so we read a short board book together), headed home, and it was already just about dinner time. A meal, some brief playtime (including his first look at his exciting new wood blocks from Uncle B and Aunt J - thank you guys!), bath time, and bed time. A very full day!