My friend Nate has made the mistake of wanting to run with me when his schedule allows. On this particular Friday (about a week ago), Nate was pretty whupped but still was game to go out and run 4.5 miles with me. As usual, we chatted while running and he mentioned he was going hiking with his wife, Rachel, and their toddler son after we ran. They were then going out to dinner; they had been going to meet up with friends, but the friends had to cancel. So, once we got home, I checked with Meredith, then went to school and found Nate in the locker room. I basically invited myself and Mer along for their hike and supper, and Nate was good-humored enough to agree. So, I ran home and showered; Mer got home and got ready and Nate and Rachel pulled in to the driveway soon after I finished getting dressed. We all piled into Nate’s car and headed over to the Ledges park.

Mer and I have been to the Ledges park before, and this time I remembered to bring a flashlight so we could check out the cave. Nate and Rachel had a cool back-carrier-thing to put their son in, and we all tromped off to find the Icebox Cave. The day was cool, but not cold, and some parts of the park were muddy, but on the whole the ground was still frozen enough to prevent lots of mud.

We found the cave and wandered into it. It was cool to be able to see more of it this time, but I refrained from going in all the way since I could hear sqeaking noises from the far back, and I really did not want to be trapped in a cave that was really a big crack in the rock with a bunch of angry bats. Nate’s son, Jack, was a little disturbed by the cool and dark, but he did pretty well. Coming out of the cave was amazing – it felt like a hot and humid day outside the cave; there was an almost perceptible wall of temperature change just a few feet from the mouth of the cave.

We wandered down the trail more, which was new territory to me and Mer. Rachel knew this area pretty well,  and she showed us a hole in the rock that allows you to crawl to another part of the trail. We passed on that experience since it was damp and we had Jack. She also showed us a small hole that we did try (except Nate, who had Jack) that led to a pretty cool small canyon. Neat-o. We ended the hike by climbing Conservation-Corps-era steps that wound up through the rock. I really like the Ledges park, I must say.

We then piled back into the car and headed to Macedonia to get some supper. We ended up at Outback since Mer and I and Nate and Rachel all had gift cards to the restaurant. Jack was hungry and a little fussy, but cheered up when we procured him some bread. We got a table after about a 20-minute wait, and had some pretty good  food. Jack seemed most interested in eating ice (maybe he has a tooth coming in), and he was really very good until the last 3-4 minutes. Nate took him outside while we paid our bills, and he calmed right down. I guess he really wanted to be outdoors. After the Ledges, who can blame him?