Mt. Baldy

Andrea stayed clean. Frank played soccer better than ever since he was trying to show off for her. After the game, we went to Mount Baldy for a family day of hiking and playing.
First stop was the ranger station where they have a nice little play area complete with tipis and other historical structures from the area. We thought maybe we’d get a family photo for this year’s Christmas card, but that is never easy.
Up we went for a nice hike in Icehouse Canyon. The stream had enough water running in it to be beautiful, and there were waterfalls here and there.

Hiking with Beckett is a challenge. We took off-shoot trails down by the stream, but Beckett wanted to go IN the stream. The hike lasted about an hour, and we probably went about a quarter of a mile. The purpose of a hike with little boys is more for the experience in general than it is for exercise or having a goal of getting somewhere.

We went into the little town of Mount Baldy for some lunch. I don’t remember the name of the restaurant, but that’s okay because I don’t have anything positive to say about it.

THEN we went fishing. At the trout farm. It was inexpensive compared to Irvine Lake, so we decided to give it a shot. It was high time Beckett caught his first fish and at a trout farm we figured it would take about as long as Beckett’s attention span to do it. We were wrong. The fish weren’t hungry. After about forty-five minutes, Frank caught a fish.
Determined that Beck should catch a fish too, I kept plugging away at it. By the time I actually caught a fish, Beckett was on the other side of the trout farm with Doug. He was trying to scoop the fish out of the water with a large net. I’m sure the guys in the trout farm office were thrilled with us. We took our two fish up to the counter and got them packed in ice. I think the total came to about $1.75, which tells you how small they were. That is if you’ve ever been to a trout farm. The guys in front of us managed to catch about six fish. They were bigger fish, by far. Their total came to a little over $100. We were happy with our two little fish, especially since I had no intention of cooking them.

Once home, Frank had a grand time doing all kinds of scientific experiments with the fish. He named them, he played with them. And I tried my best to pretend as though none of it was happening. Doug thought it was hysterical. I thought it was gross. Since I am outnumbered in this household, three to one, I kept my mouth shut and my distance from the fish. I’m just glad I didn’t discover it later that night under my sheets or something else equally as disgusting.

I’m the one who said I was happy I had two boys instead of girls and I’m sticking by it.