Evening Stroll

Every evening (or almost every evening before Sean started classes) we take a walk around the large pond behind the apartment and cut over onto the neighboring 1 mile walking loop. Sean and I take turns having our shoulders yanked on by Bear while Aiden does most of the loop in a dead sprint. I don't know how he has the energy but we're always having to ask him to pause while we catch up, before he takes off again.


At the far end of the pond there is a wooden bridge, and without fail, we catch the multitude of turtles that inhabit the water eating their dinner. Aiden loves watching them, and it seems like whereever we go there are turtles. Turtles and frogs.

Very curious...

Just five of our twenty or so turtle friends

View from the bridge

Aiden is learning to explore new things, like the miniature frogs that are no bigger than my pinkie nail, or trying to balance along the trail borders, or just meeting new people and often times new dogs.

He's getting more and more comfortable in this new place, ready to run on ahead.

Taking this walk has become such a calming routine, that even though Aiden spends most of it running, he's usually worn out and ready for bed by the time we get back. We've started to see a lot of the same faces, the same dogs and owners, and we're starting to feel familiar with all the little details that come with a new place. We have good neighbors (all the polite Navy people) and bad neighbors (the guy that threw the grad party across the hall) but we like it here overall, and hopefully it stays this lovely for the rest of our time here.