walkingman

My wife and I like to go exploring on the weekends, during the summer, and whenever we can get away for a couple hours at a time. This afternoon our sons were invited to a waterslide party with some friends which gave us a six hour window of open time. We eagerly took advantage of that opening and so after dropping the boys off at their event; we headed out to our destination, a small town about 50 miles north of us. The drive was easy and we took the scenic route as I love to view the country and see life instead of malls, fast food chains, and planned housing communities. We saw and smelled pigs, horses, cows, and sheep along with seeing corn, wheat and soybeans. It brings me back to my roots as a small town farming boy. The downtown of this city looks like something out of the 1950s. It is a downtown with real stores owned by locals. There was no national chain anywhere to be seen. Actually we passed them on the way into downtown approximately 5 miles out of town. We parked the car and walked around the downtown and just loved the bucolic setting. It was so relaxing and peaceful. We wandered into antique stores, candy stores, one tea caf and one tea shop, clothing stores, Asian and oriental markets, and several quaint and upscale restaurants. I even bought a dozen fancy gourmet cupcakes that looked so elegant and delicious. As we continued our stroll around the town we discovered that there was a small wetlands just a few hundred yards away. We linked our arms and took the walk into the lush forest area. The smooth brick path soon transitioned to a sturdy wooden walkway that led throughout the wetlands. There was excellent signage along the walkway and so we took our time just traversing the path. It was a very relaxing loop and upon returning to the beginning we headed off for some lunch and refreshment. My wife wanted something fancy while I fancied something light. We stopped at the first restaurant up the street and it seemed to have fare we both would like. My wife ordered the salmon lunch special while I just went with a simple tuna sandwich and salad. We did sample each others food it was all excellent. The wife had a local brew and said it was perfect while I went for a great pink lemonade. It had quite a tart kick to it. After our shopping and dining adventure we headed off to reclaim the boys. Traffic was light and we made great time making it back to our friends house. After arriving we walked around to the side of the house to get the boys. We were greeted by the wife and so we told her about our day and then I remembered the cupcakes. I dashed out to the car and retrieved them. I walked back carrying this lovely box and opened it in front of hungry and anticipatory eyes. After hearing our tale of these immense and beautifully decorated wonders, I was greeted with looks of horror and derision. I could not believe the nasty looks they were giving me and my precious cupcakes. Then I peaked inside and I saw the objects of their scorn. Those lovely and delicate objects of light and fluffiness had been reduced to one giant blob of melted mess. It was horrible. The wife and I had locked them in the car while we gallivanted on the nature walk and sat our big butts in air conditioning while feeding our fat faces at lunch. We were too busy to hear the agonizing screams of those poor innocent cupcakes locked up in a hot car. We did manage to eat them anyway but let this be a reminder to those of you this summer with small children or pet: Do not leave them locked in a car for even one minute on a hot day. We only killed a dozen cupcakes.