This is an in-city hike, but it's pretty impressive. Four miles long, it traverses meadows, bluffs, beaches, and woods full of ferns, evergreens, and a nettle or two. It was perfect hiking weather, sunny but not too hot. We went with Mom, Marcie, Julian, and Jasper. The kids are close in age to our kids and even though David and Julian might not normally seek each other on the playground, they had a great time banging sticks along the way.

The beach is the best part. There is a huge driftwood fort that the kids immediately spent over an hour adding on to. I tried out my kite from China that Dad and Barb brought me. It was absolutely magical, a string of 28 butterflies that lifted with the slightest wind. We left the beach before everyone was dehydrated and cranky and then spend a half hour on the playground with a fun zipline. It was a little startling to see our preteens looking so much bigger than the other playground denizens.

The complained about having to go on a hike, and then when I told them which one, they were like, oh, I love that hike. That's right.