4 Mile hike to nowhere

Since my husband is off for a bit, we decided that we will get out and enjoy the parks around our house. We are going to try and tackle the job of visiting every metro park around. I am very excited. We love to hike and are trying to get our boys out and moving as much as possible every week. We know from experience that our boys legs will all together stop functioning at about 1 1/2 miles. So, we have been sticking to our normal spots. Well, with this new endeavour, we decided to try a new location. Carriage Hill Farms. It's a gorgeous place that Mike and I used to go to back when we were dating in High School. We were full of enthusiasm and vigor. We were going to hike and our family bascially rocked in our little world. We walk past the pond and admired the splendor of it all. The lilly pads and the baby minnows darting back and forth. We continued into what Tyler named the "Spooky Forrest". We admired all sorts of wild flowers and watched tiny green beetles scurry away from the path. This is living I tell myself. We are walking about 15 minutes when the path breaks. There are little signs marked with color. Hmm .. we never checked the path Legend back at the beginning. No need, we will wing it. We decide to let Tyler choose so it feels like he is leading the adventure. We forge ahead at his direction.Now, let me say this ... never let a 3 year old lead your hike. Just a rule of thumb here. Anyhow ... we break through the tree line and enter the biggest grassy plain I have ever seen in Ohio. Now, here is lies the beginning of the end. In our adventerous spirit we don't look back. We plow through at least a good mile before I wonder if what we are on is still even a path. We are seeing nothing. Nada. Mike swears he sees a lake far in the distance. I am doubting his lucidness now. We finally come to a bend and a small slope. Of course, like the morons we now know we were, we merrily jog down it. Now we have a 4 way intersection to choose from. Mentally Mike is trying to figure out the quickest way back to the car. However, our Scout leader Tyler has decided to lead us deeper in the "South Woods". We forge ahead. We walk and walk and walk and walk. Eventually the kids quit walking. We are carryin them. I begin to get a little bit worried when I hear someone a good ways in the distance on what sounds like a 4 wheeler asking someone if they need help. Are we lost?? Are they looking for us?? Let's just say that little ... we'll say trail because that's what it was labeled .... led us a little over a mile in a huge circle that put us right back to the grassy field. Now, I am no longer seeing the beauty in things. I see a honking big plain of nothingness that I have to hike my sweating butt across while carrying my now intolerable one year old. We begin the long journey back. When we finally reach the spooky woods again, I don't find the beauty in anything . I keep thinking .... don't they ever see that the paths are overrun with weeds?? And these bugs?! They are everywhere! They really should take better care of this place. We get back to the pond and all I think is that there is tons of grassy ickiness near the banks. I mean, how are people supposed to even tolerate this? I am miserable. We make it back to the car. The kids fall asleep long before we make it back to the freeway. Let's just say that we now know, we as a family cannot hike 3.5 miles without a complete and utter loss of out general well being.

*Vintage