I guess it’s because I have so few Dad & Son only memories that I try to make it a point to have special time with my son where it is just the two of us. Now don’t get me wrong, my Dad is great father, and I know we did have those special times, but my memories are such that I can only really remember a few of them.

Chances are Maverick won’t remember a lot of the things we did together, but at least this way one of those times will be documented should he ever forget, or want to put me in a crappy nursing home God forbid!

It was a morning either destined to be spent doing something fun, or doing work outside. I opted for the second for obvious reasons on the day of rest.

My wife had a business function so I decided to take Maverick to the Morton Arboretum. The crisp cool air and brightly shining sun were a perfect combination for hiking.

After quickly loading the car we were on our way, windows down, sunglasses on. Little did I know the negotiation was about to begin.

“Dad, can we go to the children’s garden first?” Maverick asked from the back seat.

“Well I really didn’t want you to get your feet wet before the hike” I replied with unfailing logic.

[Insert Pause]

“Dad, how about this — We go to the hand water area of the children’s garden, then go for a hike and after go to the feet water area of the children’s garden.”

Curses. His logic was sound, I had been out foxed by a six year old. I agreed to his plan, and we both felt satisfied.

Sitting down to watch Maverick at the hand water park, I started to plot out the hike I wanted to take. I had earlier talked to our friend Mary from marytree.blogspot.com and she suggested we go to “big rock”.

Having never been it sounded like a great idea. That is until I saw it was the furthest point from the visitor center. Easily three miles away.

Crap, would he be up for it? I worried about his shoes. He had worn ones more appropriate for the water. I decided to just take the hike slow and turn around when he wanted to.

It was time for a move to another play area that had sand. Again Maverick joined the multitude of kids playing in it and I brought the tunnel vision online and locked onto my target (my son).

When it was time to head out for the hike I made a fatal mistake. He had buried his feet in the sand and wanted to rinse them off. The smart thing to do would have been to go to the water jump.

What did I do? Let him go to the foot water area. As I watched him run around on the rocks, I saw a girl who was soaked from head to toe and got a bad feeling about this decision.

Sure enough he slipped and sat in the water. The back of his shorts were soaked through. What can you do in a situation like that but sigh, smile and shake your head at how great it is to watch him just being a boy.

So we started on our hike, I was sure it would be over in no time with his wet shorts. But between the Sun and the breeze they quickly dried.

Walking through the trails I loved our conversations on his favorite subjects (Star Wars), about the forest, about his friends, and about some of the things I knew had been bugging him. It was a nice non-threatening time and I think it was good for both of us.

When we were about halfway to the “big rock” the mosquitos hit us in full force. Now for some reason I have an immunity to whatever it is in the mosquito that causes those itching bumps from happening. I still get bit, but that is the extent of my affliction.

Maverick however is like his Mom, a mosquito magnet who is affected by their bite. I felt like such a dumb ass for forgetting the spray! But onward we went.

As we approached our destination a shortcut was offered to us, and we gladly took it. Big rock it would turn out, was just that. A big rock.

I don’t know why I had visions of a 40 foot tall rock, the reality was much, much less. Take a look at my flickr to the right and you can see it. Heading back I carried him on my shoulders for a while to give him a break much to his enjoyment.

We stopped for a strawberry fruit pop and some yogurt afterwards. Time had flown by, the children’s garden was now closed, but that didn’t stop Maverick. There was still a hill and kids rolling down it. That was enough for him.

It was a good day.