Simply Magic

Two days ago, after getting up late and taking way too long to make a healthy lunch (why do celery and onions take so long to soften? Honestly!), I asked Zachary what he wanted to do on his day off. I had just gotten my paycheck, and we were ready to blow some dough.

“Let’s go to Pere Marquette,” he said.

And so we blew some dough on gas, packed a lunch, loaded up a backpack, and hit the road. We listened to Jonathan Coulton on the way up, leaving the city behind and winding along the highway beside the Muddy Mississip’, which sparkled blue under the clear October sky. At Pere Marquette, we hiked up the blue trail, watched the sun on the confluence at McAdam’s Peak, and hiked to the other side of the bluff, finally settling down to eat at Flag Pole Lookout. After we finished our summer sausage sandwiches, Zachary pulled out his copy of The Fellowship of the Ring. We sat on a stone wall with the sweeping wooded countryside beside us, and he read to me. As the air grew chillier, I donned my jacket.

We were so caught up in the story that by the time we realized we should hike back, the sun had already slipped below the horizon. We hiked the couple miles back to our car in the dark, looking at the black tree silhouettes against the rainbow-glow of sunset on the western horizon.

On the way home, we ate caramel sundaes at McDonald’s and listened to Bach’s cello suites, and once we got home, Zach continued reading Lord of the Rings to me until midnight passed and his throat was sore. We made it to the end of Book One. 

Some days are simply magic.