Adventure by the Lake

I took Troy to Lake Carolyn, today near the Mandalay Canals in Las Colinas. I thought he’d enjoy going somewhere new and enjoy getting out to stretch his legs. The lake is built in between several apartment complexes and has a Venetian canal feel to it with brick walkways and bridges that span several places. There are large cypress trees providing shade and atmosphere along the water and their soft branches hang down and brush the myriad of walkers as they walk by. Ducks float along the shoreline, and Troy kept throwing sticks at them for some reason. Luckily for them, they were too far out, and his arm strength isn’t quite there yet, so he didn’t come close to hitting them.

As we made our way slowly around the lake, stopping every few feet to throw another stick, we came upon a parking garage. Troy decided that all he wanted to do was climb the stairs to the top, so we did. And then we climbed down again. Troy decided that he hadn’t gotten enough of a leg workout, so we climbed the stairs to the top again. And then we climbed down again. This beautiful lake, and all my son wanted to do was climb the stairs of a parking garage. I finally got him moving again, but he was pretty tired at that point, so I picked him up and out him on my shoulders.

It was a cool, overcast day, which made it pleasant to be outside. What we didn’t plan on was the wind blowing the water into little waves cresting across the lake. At one point, it was blowing so hard, that it literally stopped me in my tracks. It was all I could do not to be pushed backwards. If Troy hadn’t been on my shoulders, I believe he would have been blown into the lake. The wind was picking the water up out of the lake and blowing it in a twisting wall down the sidewalk, covering us with water and scaring the bejesus out of Troy. He was screaming in terror, so I took him back to the car. He refused to get off my shoulders the entire time, even though the wind abated after we got behind the buildings again.

After we left the lake, the sun was close to setting. So, I found a field near a subdivision off the freeway that was covered in bluebonnets. I’d never taken a bluebonnet picture with Troy, and the light was perfect. He obliged, but the wind started picking up again, so we decided not to push our luck. It was a really cool adventure with my son.