I admit while on hikes I sometimes tune my family out. Do you blame me? Between Asa singing one of his parodies, Mom sharing “interesting” historical facts about the location, and Dad pointing out every animal he sees, it gets a bit much. However, I wish I was paying closer attention on our recent walk at the Old Eastern Marsh Trail. All I heard was Dad say something about “follow the trail to Terminus.” Terminus? Who’s Terminus! That sounds like some sort of super villain. Do we really want to follow anything to him? Why was I not consulted before Dad made this decision?
Instantly I knew I’d need backup to confront Terminus. However, I didn’t want to panic Asa. You know how active his imagination can be. So I told him to brace himself, that we may be meeting Terminus at the end of the rail trail. Asa responded with, “Is that a new friend? I like making new friends! I bet he gives good hugs. I wonder what he smells like?”
Annoyed, I barked at him that this is serious and to be on the lookout for anything suspicious, as we continued on our walk. While Asa still pondered who his new friend could be, we came to a bridge. “Maybe Terminus is a Troll! I heard Trolls like to live under bridges,” said Asa with all the naivety of a fairytale character about to meet his nemesis. Of course Terminus isn’t a Troll! Why would Dad want to follow a Troll?
Onward we walked, determined to reach Dad’s goal, whoever that may be. But soon Mom grew weary from the heat and suggested we stop in this patch of shade under a tree. Nervously, I settled into place. That’s when I spotted a turtle near the side of the trail. Could I have misheard Dad? Maybe he said “Terrapin” not “Terminus”? Although why would Dad want to follow the trail to a Terrapin? Turtles walk way too slow, and the one up ahead of us appears to have a snappy attitude.
I admit I was greatly relieved when we finally continued our walk to Terminus. Listening to Mom babble on more than the brook we crossed about the colonial settlers in this area; Asa singing a Grateful Dead song about some mystical Terrapin Station; with Dad rudely pointing at the current local residents of deer, ducks, and of course the turtle, like a tourist leaving home for the first time; was getting to be all too much for me to take! My family is so embarassing in public. I was ready to get to Terminus!
Finally Dad proclaimed he could see up ahead Terminus! I stared, I squinted, I pulled ahead, but all I could see was a chainlink fence blocking the end of the trail. That’s when it hit me, we were following the old rail trail to the end of the line! Why didn’t Dad just say that in the first place?
