Celebrating My 60th Birthday During COVID

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Our Plans Have To Be Flexible

One thing the pandemic is teaching everyone is to be flexible with our plans and ready for change. Our boating background has helped us in that area. While cruising, we may need to tend to an unexpected repair while underway or adjust our route due to weather. So, it wasn’t that hard for us to make “plan B” for how we can safely celebrate birthdays during COVID.

Family Traditions

Before COVID, our family tradition for birthdays was to all get together to celebrate as a group, but since we are a big family, we haven’t met in a large gathering since last Christmas. Everyone seems to have a different view on how much precaution is wise or necessary during the pandemic. Until more is known about the virus, Tony and I don’t want to risk a big social gathering. Therefore, we lean towards meeting outdoors in small groups when planning any social visits.

60th Birthday Hikes

Birthdays, along with other temporal markers, are an opportunity for reflection and goal setting. Therefore, I try to take time to reflect on the past and consider what life goals I want to deliberately pursue in the future. One of my goals as I grow older is to be intentional about staying physically fit and active.

Putting the pieces together: be outside & in small groups for COVID + an activity to help me stay fit = 60th Bday hikes!

As a result, I enjoyed time with our adult children and their families while taking multiple hikes in a variety of settings throughout the month. Birthday hikes turned out to be the perfect way for me to celebrate turning 60 during COVID!

Battle Creek Dog Park

Tyler & Kristin invited us to hike with them and Pete at Battle Creek Dog Park. We weren’t sure what to expect, maybe a big field where dogs socialize and we walk the perimeter? No! This dog park is like hiking in the woods, other than we saw a bunch of different breeds of dogs walking off-leash. We thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere of seeing so many different dogs, and a few eclectic dog owners, while we hiked the trails in the woods. Tyler could see we were taking it all in and invited us along to another dog park, Otter Lake Dog Park, a few weeks later. Bonus Birthday Hike!

Pine Tree Apple Orchard

Luke & Christie and family met us at Pine Tree Apple Orchard for their hike. In the past, we’ve had large family outings to the apple orchard so this location has some special memories for us. We went on a weekday afternoon to avoid the crowds that come on the weekends. Eagerly, we headed up the path that led to the rows of apple trees only to find they were all roped off. We can’t hike through the orchard as planned, now what?

Another plan B! Everyone was in good spirits as we made laps around the picnic area, the parking lots, and down the road and back while also assessing the sky for rain and finding places to duck under some overhead foliage as needed. Kayla didn’t mind the rain, she stood in the middle of a field during one of the sun showers. After hiking, apple turnovers and apple cider tasted delicious for an afternoon snack! Who can go to the orchard and not have apple treats? Not us!

Harriet Alexander Nature Center

Jordan and Tessa decided to combine their hikes with me. We took a walk down memory lane by hiking the boardwalk at Harriet Alexander Nature Center. During our homeschooling days, we often came to the nature center for science classes. We have memories of getting wet feet from the floating boardwalk. Now it is stable and secure well above the marshland. No wet feet today! We stopped at one overlook to cheer a little turtle on as it swam through the green algae and climbed up to join the others sunning themselves on a log.

Across Dale Street, we continued our hike by exploring the outdoor Arboretum and adjoining Central Park trails. Families having picnics, photographers at work with couples or wedding parties, and a small yoga class in session are a few of the ways the community uses this park. Coming towards us on a trail was a group of young adults all with their heads looking down at their phones. After they passed by, I commented on how odd it was that they were in this beautiful park, but not looking up and around to see their surroundings. Jordan explained they were playing a game called Pokeman GO. I learn something new each day!

Locke Park

Myra and Dave choose to hike at Locke Park in Fridley. It was their family’s first time hiking here so we got to explore this new place together. We stopped and watched some deer in the stream that didn’t seem at all bothered by our presence. Through the woods, over a bridge, in a tunnel; there was plenty of variety of terrain on this trail. Tiana was a strong little hiker and impressed us with her endurance to walk a long way. Enjoying nature with a toddler with stick throwing, climbing over logs, and some singing and clapping along the way, was a joy for all of us.

Giezendanner Forest (Baldwin School Forest)

Joe and Kendra and family heard about Giezendanner Forest from a friend but had not been here yet. Yeah!, we love to discover new places together! After an enthusiastic greeting from Lexi in the parking lot, we found the trail map and were studying it when one of the boys noticed the friend that recommended this forest to Kendra. What a fun coincidence! They were just finishing their hike and pointed out their favorite path. Off we went!

The Mancuso boys are in their element in the woods and would stop to identify a leaf, climb a tree, or strike a pose with a newfound hiking stick. Lexi was eager to explore and often wanted to be in the lead. Some of the trails were in dense forest, sometimes there were some clear areas with marshland or grassland, lots to observe! Here and there we saw evidence of the forest being used by school groups; benches set up in a clearing, forts built from sticks, and instructional signs pointing out things like poison ivy or sugar maple leaves.

Duluth

For my birthday hike with my parents, we took multiple day trips to Duluth and walked the pier at Canal Park. For a while, Canal Park and Grandma’s Restaurant were a favorite destination for my dad so we frequented often during Sept. Seeing Lake Superior during different weather conditions always made our visit interesting. Sometimes the water was calm and many small fishing boats were zipping in easily as they made their way back to port after a morning of fishing. Other times, it was so windy and wavy that the smaller boats would bounce around and struggle with navigating the channel. Seeing the lift bridge go up and down for a cruise ship or a freighter is always a highlight. A few times we were fortunate to see big ships in the canal; the Paul Tregurtha being the longest vessel active on the Great Lakes!

Taylors Falls

On my actual birthday day, Sept 30th, Tony & I hiked at Taylor’s Falls with a stop at Schoony’s to share a banana split. We parked at Interstate State Park campground and took the river trail to the pothole area of Taylor’s Falls. The trail offered a scenic lookout spot from up by the road as well as little offshoot trails to go right down by the water. The use of big rocks and boulders to form natural steps for inclines and declines was impressive. It was a weekday and not too busy, but whenever we came upon other hikers, everyone was courteous taking turns to step aside to allow space on the narrow parts of the path. Of course, we can’t be that close to a campground and not check it out. So, we ended our hike by walking the campsite loops and commenting on which sites we might want to stay at or which campers caught our eye.

Happy Trails To You!

My birthday hikes during COVID were especially memorable and meaningful! But any hike can be a perfect opportunity to spend time with others outdoors and appreciate our beautiful natural surroundings.

Let’s go for a hike!

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