During the twins’ weekend naptimes, Matteo and I have been getting out and exploring a lot lately. These outings have paired his interest in bombing hills on his bike with my interest in slowly scanning the hillsides for chanterelle mushrooms. One area we’ve come to especially appreciate is around Lake Chabot in Castro Valley, where there is a full network of walking and biking trails. Last Sunday, we continued further down the Indian Cove Trail than we’d been before. Matteo was ahead of me and as he crested a point on the trail that I had assumed would open up to a lake vista, I heard him excitedly call out to me. It was as though he’d discovered the new world. While I was more excited about his excitement than the view, it was a spectacular sight and a fun discovery. We shared a moment of stillness and peace from the perfectly-placed park bench there and talked about our great fortune to have such a place so near and accessible to our home.
