The temperature today was forecast to be in the 50's, which is pretty good for this time of year so we decided to take advantage of it. By the time I got out of work and Brooke finished her lunch it was spring-like outside so we packed up and headed over to Stratham Hill Park to get some fresh air, sunshine and exercise. We've been up this hill twice before with her but today was her big day. Instead of being carried in a backpack we let her try climbing up by herself. She did great and made it all the way up without any help from us. She tossed a few rocks and played with some sticks along the way but after 10-15 minutes we all made the 150 foot/.3 mile climb to the 290 foot high top.

From there Brooke wanted to go up the first level of the tower with me to look around and then went down to explore with Jen while I climbed up to take some pictures and soak in the birds-eye view. It was a beautiful day to be up there. You could see everything clearly from the Isles of Shoals to Mt. Washington 88 miles to the north (click on the picture above to blow it up and check out the view). After we soaked up our share of sunshine Brooke led us down to the playground at the bottom of the hill. There wasn't much for little kids there so she used the big kids stuff. Swinging and climbing until she was just about wiped out and ready for a nap. It was a fun afternoon and there's pictures of all of it right here if you're interested.

Jen is working tomorrow but if anyone else is interested in joining me I might take Brooke up to Mt. Agamenticus in York for another hike if the weather is as good as it was today. The trail is about 1.5 miles each way and the mountain is about 700 feet high so it'll probably be a good couple of hours and she'll probably be riding in my backpack for a bunch of it but anyone is welcome to go. I know it's last minute but give me a call if you read this and want to go.