Since Little A was one, he's been coming along. We make these family trips as often as work permits, and this year we managed to sneak away for a long weekend.
This is the second time we've taken Little A's Au Pair with us, as my dad's membership to the mountaintop's country club comes with a number of free room nights that must be consumed every year, and going up in a group is the best way to make use of them if you can't make more frequent visits.
The weather was perfect, the fresh vegetables were plentiful, and Little A enjoyed all the activities that Big A and I, and every other child of our generation, did at his age - biking in the park (Au Pair did the pedaling, Little A rode alongside), boating in the park's man-made lake, tramping around among pine trees, and looking at the horses. This is one of the few places in the country where horses can bear the weather comfortably, and riding is one of the most common tourist activities.
Little A loves watching animals, but is very wary of being too near large ones. He rode a Shetland pony once, and fell off it when it suddenly shied, and since then has been afraid to get back in the saddle. Big A wants to cure him of this fear, and helped him at least get close enough to touch. That was enough for now, and hopefully as he comes back again and again he gets a little braver each time, until he eventually has a ride.
