Next Hobby Please

Okay,

I was scratching my head all spring thinking of a new hobby so that I could spend more time doing something with Kaleo. When I say "something", I mean an activity of at least 4-6 hours in nature that will wear him out. The type of Mtn Bike riding I do would be too strenuous for Kaleo. I can't tow him anymore because he and his new bike are HEAVY. Last year when he weighed about 35-40 lbs and had a small 12" bike he was towable. We'd be able to go 15 or so miles on hard Mtn bike terrain, but last summer proved to be too difficult (he now weighs about 52# and his new bike is about another 25#, imagine pulling a 75+#s of bored kid/bike up a steep hill in the heat) so we've stopped going all together. I still ride regularly however... He doesn't want to go surfing (yet) because 3' surf and rough water intimidates him, he's not quite large enough nor does he have the dexterity yet to paddle the kayaks, but I know he loves the outdoors and yes.. we didn't renew our Disney passes this year.

So where did the money go? I ended up finding a couple of used Quads from a co-worker. Kaleo's is a small 50cc and I found nice barely used 200cc which I will eventually retire for a Dual Sport bike next month. (registration and prep for these things was an adventure in itself... read DMV and equipment)

I met up with Harold and his son up near the Cajon pass. He had scoped out some nice trails the week before, but I was leery about the 95 degree weather that was supposed to hit that area. We got lucky and did some epic riding. A storm front was arriving and kept things breezy and cool. Kaleo hung in there like a champ and to every one's surprise, especially Harold's, he made about 30 miles of up and down climbing. It got dark as we arrived back at camp. The freak thunderstorm hit, with lighting and fast rain, we packed our junk and were out of there by 8:30 p.m.

Anyways, here's a picture of us a the top of one of the peaks near Cajon pass. I think we've found a good hobby to do together for longer outings and hooking up with friends with a similar interest. I know it's a dangerous sport, but I've been taking as many precautions as I can with equipment and have no hesitation barking out commands at Kaleo when I think he's being too ambitious. BTW, he crashed once trying to do a 15' high berm stunt (he stalled at the top of a bank and rolled backwards off a small ledge, fell off the bike but was OK). The other no-no was another 15' berm stunt when he was trying to mimic what some some forest rangers were practicing earlier. I stopped him at the top of the ledge before any damage was done.

We didn't stop to take too many pictures, we were too busy enjoying the ride.