If it is 60 and sunny, my toddler and I HAVE to be outside. My mom always encouraged outdoor play when I was a kid, and a little fresh air and sunshine is literally medicine for your body and soul. Instead of hitting up one of our fantastic local park options, on this day we opted to do a little nature walk on the Decamp trail off of Mantoloking Road in Brick.
Parking for this trail is right across the street from Al's Auto Care and you are steps away from the trailhead. On this particular beautiful day, the trail was pretty busy so the parking lot was almost full. I prefer that, though, because it was just me and my toddler and I'm not about to walk any desolate trails with a two-year old. It's nice to pass some friendly faces every few minutes when the trail is busy and my little nugget definitely enjoys counting how many dogs we encounter. We always see furry friends on this trail!
The full trail is 2.5 miles out and back. It's very clear and easy for clumsy little feet to walk! We didn't go the full route. We walked out a bit over a mile and looked for birds and frogs at every twist and turn. We didn't see any frogs but we certainly HEARD them by some little ponds we passed in our travels. My toddler loved spotting pine cones and at one point, even started counting trees. Right now his counting skills only go up to 10 otherwise we'd still be on the trail counting!
I brought some snacks and we found a log on the trail to sit and munch before turning back in the other direction. There are also benches scattered along the trail but there wasn't one when we wanted to take our little break. I didn't want to push to go all the way to sit by the water because I was pretty sure that my son wouldn't want to walk the whole way back.
Well I was right on the money, because he DIDN'T want to walk the whole way back and asked to be carried for most of it. He's getting heavier but I figured at least it would be a good workout for me!
Now that I was carrying an extra 27 pounds, I was immediately glad we didn't head all the way down to the water. We opted to do the trail before nap time and he was pretty exhausted on the way back. He was happy for me to carry him while we pointed at and named aloud, miscellaneous nature elements. He's getting so good with words and he enjoyed learning a few new ones, like "moss." We got back to the car quickly and I was proud of myself for the return pace I kept with a toddler in my arms!
Without the distractions of dishes, Blippie or phones, we just enjoyed one another on our little nature hike. It was simple and perfect. I'm the first to admit that I can be better at being present with my precious little boy. Being outside, just the two of us, was a slice of magic. We had sweet little convos and giggled at our shadows. We held hands, sang songs, and marveled at a beautiful blue sky. It was probably one of our best mother son outings to date and it was 100% FREE. I hope your family decides to explore this path soon and that you have just as much fun.
Don't forget to listen out for the frogs!