SMOAC

In late December I dreamed up a family club. This club would be a structure and motivation for us to get out and explore and try new things. I thought of it while we were hiking at Sibley Volcanic Preserve. That hike was nice, but I was struck by how much we struggled to decide where to go, get there, and actually hike. This is crazy, I thought. What's wrong with us? We are people who think of ourselves as outdoorsy, and yet this is a challenge? Besides beating ourselves up, I tried to think of what could motivate us to get out more, and practice doing the things we love. Because by practicing, we get better, and the better we get the easier it would get, and the easier it gets the more fun we would have! And as I watched the kids and thought about this I dreamt up the idea of a club. Kids love clubs. (really, who doesn't love clubs?).

After some discussion, we decided to start S.M.O.A.C (pronounced "smoke"): the Saturday Morning Outdoor Adventure Club. The rules are pretty simple: basically we do an outdoor adventure every Saturday, and rotate planning duties among the four of us. The members are the four of us, but we welcome guests. Right away we wrote a long list of great ideas, and we continue to add to it.

Our first adventure was to take a bus to hike up Claremont Canyon last week (planned by me!). This week was Clara's turn, and much to our surprise, she chose to go to Angel Island and hike to the top of Mt. Livermore! It was a 4.5 mile hike round trip, with 788' elevation gain (and loss). Next week is Molly's turn - she's already decided we're going to Alcatraz. Can't wait!