I spoke with my dad today on the phone and let him know that I want us to go to Mount Tamalpais and the Point Reyes lighthouse in Marin County when we’re back in a couple weeks. He sounded excited about the lighthouse, since he’s been mentioning visiting it for years and just hasn’t gone (that is normal for him), but then he didn’t seem too enthused when I told him we were going hiking. My dad doesn’t like to walk even three blocks to buy groceries.

“Well, your mom probably can’t walk too much,” he said to me. “So I’m not sure hiking is a good idea.”

“It’s going to be less than a mile at a time,” I responded. “She’ll be fine.”

My mom is fine walking, say, twenty-one blocks to her Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall for her service meetings, but she’s seemingly not okay walking even half a mile if it’s on a dirt path?

The last time my parents explored this area was before my brother and I were even born, in the 1970s. That was a time when most of these roads were in pretty terrible condition, and way before they repaved everything to make the area more tourist friendly (and frankly, driver-safe — we’re in a cliff zone here). It kind of makes me sad to hear that, though. Living in the Bay Area, while extremely (and increasingly) expensive) has so many benefits, one of which is being so close to nature, gorgeous coastal views, and all the benefits of the outdoors. We should be taking advantage of all these benefits to make the most of our time in these places. But I guess not everyone agrees with that perspective.