Chapter 9: A Hike in Frick Park

One cool first Saturday in July 2018, I met my childhood friends Sarah, James, and Henri at Frick Park for ice cream and then a hike along the trails. "Hi, guys!" I greeted my friends. "Hi, Angel!" Sarah greeted back. "Would you guys like some ice cream?" I asked my friends. "They have lots of good flavors." "Sure, Angel," James replied. "I would." "I just had a piece of carrot cake, so I think a simple soft-serve cone with vanilla sprinkles would be fine," I decided. Sarah got a vanilla cone like I did, James got a chocolate, and Henri got a Twist. "Look at all the snacks they have here," Henri pointed out. "Yes, Henri," James told his brother. "You do love your snacks, don't you?" "I need to try their pizza sometime," James stated. "Can we not talk about food right now, guys?" I asked. "I'm ready to go on the hike now." We then set off on the trail behind the playground. "It's about time we had a nice day like this for our hike," Sarah stated. "The weather is not too hot, and the sun is shining. What could be nicer than that?" "This reminds me of the summer of 2004, and I think that we will probably get more days like this going forward in the summer," I told everyone. "Remember how I was talking about El Nino?" "I remember that was a summer when we were all best friends," Sarah stated. "The year I baby-sat you and Henri for the first time when James was away on his high school ski trip." "And ate snacks like we saw at Park Pizza and Cream?" Henri asked. "2004 was also the year I hosted a back-to-school party when I came back from my high school ski trip," James added. "And ate snacks like we saw at Park Pizza and Cream?" Henri asked. "Henri, stop thinking about food so much," Sarah told her younger stepbrother. "Since I am on Weight Watchers, I definitely can't have an attitude like that anymore," I pointed out. "Oh, I also wanted to tell you," James told us. "Carnegie Mellon University rescheduled their alumni day to next Saturday, the 14th, so can we maybe do disc golf next Saturday in Schenley Park before the reunion and then do Trivia Night in Greenfield with Carly and her parents?" "I don't see why not, James," I stated. "After all, I believe that trivia night is a better team activity than disc golf, and Carly and her parents love trivia night!" "Speaking of which, later today, I will give Carly a call and ask her what she wants to do with us on Saturdays now," Sarah told me. "Anyway, I am glad that we are heading into a better summer pattern. At least, I hope that is the case." "A lot of the summers when we were best friends were cool and pleasant like this, and not hot, humid, and stormy all the time," I remembered. "Are you sure you guys want to go back to Schenley Park next Saturday?" I asked everyone. "We'll just go because the reunion is happening there," James told us. "I used to love Schenley Park when we lived in Oakland, but now I am starting to like Frick Park better because it is closer to where we live," Sarah told me. "What was the name of that one park near Natrona Heights that we lived near?" "I forget the name, Sarah, but I hope that I can remember it soon," James replied. "Park Pizza and Cream reminds me of Dell's in Natrona Heights," Henri stated, licking his lips. "Please stop thinking about food, Henri," I told Henri. "You're gonna make me think about food, and it will not be good for my Weight Watchers diet!" We then walked back to the Frick Park playgrounds. "Now, can we please get some food?" Henri asked. "I'm still hungry." "But, you just ate ice cream, Henri," James pointed out. "What else do you want?" Sarah asked. "I don't know, some pizza and some Doritos, just like we had at those amazing events you guys talked about," Henri replied. Pretty soon, it was time for me to leave. "Thanks for a great day, everyone!" I thanked my friends. "You're welcome, Angel," Sarah replied. "Bye, guys!" "Bye!"