Brad Ryan returned to his hometown after six years to pursue his studies. But he avoided contact with his grandmother, Grandma Joy, aged 85, due to a past disagreement.
Years later, while hiking the Appalachian Trail, he found himself thinking a lot about his grandmother and the time they spent at Blue Rock State Park looking for crawfish. Then, Brad decided to visit Grandma Joy.
Grandma Joy did what came natural to her. She gave him a big hug. "It was familiar and yet strange," said Brad. "It looked the same. But I was looking at a woman who had aged." They made small talks but then there was an awkward pause. Bra d broke the ice by suggesting a visit to Blue Rock State Park.
On the way there, Grandma Joy admitted she had many regrets in her life. One of them was that aside from this state park, she'd never had the chance to see the great outdoors. When they arrived at the creek, the special place where long ago they'd searched out the crawfish, they stood silently, lost in thought. A loud splash broke the silence. The tail of a massive beaver(狸) gliding below broke the water's surface. Stunned, they both laughed. "We looked at each other," said Brad, "and we both realized we were still the same people."
To make up for Grandma's sadness of not seeing more of nature, Brad planned a camping trip to Great Smoky Mountains with Grandma. Despite Grandma Joy's age, she surprised Brad by eagerly agreeing to go.
That night, they sat by the campfire, feeling its warmth and gazing at the stars. Bra d and Grandma opened the lock box of their past. They talked about families and parents, about loss, pain and regret, telling each other they'd wasted too many years being separated.
The camping trip ended, but their outdoor adventure continued. Since then they have visited62 national parks, covering over 50,000 miles in Brad's car. Their age difference doesn't matter as they are still on their way.
