The Holidays - A Day in the Park

On the day before New Year's Eve, we finally had the opportunity to spend the entire day together as a family. We slept in late, cooked bacon and eggs and decided that the weather was perfect for a day in the park. The only thing holding us back was that I had no idea what park to go to, because there are so many and Mr. Yardbird had never been to a park and had no idea what we would be doing once we got there.

I guess when you grow up surrounded by lots of open land that resembles one big giant park, there is really no need to venture out to one. So I had to explain what we did when we went to parks when I was kid.

"We played Frisbee, sat around and talked. We walked the trails and we fed the ducks." I told him.

"Is that what we are going to do?" he asked me.

"I don't know. I guess we'll just see when we get there." Truth is, I hadn't really thought about it. I just knew that park going was something families did when they were together and the weather was right for it and it just seemed like the right thing to do.

So we packed the car and drove off in the direction the GPS told us.

It was programmed to take us to a park that I hung out at with my friends in high school, but the closer we got to our destination the more congested traffic became. So we decided to turn around. I quickly typed a new destination in the GPS before Mr. Yardbird could change his mind about going.

When we arrived, we soon realized we weren't the only one's whose bright idea had been to go to the park. The park was bustling with all sorts of activities.

After twenty minutes of searching we finally secured a parking spot near a satsuma selling truck and geared up to head into the park. It was exhilarating. Our first trip to the park.

"I suppose we should have brought a blanket with us." I said.

"For what?" asked Mr. Y.

"I don't know, don't people sit around on blankets when they're out here?"

"I thought you said you've done this before?"

Ten minutes into our walk, I added, "It sure would have been nice to have something to drink right now."

We hadn't brought a thing. Sure we had packed Ham's bag with bottle after bottle. Sure Ham had a blanket, that would have been impossible to share with us. Sure he had snacks and toys, a walker even, but Mr. Yardbird and me, well, we forgot all about us.

"Maybe we'll find some place on the way." I said hopefully.

Do you know how many smoothie/drink stands they have set up on the side of a park trail?

None.

But we made the best of it. After  a while we forgot that we were thirsty and ill-prepared for the park. We didn't let it bother us that everyone else had sporty "park" attire. And we didn't let it bother us either that we walked in the opposite direction of the general flow of park trail traffic much to the utter dismay of the true park goers. In fact, we didn't notice it until we actually ended our walk through the park. We also didn't mind that try as we might we just weren't stealth enough to secure a shaded park bench, because just as we thought we had one an entire family had taken up residence on it in the blink of an eye.

It was fine because even though we weren't entirely prepared, we all had a blast, especially our little guy. We sat with the ducks, we pointed up at the trees, and I managed to put my hand right smack into some duck poop. We laid in the grass sans blankets and helped Ham learn how to walk with his walker. And every chance we glanced in a direction opposite of our son, was the perfect opportunity for him to shovel leaves and grass into his mouth. It was great.