Totally Boring Trip Report (the Report, Not The Trip)
After lunch on Sunday, we went to Mariner Point Park, in search of fun and exercise. We loaded up the boy's bikes and Bek gave Liz a call to see if she wanted to join us, but just got the machine and left a message. We made our way to the park slowly, and got a bit lost because we thought Kearney Drive was off of Rt. 40. A stop at a gas station both to deal with a back seat "emergency" and to get directions, found a geniunely friendly and helpful attendant who gave us directions that proved only to be off by one light. We figured it out and made it there, finding Liz sitting in the van with Olivia and Elise in tow. Was she looking bored? Frazzled? I'm not sure. We apologized for our leisurely pace.
We unloaded everything and set foot on one of the trails. Olivia and Elise weren't too fond of being anywhere but right next to Liz, Emmett was sleepy and rode in Liz's stroller and Max rode his bike. We had to carry Emmett's trike and the scooter. We made our way along the path and stopped at one of the fishing spots. We saw a couple fish get caught, then set back out on the path. We got to one of the playgrounds, which Max quickly tested out. He reported that the curly slide was slow, and Liz said there was a better playground elsewhere, so we crossed a parking lot, heading to another trail. Max switched to the scooter for a bit, then back to his bike. Once reaching the playground, Olivia and Elise took to it, while Emmett was still in the stroller. Max wanted to keep riding, so I set off with him while Bek and Liz stayed with the others at the playground.
It wasn't long before we spotted a bright red cardinal. Max took a photo and then we moved on, shortly finding a matching brown/red cardinal. The male is colorful and the female less so, or is it the other way around? I took a photo of a squirrel at Max's request. The batteries in my camera were dead, so we shared Max's camera. Not long after this we heard Bek calling "Hold up guys!" We turned and saw her and Emmett, Emmett pedalling furiously, heading toward us. There were more stops to see fishing, and more birds.
Our last stop was at a fishing spot that also gave us a view of a train bridge in the distance. We stayed for a while hoping to catch a train crossing the bridge, but none passed. We saw a pair of quite large birds with long legs flying over the water. We weren't sure what they were - we need to get a good bird guide. Finally we walked back up to the trail when Bek heard a train! We ran back as fast as we could, but we were too late - it was a short train.
The wind was blowing mightily at this point and there seemed a risk of rain, so we headed back to the playground. By the time we got there the sun was shining again. There is a beach volleyball court at the playground, and the kids use it like a sandbox, so we stayed there for a while. Many kids had brought sand toys, and toys at sandboxes tend to be communal. Emmett wanted to play with a bulldozer he saw sitting unused, and he got the OK from the Mom of the owner, so he picked it up and took it to a corner and started pushing it around. The owner then ran over, grabbed the 'dozer and ran back to the spot he had been playing in. Emmett had a gruff look on his face but said nothing. The Mom walked over and got the 'dozer back for Emmett, and so he went on 'dozing. After a while Max complained of being cold and we gave a 5 minute warning. After the time was up we headed back to the trail and found our way back to the cars, Emmett taking the lead, pedalling furiously again, stopping at every intersection to ask Liz which way to go. We loaded up the car and van and parted ways.
Our next stop was Granny's house. I made paper airplanes upon request, the boys watched the (much, much) lesser Buzz Lightyear video 2 or 3 times, and we had supper. Emmett ate an ice cream sandwich, a cookie and two whole pieces of pizza, in that order. He ate more than Max did. Afterward the boys wanted to go to Liz's house and so I took them there while Bek stayed with Granny, and that's how we finished out the day.
We unloaded everything and set foot on one of the trails. Olivia and Elise weren't too fond of being anywhere but right next to Liz, Emmett was sleepy and rode in Liz's stroller and Max rode his bike. We had to carry Emmett's trike and the scooter. We made our way along the path and stopped at one of the fishing spots. We saw a couple fish get caught, then set back out on the path. We got to one of the playgrounds, which Max quickly tested out. He reported that the curly slide was slow, and Liz said there was a better playground elsewhere, so we crossed a parking lot, heading to another trail. Max switched to the scooter for a bit, then back to his bike. Once reaching the playground, Olivia and Elise took to it, while Emmett was still in the stroller. Max wanted to keep riding, so I set off with him while Bek and Liz stayed with the others at the playground.
It wasn't long before we spotted a bright red cardinal. Max took a photo and then we moved on, shortly finding a matching brown/red cardinal. The male is colorful and the female less so, or is it the other way around? I took a photo of a squirrel at Max's request. The batteries in my camera were dead, so we shared Max's camera. Not long after this we heard Bek calling "Hold up guys!" We turned and saw her and Emmett, Emmett pedalling furiously, heading toward us. There were more stops to see fishing, and more birds.
Our last stop was at a fishing spot that also gave us a view of a train bridge in the distance. We stayed for a while hoping to catch a train crossing the bridge, but none passed. We saw a pair of quite large birds with long legs flying over the water. We weren't sure what they were - we need to get a good bird guide. Finally we walked back up to the trail when Bek heard a train! We ran back as fast as we could, but we were too late - it was a short train.
The wind was blowing mightily at this point and there seemed a risk of rain, so we headed back to the playground. By the time we got there the sun was shining again. There is a beach volleyball court at the playground, and the kids use it like a sandbox, so we stayed there for a while. Many kids had brought sand toys, and toys at sandboxes tend to be communal. Emmett wanted to play with a bulldozer he saw sitting unused, and he got the OK from the Mom of the owner, so he picked it up and took it to a corner and started pushing it around. The owner then ran over, grabbed the 'dozer and ran back to the spot he had been playing in. Emmett had a gruff look on his face but said nothing. The Mom walked over and got the 'dozer back for Emmett, and so he went on 'dozing. After a while Max complained of being cold and we gave a 5 minute warning. After the time was up we headed back to the trail and found our way back to the cars, Emmett taking the lead, pedalling furiously again, stopping at every intersection to ask Liz which way to go. We loaded up the car and van and parted ways.
Our next stop was Granny's house. I made paper airplanes upon request, the boys watched the (much, much) lesser Buzz Lightyear video 2 or 3 times, and we had supper. Emmett ate an ice cream sandwich, a cookie and two whole pieces of pizza, in that order. He ate more than Max did. Afterward the boys wanted to go to Liz's house and so I took them there while Bek stayed with Granny, and that's how we finished out the day.
posted by public_sjj at 7:33:00 AM
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