Planes, Trains and Automobiles

Well, technically Trains and Ferry Boats. Like a lot of toddlers, our boy is fascinated with transportation. Firetrucks, airplanes, boats, buses, construction trucks, and of course trains thrill him to no end. And like most parents, we like to please our transportation fanatic.. which is part of the reason the past two weekends have involved a large form of transportation.

Last weekend we took a Ferry boat over to Whidbey Island. Yes, we could have driven there, as there is a bridge.. but our boy loves boats. So we waited in the line, paid the fee, and setteled in for the short 20 minute ride. It was an ideyllic day in the Northwest. Warm, clear blue skies, no wind... just perfect. Really a great day for a ride on the ferry. I was hoping we would see a sea lion, porpoise, or orca, but no such luck this day. That didn't matter. Reshen was enarmored. We even saw the "driver" (the captian) up at his post while we were on the deck. The man saw me pointing up at him and waved back down to Reshen. That made our kiddo's day for sure.



The ride was over way too soon for our guy, and we had to practically bribe him to get off the boat by promising he could ride it again on the way back. Our afternoon on the Island was fun, filled with parks, beaches and playgrounds. But Reshen could only think of the Ferry boat and kept reminding us that we still needed to ride it again. Poor kid was heartbroken when the ride home was over and we had to get off it for good. But we did promise we would ride it again this summer. I'm sure he won't let us forget.

Today we did another fun transportation- just for Reshen. We rode the Monorail. The Seattle Monorail, for those who don't know, is really more for tourists than locals. It spans about a 2 mile stretch of downtown and costs $2 for a one-way trip. I've only ridden the Monorail once... as a tourist before I moved here. Normally we walk or ride the bus (which are free I might add). But... our little man loves trains and talks about the Monrail all the time, since we saw it speed past on the elevated track a few months ago. And it just happened that today was an event called Folklife that happens at Seattle Center (near the Space Needle, and also the Monorail's destination). So, we purposely parked at one end of the Monroail and rode it to the Space Needle... just so the little man could have his train adventure. It was hot and crowded and not exactly cheap... but our little guy sat in wide-eyed fascination and we didn't regret the decision at all.

Folklife, on the other hand, was an annoying disappointment this year. It's a 4 day free festival celebrating music, dance and storytelling. We used to go every year pre-Reshen and I had always enjoyed it in years past. But this year was incredibly crowded. There was barely room to walk, no places to sit, long lines for everything... and people were just so annoying! We did stop at some informal roadside performances, and Reshen enjoyed hearing and watching the live music.. but that's really all we got out of it.. oh and the strawberry shortcake that a local strawberry vendor always sells there was delicious as usual. But I doubt we will be going back again. Fighting through the crowds just isn't enjoyable anymore. And all Reshen could think about, of course, was the monorail and wanting to ride it back home.

Oh and a side note. We saw a lobster at the grocery store today and Reshen said it was Buggy and had to stop and talk to it. We really need to find the kid a toy lobster.