Miles's preschool was closed on July 5 for the Independence Day holiday, and we decided to spend it visiting an old friend of mine who lives in Boston.
We packed up the car the night before, and drove the hour and a half east in the morning (even managing to leave a little early for once!). After a year-plus of sticking rather close to home, this was Miles's longest car ride in his memory, and I was feeling a little apprehensive. We'd prepared, though – I used my favorite car trip trick, which is to collect a few new little toys and books, and wrap them in wrapping paper ahead of time. Then we wait until his boredom with other car activities has absolutely reached its limit before pulling one out. The anticipation and excitement of unwrapping an unexpected present is a distraction in and of itself, and then of course there is the toy to play with! On the way home he also watched about 40 minutes on his tablet.
We met up with my friend at the New England Aquarium (Miles had been there once before as a baby), and then went together to Boston Common for swan boat rides, ice cream, and even a trip on the merry-go-round. I packed our copy of Make Way for Ducklings, which we read in the shade while dipping our feet in the pond, and we visited the duckling statues too.
This trip felt charmed – which I think was thanks to part magic and part planning. I'm glad we purchased our aquarium tickets ahead of time, and prepared Miles for mask-wearing and hand-holding in the crowds. We followed his lead much of the time, like letting him wade in the Frog Pond with Kristie while my friend and I waited in line for the carousel, catching each other up on our lives. (It was such a gift to reconnect with him.) The day of course featured a couple near-meltdowns and two outfit changes (see soaked shorts below!), but we pulled into the driveway as evening settled marveling at our good, good day. I'm ready for more summer adventures with this crew.
