Sunday was a cold, rainy, wet-snowy day. Chris had left earlier in the day on a flight to Canada, and I thought that the kids, dog and I should get out for fresh air and exercise early in the day so that we could have a nice, cozy, relaxing afternoon in fuzzy clothes, not having to go outside at all because we don't have a dog that sometimes has to leave the flat to pee, even when it's cold and rainy and snowy. (sigh)
Unrelated, I'm starting to (perhaps rightfully) worry that, a few years from now, when all three children are in therapy, someone will utter the word "adventure" and they will all twitch involuntarily. I digress.
A few weeks ago, I walked through Holland Park and was startled by a random peacock. Then another. Turns out, the place is lousy with peacocks. We drove past it on Saturday, and I mentioned it to Tamsin. She told me that she'd never seen a peacock before. "Not even a picture?" I asked.
I seem to have failed the third child.
So, out we went in the very wet cold. There was a bit of grumbling on the way, and once we got into the park, we had to slog through very muddy paths, but then we saw it...the Adventure Playground. Due to the sleet, mud and cold, we were the only idiots people in there, so I broke some rules and brought Ziggy into the no-dog zone and let him offleash. He and the kids ran around, exploring the amazingness.
And then we saw it.
THERE WAS A ZIPLINE!!! (Did the all-caps give it enough gravitas?)
The kids actually took turns and helped Tamsin bring it back and get on it.
 |
| Ziplines actually foster teamwork! Who knew? |
 |
| Zipline Law is very clear about the mandatory screaming of "Cowabunga!" |
 |
| Ziggy enjoyed himself with a feather. A large feather. A large, brightly-coloured....waitaminute...
Tamsin saw her peacock, well, two peacocks, a peahen, and a fox. And a suspiciously large pile of peacock-esque feathers. We saw the fox several times (or possibly three different foxen), but bold as anything in the daylight. He probably had a full belly and no fear.
The fun went on for about an hour, but the cold, wet, and mud added up to increasing crankiness from me (I wasn't on the zipline)... and then in some of the troops as well.
|
 |
| Shivering, muddy adventurer. "Can I take off my socks? They're wet." |
The walk back to the tube station was considerably less exciting than the walk from, but the kids were highly motivated by the thought of Starbucks hot chocolate, which was conveniently available right beside said tube station. So, yay! Also, we wrapped Tamsin's wet feet in Ziggy's towel, which was very classy.
 |
| Wet, muddy, adventurers with hot chocolate. (Well, not the dog, of course! That would be crazy!) (The dog has a puppuccino, which is seriously a thing.) (England is so weird.) |
We made it home eventually, despite one of the adventurers getting off the tube at Baker Street, unnoticed by me. Luckily, Ailsa's outside voice alerted me (and most of Greater London) that Tamsin had escaped. We got her back before the doors slid shut, but it was terrifying.*
When we got home, the kids were inside the flat, wet clothes in the washing machine, and into fuzzy jammies before I could even get my muddy shoes off. Popcorn and peanuts, big glasses of water, and a movie later, and we all agreed it was a good outing...but I think we'll wait a little while for our next one.
 |
| Post-adventure, warm and dry in fuzzy clothes, settled in for a movie. |
* All of the kids have been repeatedly drilled in what to do should they get off the tube alone or not make it onto the tube with the rest of the family. So far, only one has been put to the actual test, and he failed miserably. Luckily, it was a family outing, so Chris stayed with the girls and I flung myself back onto the tube like a movie star** after Vaughn, who had dropped his gloves. We got to the next station, and I quizzed him (pop quiz!) about what he should do next (the correct answer is "get off at the next station and Stay There"), and he tried to cross the platform to get on a train that was on a different line altogether. In short, should I have not been with him, I would still not be with him now.
** Chris says that I did not look like a movie star, but he was probably just jealous that he didn't get to act like Keanu.***
*** Ha ha... ha.... "act" like Keanu. I made myself laugh there.
No comments:
Post a Comment