All that's missing from that snap is the carseat, but yes - that's all I took for our 4 day trip. The visit was very nice - Arun, as usual, did stellar during the "actual travel" part and as usual, really struggled on the "sleeping in a different environment" part. Sigh. Does it get better when they get older? I am very grateful that he loves airports and airplanes so much, but the not sleeping has become even more stressful these past 2 trips.
Anyway, on Friday everyone else had to work and of course, here I am on my usual Extended Life Vacation with nothing to do. I quickly realized that a roadtrip would be nice so that Arun could nap in the car and catch up on his sleep. So, I decided to run to Kittery, Maine for the afternoon to visit the outlet shops there. It worked out perfectly - Arun snoozed on the way there. We only visited 2 shops - I snagged some $4 Carter's pajamas for him and a new purse for me. I love this purse SO MUCH I may have to draw up a prenuptial agreement for it. It's a basic black leather bag that doesn't look like diapers may be lurking in its depths. It's a little too big right now, but will be perfect for when I'm schlepping TWO sets of diapers.
On Saturday, the guys had things to do, so S and I went to the New England Aquarium. I couldn't help but tease S when she asked if I could drive us into Boston because it makes her nervous - of course, I wanted to drive. I LOVE driving. But it still cracked me up that I am supposed to be the hick from sticks and SHE is supposed to be the local. (Note: The NE Aquarium is pretty nice, but I am still partial to Baltimore's ($21.95 per adult). Still, that said, New England's ($17.95 per adult) is infinitely better than San Francisco's ($13.95 per adult), which I thought was a ripoff.) It was a nice day, Arun enjoyed the fish and such, but I always leave such venues hating humanity in general. The rude behavior gets to me after awhile. Oh say, the guy who is determined to take a billion photos of the fish on his crappy digital camara. So, he totally hogs a display while others wait because this asshole thinks he is the next Ansel Adams. I say, buy a fucking National Geographic, get a gander at some real wildlife photography and get over yourself already. Bah.
Later that afternoon, S and I met up with the guys and headed over to the new LL Bean in Burlington. This afforded me the opportunity to try on those shoes I mentioned. Innernets, you spoke and I listened! I went with the red shoes. Actually, I really appreciated all the comments because I am so plain when it comes to fashion and it was good for me to hear all the comments urging me towards the red. I needed to live a little. Is it too pathetic that the only pair of red shoes I currently own are SNEAKERS? Don't answer.
Saturday evening, we headed over to the Chinese restaurant (The Sichuan Gourmet at 502 Boston Post Rd in Billerica, MA) that has actual Chinese people as patrons - I was one of 3 white people in the establishment, there were a handful of Indians and the rest were East Asian. I can't begin to tell you how utterly yummy this food was - the thing I usually hate about most chinese places is that the sauces are gooey, sweet, syrupy concoctions - not this place. The food was very simple, but not plain and OH MY, it was spicy. Even the two South Indians, X and S, were sweating it up. Awesome. Also that evening, we picked up some things at an Indian bakery called Hot Breads (438 Main St., Woburn MA).
Sunday was very lowkey - just hanging at the house scarfing down all of our Hot Breads purchases. Visiting S and A while pregnant is mighty convenient - I haven't even detailed the treats that S cooked for us. I have to say that it was nice to stay in a Kid Free house for the weekend. I mean, yeah - OUR kid was there, but the house was definitely Adult. I didn't realize how much I missed using a toilet roll dispenser or how much I miss a non-cluttered environment.
The trip back home was fairly uneventful, but was more work because I was traveling alone with Arun. And it was the first airplane trip that he didn't sleep for the most part. Meaning, he was AWAKE. And in need of entertainment Desperately. The leg to Chicago wasn't too bad because an incredibly kind gentleman was very patient with the fact that Arun was obsessed with him and insisted they play together. The leg from Chicago to Kansas City was a different story when it was so obvious the Hot Young Chick sitting next to us didn't want to be bothered. And I didn't blame her, but she kept smiling at Arun, which only made him think she was interested. I finally told her and I quote "I won't be insulted if you ignore him and read your magazine." and she replied "Oh good!" Honestly? We were both relieved because she was just making my job harder. Finally, Arun got the message that he was being rejected and in swift toddler fashion moved on to picking spare peanuts off of the floor. I dramatically underestimated the amount of books/toys I would need on the flight home and let's just say that a cup of ice and a straw totally saved my ass.
Lesson learned: Five board books, an old wallet with expired hotel keys, one toy car, one miniature drum stick, a set of plastic keys, one finger puppet, the Skymall catalog and Spirit magazine are not enough for a toddler. Oh, and allotting only 5 diapers per day.
Definitely, most assuredly, NOT ENOUGH.
3 comments:
I grew up in Bangalore, and we ate a lot of stuff at Hotbreads.i can't believe they're here in the US! There's even one here in Md.
Our saving grace on the flight back from Hawaii was the portable dvd player and Blue's Clues dvd's. The books and toys just didn't do it.
Teach me how to travel light. I beg you.
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