Summer Bucket List: A Walk Through Downtown Carlsbad

After reading a post by Kelle Hampton about staying on Mackinac Island and deciding to take her kids out in their jammies after dinner to stroll the streets, I thought to myself, we live in one of the best areas of the country to do that, we should TOTALLY do that! So last night at dinner I thought about our day, and it had consisted of a lot of errands. We spent the morning running around, telling the kids that we had to hurry, and in all essence, making them conform to our needs. I don't like making the kids conform to our schedule all day long, kids aren't built for that. They need time to explore, to play, to try things out and see what happens. It doesn't flex the muscles in their brains to sit in a car going from place to place, getting out of the car, then being told not to touch things and to quiet down, then getting back into the car to go to another place where they will be told not to touch things and to quiet down. So after dinner last night, we were off, PJ's in the car and sweatshirts packed in case it was cool. We drove to downtown Carlsbad where we walked and looked. The kids touched things and shouted in excitement. It made me feel good to bring them here, and I told Thomas that exploring the coastal towns near us after dinner should be on our summer bucket list. Hopefully my kids will have slices of memory from these explorations of our area, remembering the cool salty air or the music we danced to in the parking lot. Maybe they will just get a smile on their faces when they are older and spend their twilight hour walking along the streets of a coastal community, not knowing where that smile is from, but feeling joy anyway. Maybe that's why it makes me happy; my family had a boat and we spent summers at the marina or out on the water. I'm sure that's why I've always found happiness near the water, seeking it out when I feel sad or in need of guidance. The water makes me calm and happy. I hope that my children feel the same way.

It was a nice evening, probably in the mid 70's. We parked off Rosevelt and didn't have a plan, just strolled.

We looked in shop windows and sat on the ledge of a fountain named after a man named Glenn something.

We waited to cross at an intersection and Genny talked to the cross walk because it talked to her.

Thomas was talking to his dad for most of our walk, but I know he enjoyed it too.

We found a small plot that had a red phone booth and a rose garden with a path. The kids ran around and talked on the phone, which, if you're a three year old or a five year old, is very cool.

We stopped for ice cream...

And ended the walk looking at a painting on a building.

I'm still smiling from our walk.