Touch a Truck, Part 2

 In March of 2019, we went to a "Touch a Truck" event.

In 2022, I took Cass again. One of his friend's parents had dropped a note in his folder at school asking us for a playdate. After trying to arrange a time, they mentioned that they were going to this thing, and this boy's mom sent me a link in the text: it was the Touch a Truck event.

It's a free event, but I would've paid. It was interesting to see Cass and one of school friends who we don't usually hang out with as families (not in the inner circle of parent friends), and I got the sense that I'm more of the "stern dad" than this dude was, but I'm sure I could learn from him. He came with his two kids, a daughter and a son, ages 10 and 6, with the little boy a few months older than Cass. They're about the same distance that Cass and Camille are, but switched gender-wise. 

It was as much fun as the last time:

The heavy machinery, like earth movers and bull dozers, chill nicely next to fire engines and garbage trucks. Buses are able to be run through, as are street cleaners and tractors used for roadside maintenance.

Some of the lines are extremely long for the cooler stuff (fire engines), and basically nonexistent for plenty of other things (a truck with a power-line cherry picker attached).

There were even a series of off-roading trucks that were showing off the types of gear they could be outfitted with, like attached tents:

The only real issue from the mid-morning excursion is the fact that I didn't wear any sunscreen, and now my forehead and the backs of my calves sound like crinkly wrapping paper when I walk and are mostly screaming silently back into my body. Small price to pay for Cass to get to have some fun with a buddy.

This was Saturday before's Mother's Day, and with the Tide Pool trip on Sunday, I can say that I feel like I actually got out and did some stuff, which I don't always feel like I can say. Living near the ocean in a bustling beach city has a way of lulling you into a false sense of accomplishment, and when one kid fights leaving (the Boy) and one fights staying at home (babygirl), whatever energy I have leftover from the week focuses a little too much on the fact that one of the kids still needs a nap everyday. Too many easy excuses to chill out...

Anyway, the weekend was great and I know I need to be more activated in doing stuff.