Dr. Nicholas- Esteemed Paleontologist

It is safe to say that Nicholas is at the peak of his dinosaur obsession.  He has always liked them and reading about them.  We have plastic dinosaurs strewn about our living room, and Dinosaur Train and Dino Dan are very popular, but a new level of enthusiasm has surged in him as of late.  One evening about a week or so ago, he looked at me teary-eyed.  I asked him what was wrong, thinking something happened at school or that his brother had been mean to him, and he replied, "I wish dinosaurs still existed."  I said, "Aw, I know, Baby.  That would be pretty cool."  He said, "I just wish I could see dinosaurs like Dino Dan (a show where a boy sees dinosaurs all around him and teaches his friends about them)."  For some reason, I find it so completely endearing that he loves dinosaurs.  It's like the ultimate little boy love, something that he will surely outgrow and think is baby-ish in the years to come, and it makes me want to hold onto him and his Little Boyhood for as long as I can.

Well, when I heard a commercial on the radio in the car advertising Discover the Dinosaurs, a touring dinosaur exhibit, I knew we had to go.  I was going to take my son on a gigantic dinosaur adventure. 

We took our very first metro ride on our new metro line into Washington, DC to the convention center followed by a taxi ride (!) to his grandparents' house.  So, metro, dinosaurs, and a taxi ride all in one morning = a lot of excitement.

Before we left I put the event tickets and a metro map in
an envelope addressed to Dr. Nicholas Esteemed Paleontologist.
 

Looking down intently at the on-coming metro train.

We marked our map with the starting point and destination

and read dino books as we rode into town.

There were two exhibits at the actual show: an Ice Age one and the Dinosaurs, of course.
Nick elected to go through the Ice Age exhibit first, to save the dinosaurs (the best) for last.

The American Lion
Now, almost all of the exhibits moved. 
The were essentially robots that moved many body parts and made noise.

The two highlights of the Ice Age exhibit for Nicholas were the Uintatherium and the Woolly Rhinoceros.
In case you didn't know, Nicholas' favorite animal is a rhino.
Random animal choice, but true (ever since he was 2).

When posing, a child hit one of the buttons for the animal next to us
and it was roaring REALLY LOUDLY.  It startled Nick a bit.

Yep, apparently Woolly Rhinos existed.
Who knew?

There were all kinds of interesting facts posted all over the place.

Nick does not like cavemen.
Why?  Because "they hunted and killed animals."
Aw.

Making all the body parts move.

Closed mouth...

now open.

And on to the dinosaurs!

Stegosauruses were apparently not the brightest of the dinosaurs.

 

A lot was made of this theory.

Lots of photo ops

Again, with the poor stegosaurus.

Successful trip, I'd say!

 

 

 

Scotland 2014- Part 4 Ben Bhraggie

One of the most frequent questions we get about returning year after year to a remote village in the northeast Highlands of Scotland is: what on earth do you do all day (if you don't golf)? 

I dedicated an entry to answering that very question here, if you missed it or if you are looking for things to do in the Highlands, check it out.  But in this entry I want to specifically share my experience hiking Ben Bhraggie with Nicholas.

The morning we hiked was the morning the baby had woken at about 4:30am.  By 7:00am I was ready to get out of the house.  The morning was pretty foggy, but I decided to take Nicholas to climb it anyway, because even though the view would be semi-obscured, it would keep it cool as we hiked up, and would mostly likely burn off as we climbed.

Ben Bhraggie is good for exercise and the view, but it is also interesting because of the controversy that surrounds it.  It adds to its mystique, let's say.  On top of the hill (which is 1,302 ft. above sea level according to the fine people on Wikipedia) stands a 100 ft. statue in honor of the first Duke of Sutherland.  The Duke is controversial for his involvement in or the execution of the Highland Clearances where thousands of people were kicked off their land and were forced to settle elsewhere. The statue has been vandalized many times and chunks have been taken out of it, in what presumably was an effort to knock it down.   Read a brief explanation here (where I have gotten all of my info from), if you are interested.

Anyway, in terms of the walk/hike it is pretty kid friendly.  I would recommend it for ages 4 and up.   Nicholas and I attempted when he was 3, we made it about 75% of the way up, and I had to carry him on my hip the entire way down (while pregnant with my second).  Nicholas is also a pretty active and athletic kid, so while it is hike-able for children this young, I would just allow for rest time according to their abilities.

I think this year at 5 it was perfect for him.  I allowed time for him to doddle, smell flowers, inspect bugs, and rest (a lot), and we comfortably made it from the parking lot to the summit in about 1 hour.

The trip down took about the same amount of time, allowing for many pictures to be taken of the view and a silly 5 year old.  Otherwise, I would guess it would have taken less,around 45 minutes or so.

Here is a view from Golspie village.
You can see the statue on the hill right above the rooftops.

A helpful piece of information:
you park in the parking lot, walk back out to the street, turn right,
 and walk up through the farm. 
Keep following the road and eventually you will see signs for the pathway to the left.
It seems like you are trespassing. I think
they need better signage, but no one asked me.

We left the car park at 7:50.

See it way up there?
Seems so far away, huh?

I was a little discouraged when 10 minutes into the walk Nick needed a rest.
He needed many small rests, but continued on each time.

Approaching the "deep, dark" wood

 

Lots of interesting berries along the way.
They looked just like blueberries, but I'm pretty sure they were blackcurrants.

 

Various stages of ripeness

 

The middle is red, not white like a blueberry.

Pointing out an interesting bug

 

Not sure what this was.  I assume it is a web. 
It looked like a foamy spider's web.
If you know, let me know.

A quick sit

 

About a third of the way up, it was still foggy.

So, the view below of the water was obscured,
but the nature right in front was vibrant.

And on a clear day you should be able to see the statue right on that hill,
 but the fog still loomed.

Inching our way up

But we are getting closer, indeed.

Slowly...

unveiling itself,



there!

And right about at this point we spoke to an older woman who passed us on her way up,
who was now on her way down.  She stopped and commented on Nicholas being tired.
I told her that he was 5, that we had almost gotten to the top as a 3 year old,
and we were back for victory this time.
Well, she was just smitten. 
She chatted him up asking this and that, then said "I bet there are only 200 steps to go". 
This was all Nick needed: a task to focus on. 
Then he was off!

 

 

 

A spring in his step, look at that!

Pose for a picture

It was absolutely endearing one day before we hiked Nick told me he wanted to touch the top.
I asked him "the top of what?"  "The statue" he replied, because it looks an inch tall from the village or from the road.
  Ha, ha.  Aww!  About halfway up he exclaimed "Mom, I can't reach the top of that.  It is HUGE!"

And it was 9:03am when we reached the top, not bad at all.

Mist/fog still below, but you could see the edge of the coast.

And then we headed back down after an apple and some water.
Here we spotted a butterfly.

And Nicholas seemed to have limitless energy descending,
and I watched smiling, as he bounded down the hill.

My beautiful boy and the farmland below.

The sights that remind you of how beautiful life is.

And what a blessing children are.

Why Nick thought he could touch the top ;-)

Nick's turn at playing with perspective.

Sproing Tigger!

Holey Sock

Taking in the simplest of flowers

and peculiar lichen (?).

Back through the "deep, dark wood" although no Gruffalo sightings.

Perhaps this is his house though?

And back into the car at 10:19, good stuff.

And with our appetite we headed to our favorite food shack, I'll affectionately call it, for a 10:30am lunch.
That's what time you dine when you've been up since 4:30am, thank you very much Rhys!
Ha, ha- but not a bad start to the day, I'd say.



Life is good