The Arboretum is one of our favourite places to take a walk to, and it's a nice easy walk from our house (it takes me about fifteen minutes alone, though once children are factored in it's closer to 45 minutes). We arranged to meet Em and Connor for a picnic, and, well, I wouldn't say we exactly picked the best day for it...
On the way there, the weather was mostly cool and breezy, with the sun just shining on us often enough that we thought we probably wouldn't need our coats. Alas, just as we got there the rain began in earnest...
So sad - a wet Bookcrossing book left on the park!
Walking around and enjoying the old trees wasn't terribly appealing in the rain, but the children cannot possibly turn down a good play area no matter how wet. We weren't the only families mad enough to brave it, for once, though all the parents had that weary "why us" expression as the rain got heavier and heavier.
The constantly-hungry (and very wet) children were keen to have hot chocolate and chips in the community cafe even after the amount of picnic they consumed.
On the way home the storm began in earnest; near simultaneous thunder and lightening, and large hail stones bouncing right up off the pavement, so we were drenched! It was still a fairly warm day, so not all that uncomfortable apart from the odd stinging hailstone.
I pay lip service to getting out in all weathers and needing time outside, but we rarely more than pop into the garden when it's this wet. It was really not as bad as my usual reluctance to get cold and wet would suggest. I'm not sure the kids will be keen to repeat the wettest picnic we have ever had, though!
I'm so glad I packed waterproof coats - the baby slept all the way home, warm and dry cocooned in her snowsuit (and the sling). :)
Aw, soggy little people. And such a classic mournful Morgan expression, very fitting for the soggy book!
ReplyDeleteShe was so upset by it, carried it all the way home to register its sad demise on the Bookcrossing site!
DeleteIf your children are anything like me they will remember that picnic for years. I remember being taken out on such a day as a child and standing under the trees to eat as the benches were too wet to sit on, people walking past looked at my mother with a mixture of pity and disbelief (so she told me, don't remember that bit), my siblings and I played picnics in the rain for months afterwards!
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