Nature and Science

After our Blenheim Palace excursion, I took one day of rest and then I was ready for another adventure. (I'm not sure what got into me. I'm usually such a hermit!) I have noticed that without formulating a "plan" the night before, the following morning will quickly blend into afternoon and evening before we've done anything noteworthy or productive. So, in my determination NOT to let a perfectly good Friday go to waste, I decided on Thursday night that we would get up Friday morning and walk to the Science Oxford Live Discovery Zone to explore, learn and play.

Without any real agenda, we had the freedom to take a slight detour on the way and walk through the grounds surrounding one of the most beautiful colleges here in Oxford called Christ Church. The girls got out of the stroller to run their energy out. They are loving the Fall leaves here! We saw cows grazing in distant pastures and we quacked at friendly ducks who walked up to us when we stopped along the river to watch some people punting. Days like this remind me of why I am how I am and why I tend to resist "scheduling" myself or committing to various meetings during the week. It's because I actually love having nowhere to be so that I can have the freedom to do just what we did... Enjoy our time.







After getting our fill of natural beauty (can you ever really "get your fill" of such a thing?) we turned our three-wheels back towards High Street and headed across the Isis (Thames River) towards Science Oxford Live to check out the Kids Discovery Zone. What a great way to spend an afternoon. The girls really enjoyed it. (Especially the shadow wall, which was set up for someone to strike a pose in front of the wall, wait for a flash and then step away from the wall to reveal your frozen shadow! The shadow faded in about 15 seconds and gave someone else a turn to make a shadow print. It was actually very cool. I thought I might never get them out of that darkroom.) Fun was had by all, and ...of course... they wanted souvenirs. We brought home a baby dinosaur that "hatches" out of its egg if you add water and a package of glow-in-the-dark stars for their ceiling. Both toys are a hit! Fun day.

We were all absolutely and completely exhausted once we arrived back home. (Using the Google Maps Pedometer, I calculated 5.8 miles we (I!) walked that day, and that doesn't count chasing the kids around the Discovery Zone with my camera! ...let's call it an even 6 miles and pretend that counteracts the Cadbury chocolate I ate that night. I think I earned it.) :)





(Below: Which distortion do you think I like best?) :)

Cute...








(Below: A few pictures snapped on our walk back home. Oxford is beautiful. These show nothing but moss growing on a bridge railing and a bunch of boats in a river, but it's all just beautiful somehow.)