Go (miles and miles to) Fly A (gold plated) Kite

I took the day off today to stay home with the two little ones.  As we had recently watched Mary Poppins, one question has been repeated at every free day, half-free day, completely booked day, school day, work day, and immediately before bed:

"Can we fly my kite."

The morning was balmy and stagnant.  Not good weather for flying or for curly hair.  We had a couple things to do, including a library book return and lunch with mom.  But after naps and an afternoon rainstorm, the weather improved for kite flying.  Sunny and clear with a constant, but not too hard breeze.

But where to fly?

We are lucky enough to live in a county and a community with substantial green space.  We have a preserved floodplain to the rear of the house and a lot of trees throughout the community.  There are plenty of sidewalks (although narrow).  And our yard is pretty big.  But the entire area is covered by trees, cut up by small lots, and crossed by power lines.  There are not the kind of big, treeless rolling plazas that are great for people watching and sunbathing and flying kites.  Maybe we were not settled by enough Brits.

Or, it's almost a perception issue.  Those are city parks.  The ones with iron fences and stone walls and well known designers.  We suburbanites need parks to drive the kids for soccer, drive the kids for playdates, or drive to do the exercise circuit.  It is not a casual place.  It is a place for Exercise.

I'm beginning to believe that the driving isn't what is killing us, it's the expectations we build up on the ride.  We eat more at restaurants because we have to get in our car, unpark, drive, turn, drive, stop, repark, and walk across a thousand yards of tarmac before ordering.  There are expectations involved.  By the time I've done that, I want the best damn burrito ever.  And I eat accordingly.

When we get to parks by driving, we want the best damn park ever.  We want manicured ball fields, or stimulating and intricate tot lots.  We want the destination to be worth the effort to get there.

Really, I just want an oversized lawn.  But we decided to use the ball fields at a regional park about a mile and a half away.  The distance and the size of the roads to be crossed precludes this from being walkable.

And yes, the most important thing is that the girls had a magnificent time.