Holiday Fieldtrip

I told Cy that he had five minutes to find his warmest coat, gloves and a hat. “We’re going on a field trip.” It has become something of a battle cry at the Zeiger Hanson homestead. Cy’s face took on a look of urgency as he shuttled around the house looking for a stray glove here and a hooded jacket there. As he quickly hopped into the car he said, “This is fun. Now, what are we doing?” We have been field tripping for so long in our family that my six year old son knows to get ready first and ask questions later. While I plan fun outings, I don’t often give much notice to the participants.

My goal is to find fun adventures that are close to home and yet have that vacation feel. Our outings are absorbing, engaging and mindless. And by that I mean, nothing is at stake. There is no way to do it wrong: there won’t be a test later. Sometimes just putting ourselves out on the road, adventures unfold on their own. As my husband says, “We either have a good time or a good story. Either way, we come out ahead.”

Last Friday night, the coat-required event was the annual holiday bridge lighting in Sumner. It got us in the holiday spirit to walk across the bridge, under the cascade of white lights with our hard earned shortbread cookie in hand. We were given a coupon for a ¼ pound of free fudge from The Old Cannery. My son was undeterred by the line that was 100 people deep. Fudge – if it’s chocolate he is going to like it. By the time we made it to the front of the line, the only flavors left were pumpkin, espresso and eggnog fudge. He gamely selected eggnog. As we sat on a display couch swinging our legs and checking out the fabric options, my son declared it, “horrible!” “Why would they even bother to make it if it’s not chocolate?” he wondered over and over again.

After fully partaking in the festivities offered by the Old Cannery, we hopped in our car, drove over the bedecked bridge and headed to the Dairy Freeze in Sumner for dinner. After extensive research last summer, we’ve declared Dairy Freeze the overall winner of our “Best Milkshake Award”. Plus the burgers and fries are real, fresh and hot. And the music is good. What else do I need to say to get you to put on your shoes right now and start looking for your coat and keys?

We asked for directions to the Windmill Gardens because I read in the paper that they had some festive doings that started at 6:00. As we zoomed over there, Cy was in the back seat complaining because we forgot to see Santa at The Old Cannery. This complaining was quickly drowned out by oohs and ahhs as we came into sight of the twinkling windmill and all its surrounding trees and shrubs. The cold clear night was warmed by a REAL outdoor fire on a fabulous patio. I looked everywhere for a switch, a smoke generator but it appears that the Windmill Gardens went all out for this occasion, dusting off those quaint fire building skills that aren’t much called for anymore. We hopped into each shop and headed for the main nursery with steaming samples of Market Spice Tea in our hands. Actually, it was something more modern with many health benefits but traveling with a six year old doesn’t allow me time to gather all the details of the sights, sounds and tastes that we encounter along the way. In the main nursery, who should appear but Santa and Mrs. Claus. For some reason, Santa was toting an empty toy sack that Cy is still puzzling over. Had he come to the nursery to get plants for his sack? In any case, he was handing out blue candy canes. While wandering among the twinkling lights and tropically sized poinsettias, Cy had an overwhelming feeling of dejavu. He thinks we’ve been here before, to this place, on this day, during this season. I assure him that it’s not the place that is familiar, it’s the feeling. We’re having fun, we’ve seen some new things, we’ve laughed, and we smell like smoke and candy canes. This evening we’ve gotten lucky: we have both a good time and a good story.