Last weekend we took the boys to the San Diego Auto Show. They love to play with cars and trucks, talk about cars and trucks, look at cars and trucks, and especially ride in cars and trucks, so I thought a room full of them would be a hit. I don't know if "a hit" really describes how they felt about it. I'm quite sure that they would have happily spent the rest of their childhood in that convention center had we not pulled them away (kicking and screaming, mind you). But I'm getting ahead of myself...
Let's begin at the beginning. We began the adventure by parking in an underground parking lot. I realized this was the first time they had been in one, and that they thought it was in fact the "car show" we had been telling them about all morning. For a fleeting moment, we considered simply walking them around the parking lot and saving the $20 it would cost to get into the car show, but just couldn't do it.
So we entered the convention center, walked through the doors of the exhibit hall, and proceeded to watch our children's jaws drop to the ground. I tried to get a picture, but sadly the camera ran out of batteries. Ugh. Anyway, we let them out of the stroller, and they were off - faster than we had ever seen them move before - in different directions, of course. I followed Lucas and Noah stayed with Ethan. That was the last we saw of each other for two hours. Thus, I can only report on Lucas' experience, but I am confident that Ethan's was much the same.
Lucas headed to the brightest car he could see - some bright orange vehicle - pointing at it the whole time, calling out "That one! That one!" My apologies to anyone who was between him and the orange car - there was no stopping this kid. When he reached the car, he cried "In there! In there!" When inside the vehicle, he turned the steering wheel, shouting "Driving! Driving!" He then realized there were hundreds of cars to see, and only one lifetime to see them in, so he jumped out of the car as quickly as he had jumped in. He set his sights on the next car, calling out "Other one! Other One!" as he ran and pointed. In his excitement, he often tripped and fell, but there was no time for crying - there were SUVs to be driven. He would jump back up and run even faster to make up for lost time. I will say this, Lucas has a taste for the finer things. The car he spent the most time in was a Mercedes. More amusingly, anytime he got into a car with cloth seats, he would immediately shout "Out!" I'm not kidding. He was such a good boy - he understood right away that he couldn't touch the cars with rope or bars around them, and would explain that to me every time we came across one.
Replay this scene for two straight hours and you will have a good idea of what the experience was like. Now, I'm no mathematician, but with two hours, and 5 seconds per car, I figure we must have seen...one billion cars. Never did the excitement fade. For Lucas or for me. I was so thrilled to watch my little guy so excited and joyous. I imagined that a mere 500 cars away my other little guy was smiling just as much, sharing this awesome time with his Daddy. It was seriously one of the best days ever.
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2 comments:
Daddy here...just wanted to confirm that Ethan was just as excited the entire time, but gravitated toward the "monster truck", which was really just a converted van, and the "health bus", which was a gigantic and colorfully painted bus for people who had health concerns (i.e. all those people who were knocked over by Lucas). It truly was an awesome day!
I didn't know that you could actually go in the cars at an auto show - what a toddler's dream come true! Alone time with one twin is so special too. It's a luxury in the life of a twins mom, and worthy of cherishing as you've so beautifully here.
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