We've almost made it...we are mere days away from fleeing the country--I mean "vacationing in Mexico"--and it's time for that final push...to keep from getting on each others' very last nerve before we go. The boys and I do well when presented with entertaining distractions, so I racked my brains for activities that would get us out of the house this week. When discussing possible options, we were suddenly struck with a startling revelation: we've gone all Summer without playing Mini-Golf! Gasp! (Okay, this may not seem all that dramatic an omission in the Grand Scheme of Life, but you're just going to have to trust me when I say that for us, it's a glaring oversight...) So I took them to a county park where you can both golf, and romp in a splash playground. We putted (not well); we bounced into water traps (frequently); we thoroughly enjoyed our own ineptitude. Then the boys ran in and out of fountains and ducked under waterfalls and flung drops at each other to their hearts' content. Several hours worth of maximum fun with minimum arguing: well worth the price of admission.
As our last pre-trip hurrah, I decided to go the Cultural Route...since we'd also managed to get to mid-August without visiting a museum. (What the heck is wrong with us this year? We're way off our game!) I'd seen a writeup of the American Visionary Arts Museum in the kid-section of the Washington Post recently, and it sounded like a really cool place. Even the gift shop got mentioned in the summary, as carrying a collection of offbeat and interesting items--so naturally Riley got on board immediately. ("Souvenir Boy", as he shall be known...) And it's located in downtown Baltimore, near the Inner Harbor...with its multitude of varied and tasty eateries...so Derek readily signed on too. (After I promised him a meal, of course. Yes, I do know how to motivate my little explorers.) And let me just tell you, from the moment we laid eyes on the place, it became instantly clear that this is NOT your typical stuffy paintings-on-the-wall, classic-marble-sculptures kind of experience. As soon as your gaze is dazzled by the glass-mosaic facade and bedecked bus out front, you know you're in for something unique.
Inside, it did not disappoint. Among our favorite sights:
--the Flatulence Post, an interactive display where you "pull the finger" (not making that up) to hear past winners of...Farting Contests. (Nope, not making that up either. Don't ask me for further enlightenment--we were laughing too hard to actually read the informative material...)
--the Bra Ball, which--just like it sounds--comprises a giant mass of brassieres attached one to the other, forming a sphere...of...supportive undergarments. It was truly a jaw-dropping extravaganza of all things padded, petite, push-up, plain, and plus-sized. The artist solicited women to send their "contribution", along with the associated story. Needless to say, many of the notes were not loving odes to underwire...but altogether they did amount to a touching tribute to womanhood...
--a model of the ocean liner Lusitania, impressively constructed from 194,000 toothpicks. This sucker was not your average craft project, being several feet high and 16 feet long.
--a shout-out to San Francisco, also built from toothpicks, which featured--among a vast array of elements--the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, several streetcars, the Ghirardelli factory, Fisherman's Wharf, and the MLB World Series trophy.
This was the kind of place where you just strolled around, alternately giggling, oohing and aahing, and wondering how the HECK anyone conceived some of these ideas, much less brought them to life. At one point Derek, flummoxed by something he was observing, mused, "What is 'art', anyway?" Exactly! Art is: "Mom dragged you to a museum in the Summer and made you think, without your even realizing it!" Win! (Well, I guess to be fair it was a three-way tie, since we all had a good time with the quirky art, followed by tasty sushi at the Harbor Pavilion.) Now we can feel free to exit out of educational mode...and mentally prepare for the beach instead...
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