A Train Ride And A Dip

The wean has gone off Thomas & Friends (Diesel 10 gave him a bit of a scare) but he still loves trains (or train-like vehicles, such as the LUAS). His pleading was so plaintive that I thought, why not? Never mind that we had nowhere pressing to go. Pick a place, any place. Town? Howth? It was getting late, as always, so I decided Bray would be the best destination; few enough shops on the prom so it would be easy enough to head back home when we'd had enough. And there was the sea, as always.

We got the DARt at Booterstown and headed off, through bursts of sunshine and rain. 'Is this Dún Laoghaire?', he asked. It was one of the few locations he recognised. I called my old pal TP on the way, to see if he and Lynn would be up for a visit. They were.

Once on the prom we got drawn to the beach, where a little girl was throwing stones into the waves (a favourite preoccupation of the wean's). A man was with her, presumably the dad. A few strollers on the prom, but not many on the beach, and no swimmers I noticed. The wean asked me to roll up his trousers, but I told him to just take them off (his equation: water=splashing). He squealed, delightfully shocked by the cold.

Afterwards, I dried him with my fleece and we headed to TP's where I had a cuppa with TP and Lynn; he had some Ribena, and scoffed loads of sweets. Then we got a lift from TP to the far end of the prom where I'd planned to take him into a hotel/restaurant for something to eat. But it was getting near bedtime, so we headed back to the DARty station and got chips and sausages in Henry & Rose's, which is still there (though under new management). All in all, a lovely afternoon/evening (apart from a tussle over putting on his shoes, which he always removes once he's indoors).