The other day I finally booked my hotel in Myrtle Beach for the end of the month. With that festering in the back of my mind we went out looking for something inexpensive to do this weekend. Yesterday we decided to take a drive to Bear Mountain State Park. I’m still not sure why.  On the way we discovered that one of our crossings was experiencing a two hour delay and we decided that we sit in enough traffic during the week, so we turned around at the last possible chance and started heading home. To avoid squandering the fact that we were near Manhattan and a Whole Foods I suggested we make a pit stop for some high-end sausage.

As we searched for free parking in the city we came across a street fair. We decided to nix the sausage hunt in favor of walking the street.  Devin was in usual panicked rule-spewing form telling us that we had to get out of the street or we’d get hit by cars. He told us that walking in the street was very, very dangerous. He was the only person in the fair looking for the sidewalk. He relaxed a little when we found a toy tow truck, an item he had been looking for for some time, and a NYC bus. My wife and I ate canolis, crepes, shish kebab, sausage heroes, empanadas, and maduros. With all that eating we hardly noticed the exaggerated warnings coming from the little boy. 

Today we went to the movies.  Knowing that Devin is a little more pliable early in the morning we opted for a 10:30 am show.  Admission was $28 for the three of us – so much for inexpensive (now I’ll have to make PB & J sandwiches for the rest of the week to take to work).  Devin had never been to the movies before today because I  don’t think that many small children can sit happily through an 85 minute movie where talking and moving is discouraged.  He proved me right, but it didn’t matter because we had the entire theater to ourselves.  My wife and I laughed through the animated film, while my little Devil devised a project.  His mission, which he accomplished, was to put down all of the arm rests on all of the chairs in the theater.  Every so often he’d stop to tell us that the movie was dumb.  Ironically when the film was over he  didn’t want to leave and asked if we could see another.  Yeah right, kid. 

The boy and I just got back from a 45 min trip to the drugstore and I have to admit that it was the best part of the weekend.  We talked, we laughed, we simply hung out. And it was free other than the cost of toilet paper.