We got to Dayton about noon. The town is only a few streets and so there's very little chance of not getting to do everything we wanted to do. Mollie had spent some time before our trip looking up activities and attractions. Since it was lunch time, we stopped in at our first choice restaurant, the Country Cupboard. It is just a bakery that also serves soup and sandwiches. It was great. Simple and delicious.
We next found a playground and next to the historic rail depot. The kids liked playing on the slides and running around. Harrison and Noah liked the spider web, new to playgrounds since my childhood. Luckily it was not super cold and the sun was shining. At ~40 it is still warm enough to enjoy a playground, if you are a kid.
Adjacent to the depot was the spot for the mule drawn hay rides. This is something I just can't get enough of. It's so simple. You sit on hay bales on the back of some tractor and you ride around town.
I actually love small towns. They are architecturally the best places. It might be because homes are constructed in sufficiently low quantity and slow enough that it scares away the tract-home builders. As we wandered through the streets, we could see some beautiful old Victorian style homes, some ramblers, California bungalows, big stately houses, colonials, 40's squat huts with a single attic room poking through the roofline, Cape Cod, etc. It was peaceful and wonderful. As I was pointing out all the home features to the boys, one of the other people on the ride joinedthe impromptu tour. I'm pretty sure she was a local, because she would comment on the home owners.
There was an old historic victorian house that had free tours, called the Boldman House. The home has been kept in it's turn-of-the-century furnishings, and features some interesting pieces like an old wood burning kitchen stove and a pump organ. Each bedroom had a sink in the corner, which was strange. But when you think about it, there wasn't a toilet inside. So I guess you would put mirrors for shaving and a small sink for brushing teeth or whatever. I was surprised how small the interior was. From the outside the home looks grand, but the inside is quite small. It was a nice tour, and worth the money. (the boys were not in picture mood).
Santa was only a few blocks away, so we walked down to wait in a very short line. Some local business had cleared our their front room and decorated for Santa's reception line. Perhaps because the line was so short, there was absolutely no rush in a child's turn on his lap. I think we stood in that line for a good ten minutes before we budged an inch. But, our kids each got as long as they wanted. Olivia wanted quite a bit longer than anyone else. She is just such a chatter box. Most of the (onesided) conversation may not have even related to Christmas, but boy does she love to talk. We got a great picture of the kids, and this ended up being our Christmas card pic.
By 3:00, we went to the free showing of 'A Christmas Story' at the local theater. It was a small single screen theater, that reminded me of the slim twin in Emporia. Because it was a free showing, we got popcorn and drinks for the kids. I think it may have been one of the first times I have ever gotten anything from a concession stand. The movie was fun, but I had not remembered all the colorful language. I am glad that my kids have not remembered it either.
At some point close thereafter we went to get dinner. Unfortunately it was not as good of an experience as lunch. We went Skye Book and Brew, and it was terrible food. Everything was poor, and expensive. We quickly decided to just leave instead of trying to eat, and went to the live nativity. This was highlighted by the wise men escorting a live camel. We happened to be right next to them when they walked by, literally inches from the camel. I had to remind the kids that camels might be less than happy about being petted/poked. I didn't want to be kicked or spit on by the notoriously fussy animal.
After that we decided to hunker down in the car for the parade. I had cleverly parked the car on Main Street so as to be in the middle of the parade route. We could sit in the warm car and watch the parade! not shiver on the sidewalk. It was an interesting parade. For starters, it was the first time I've seen a parade in the dark, and the first time I've seen fireworks for a Christmas parade. The floats were fun, and at the end was Santa.
After the fireworks we took a quick drive through town to see some of the lights on homes. Then we drove home, kids singing and pointing out farm houses that already had their Christmas lights up. It was a great trip.
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